Qld:State toll still seven;Qld deaths comprise national toll
BRISBANE, Dec 22 AAP - Premier Peter Beattie has promised tougher penalties for roadabusers with the Queensland Christmas/New Year road toll already at seven.
In the worst accident, five people died early yesterday when two cars hit head-on onthe Bruce Highway about 20km south of Proserpine, north Queensland.
Police have blamed fatigue for the accident, which occurred just before 5am (AEST),and said investigations indicated that one of the vehicles had swerved to the wrong sideof the road.
A man, 48, and a woman, 41, driving southbound in a Cairns registered Toyota Rav 4were killed. Two women, aged 20 and 45, and a man, 44, travelling in a Brisbane-registeredMagna also died.
Two 21-year-old men were transported to Mackay Base Hospital with fractures and spinal injuries.
In the other fatalities an 18-year-old woman died in hospital after a head on smashbetween two cars in Dayboro (north of Brisbane) at about 3pm (AEST) yesterday.
The first death for the holidays occurred on Friday when a vehicle being driven bya 68-year-old man veered off the Pacific Motorway near the Gold Coast, over an embankmentand into a tree.
The seven deaths compared with only one casualty recorded over the same time period last year.
Mr Beattie has said the government would review road safety penalties and was lookingseriously at doubling demerit points, but conceded such a strategy in NSW had not dramaticallyimpacted on the road toll there.
"We can have all the rules we like, but unless people use their brains and drive sensibly,they are going to continue to kill themselves," he said.
He said the review of road safety penalties would be completed in time for Easter.
The national Christmas road toll so far stands at seven - all of them in Queensland.
(Eds: National road toll figures are for the period 0001 December 20 to 2359 January5 AEDT. Some states and territories have different periods.)
AAP jfs/cdh
KEYWORD: TOLL QLD DAYLEAD
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий