Operation Sierra Noella, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) road safety campaign targeting high-risk behaviour over the holiday period, has come to a close.
During the seven-week operation which ran from 9 December to 29 January, 37 lives were lost on the State’s roads, compared to 20 during the previous holiday period.
Acting Chief Superintendent Ray Rohweder expressed concern at driver behaviour which not only resulted in a high number of lives lost, but also a significant rise in serious injuries.
“More than 1,700 people were injured in crashes across the holiday period, an increase of more than 200 on the same period last year,” Acting Chief Superintendent Rohweder said.
“A large portion of these injuries have consequences that people will have to live with for the rest of their lives.”
He said police detected 150,851 offences on the roads, an increase of 21,265 on the 2019-20 holiday period, with speed remaining the most prevalent offence.
“Nearly 15,000 infringements were issued to speeding drivers while almost 125,000 more were detected by speed cameras,” A/Chief Superintendent Rohweder said.
“Speeding infringements were up by 31 per cent compared to last year, despite repeated appeals from police and an increasing number of lives lost.”
He said that of the 145,525 roadside breath tests conducted, 2,133 drivers were detected over the legal limit.
“Drug driving still remains a problem on our roads,” he said.
“Of 4,391 drug tests conducted, more than a quarter of drivers returned a positive result.”
A/Chief Superintendent Rohweder continued to express frustration at the selfish actions of drivers that put the lives of others on the road at risk.
“Our police see these reckless actions and their consequences every day,” he said.
“The decisions you make on the road can affect your life and the lives of those around you so it’s up to individuals to take responsibility,” he said.
