As South Australians make the most of local holiday opportunities this long weekend, police have warned they’ll be cracking down on motorists who choose to ignore the dangers of the Fatal Five, during Operation Safe Long Weekend.
In an effort to ensure a fatality-free weekend, police will be out in force conducting mobile and static driver testing and targeted traffic stops right across the State, with a ‘no tolerance’ policy in place for drivers doing the wrong thing.
Officer in Charge Traffic Services Branch, Superintendent Bob Gray said it is well documented that the Fatal Five factors – drink and drug driving, speeding, distraction, not wearing seatbelts and dangerous driving – are significant contributors to crashes and trauma on our roads.
“Every road crash is avoidable and the smallest of mistakes or indiscretions can cause catastrophic harm,” Supt Gray said.
“As part of Operation High Impact running for the month of October, we’re launching Operation Safe Long Weekend to increase driver awareness of road trauma and the impact that serious and fatal crashes have on families and communities.
Many South Australians will be driving rather than flying to their holiday destinations this long weekend, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this doesn’t result in any more lives lost on our roads,” Supt Gray said.
Last October long weekend, there were three lives lost on the state’s roads and six serious injuries.
During the past five October long weekend periods there have been:
- 8 deaths from 48 serious injury crashes
- 3 deaths have occurred in the metropolitan area
- 5 deaths have occurred in rural areas
- 64 per cent of the deaths and serious injuries have occurred in rural areas
To date, there have been 67 lives lost on South Australian roads this year, compared with 80 at the same time last year.
Police are appealing to all drivers to stick to the speed limit, not to drive after drinking or taking drugs, to keep their eyes on the road at all times, to ensure that everyone in their vehicle is wearing a seatbelt and to drive with regard for road rules and other road users.
