RACQ has stated that the State Government needs to create a realistic strategy to curb the state’s alarming road toll.
RACQ Executive General Manager Advocacy Paul Turner said the motoring body put forward a comprehensive solution to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries.
"There’s no simple, silver bullet to saving lives on the state’s roads," Mr Turner said.
"It’s a cocktail of laws, public awareness campaigns, infrastructure and research to determine how to reduce the toll in deaths and serious injuries on our roads,” he said.
Mr Turner said the focus shouldn’t just be on punishing drivers.
"Prevention beats punishment every time. Both have a role but need to be a part of a coordinated strategy to develop long term solutions to what is a complex issue.”
Mr Turner said RACQ welcomed the state government’s plan to have all police vehicles fitted with automatic number-plate recognition technology.
“This allows police to identify unregistered drivers quickly. We know that unregistered and unlicensed drivers are a threat to other motorists and are over represented in dangerous driving infringements.”
Mr Turner said the State Government’s attention shouldn’t be just on fatalities.
“The number of deaths on our roads is an easy barometer, but only one part of the overall story of the impact of road crashes on our community.
“In fact, serious injuries are growing as cars become better and crashes more survivable, yet our data on serious injuries is inconsistent and unreliable.
“Seriously injured road crash victims have an enormous impact on our society through medical costs and ongoing care, along with the lifelong impact on the victim’s family.”
RACQ said the AusRAP star rating system also needed to be front and centre in future strategies to ensure the Queensland road network was upgraded to a safer standard.
