Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Leave Haste To The Easter Bunny These Holidays

An alarming spike in motor vehicle accidents has the region’s rescuers pleading for caution on the roads this Easter and during the school holidays.

From January to the end of March, RACQ CQ Rescue completed 146 missions, 11 of which were airlifting people injured in serious motor vehicle accidents in the region. This compared to only eight accidents in the first three months of last year and four in 2020, representing a very concerning upwards trend on the region’s road.

Motor vehicle accidents involving, car, trucks and motorbikes occurred across the length and breadth of the helicopter’s service region including Ayr, Moranbah, Collinsville, Nebo, Gargett and in the Whitsundays, with serious injuries requiring airlift to hospital predominantly including fractures, cranial and internal injuries.

RACQ CQ Rescue pilot Owen Maitland said the message was very clear to all motorists this Easter – leave your phone alone when you are behind the wheel.

“The fatal five, particularly distracted driving, speeding and fatigue, are still playing a large part in serious road accidents and subsequent severe injury in this region,” he said.

“Distracted drivers are far too common. Sadly, we see it every day. You only have to pull up at a set of traffic lights and see drivers talking on their phones or sending a text message. This is a very serious threat not only to themselves and their passengers but to other road users as well. Mobile phones cause major distractions for drivers, on both long distance trips or even just around town, and largely increase the risk of accident, subsequent serious injury and even death,” Mr Maitland said.

“Please, for the sake of your loved ones and other road users, set up the Do Not Disturb While Driving function on your phone so you can stay focused behind the wheel. When this is on, text messages, calls and notifications will be limited so you can focus on the important job of getting to your destination safely.

“No message, notification or phone call is worth the risk to life and limb on the road. While we love our job and serving this community, we don’t want to meet you or your loved ones by accident this Easter,” he said.  

Locally, a horror period of deaths on the roads recently included a doctor in her 20s who died in a head-on collision between a truck and Suzuki Swift on the Bruce Highway last month, a young man killed when his vehicle hit a tree near Kuttabul, west of Mackay, and a 44-year-old Clermont woman killed in a head-on collision on the Peak Downs Highway near Strathfield, both in February.

RACQ CQ Rescue is urging motorists to take care behind the wheel. Image supplied: RACQ CQ Rescue

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