South Australia Police is urging motorists to take greater care on the roads, with the state’s road toll reaching 44 this week, a four-year high and 14 more lives lost compared with the same time last year.
An additional 341 serious injury crashes have been recorded so far this year, equating to almost two-and-a-half serious collisions every day.
Alarmingly, 11 of those killed (25%) were motorcycle riders and four were cyclists, while 25 deaths (56%) occurred in regional areas.
Analysis of fatalities shows:
- 16 deaths (36%) involved dangerous driving, including eight attributed to speeding
- 21 deaths (48%) resulted from single vehicle collisions, including rollovers or hitting a fixed object
- 12 fatalities (27%) involved road users aged over 60
- Two crashes resulted in multiple fatalities, accounting for six lives lost (14%)
SAPOL Traffic Services Branch Officer in Charge, Superintendent Shane Johnson, said the figures were deeply concerning.
“Any fatality on our roads is a serious tragedy. The number of deaths and serious accidents we have had this year is significantly higher than SAPOL’s target and I urge South Australian road users to be more careful.”
Image: Blue Light Police Car – Free photo on Pixabay
