It’s disappointing to hear, again, that some drivers in the Hunter have flouted the road rules.
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Police have confirmed that the number of speeding fines and other traffic infringements almost doubled this October long weekend, compared with the same period in 2015.
The raw numbers might not sound high, at 57 and 62 respectively, but when one speeding driver is enough to pose a serious risk on the road, those are large figures.
Time and time again, ahead of long weekends and holiday periods, police plead with motorists to treat driving as a privilege, not a right, and afford it the necessary respect.
In a year when the Hunter’s road toll is highly likely to go beyond last year’s tally, that message should ring louder than ever.
Rather than improving, the figures say behaviour on the road is getting worse.
Hunter highway patrol supervisor Senior Sergeant Tony Grace said it had been a “pretty bad weekend” on Hunter roads.
“The majority of drivers did the right thing, but we saw a significant increase in [motorists] exceeding the speed limit compared to last year,” he said.
Senior Sergeant Grace said most of the region’s road fatalities so far this year had been caused by “minor mistakes”.
And we know that speeding increases the likelihood of a crash that will cause injury or a death – that’s no secret.
Given this, it beggars belief that motorists would throw speeding or other types of dangerous driving into the mix when they get behind the wheel.
When you consider what’s at stake, it’s not worth it.
For the time you save, or in some cases the cheap thrill you achieve, you risk seriously hurting or killing yourself or someone else and change a family’s life forever.
“While it is pleasing to see fewer injury crashes and no fatalities, the number of speeding drivers putting themselves and other road users at risk is of great concern,” Highway Patrol commander Acting Assistant Commissioner David Driver said in a statement on the weekend.
“Even with double-demerits in place, the increase in speeding detections in light of the increased road toll is a concern for us, so please slow down.”
Police issued statements along these lines each day of the long weekend. But with what we know about the effect of speeding on reaction times and severity of crashes, we shouldn’t need so many reminders.