If Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is fair dinkum about saving lives on our roads, she should forget about shock TV ads. Quite frankly, I think we've all had enough of the Enough is Enough TV ads.
What's needed is a real police presence on our roads -- and not just over holiday periods like the Easter long weekend.
Seven people died on Queensland roads this Easter -- Australia's worst road toll for the long weekend.
Driving back from Toowoomba on the weekend, I can't say I'm really surprised.
We took the picturesque country route via Esk and Kilcoy -- thinking it would be a nice change of pace from the bumper to bumper highway traffic.
It was a pleasant enough drive for most of the way -- apart from one idiot -- a Coolum tradesman if his utility was anything to go by - who continued to tailgate me until he risked all to overtake on a narrow road with very little visibility.
I was only doing 100km/h -- the speed limit -- obviously too slow for him.
Each weekend, Queensland drivers are forced to deal with the mindless minority -- drivers who seem to think they are indestructible -- until they kill or seriously injure someone else.
During the three hour trip back from Toowoomba, I saw only one speed enforcement operation -- and that was coming down the Toowoomba range where police seemed more intent on getting their ticket quota for the day than really saving lives.
Anna Bligh says she is at her 'wits end' with motorists' behavior.
She's not the only one.
Yet her government has done very little other than talk about combating the road toll. We've had reviews, inquiries, taskforces but little firm action.
Given the number of families that have been torn apart by the road toll, it really is a disgrace.
Each holiday season, there is talk of doubling penalties -- and that's all it remains -- talk.
Sure the government has introduced radar devices on the highway -- but what's the real point of them, given they don't actually change drivers' behavior at the time.
A driver can go through a speed camera at 120km/h or 130km/h and continue to drive -- and then find out about it with a notice in the mail a month later.
In the first three days of Easter, police booked 14,500 for speeding and almost 500 for drink-driving.
Why? Because there were actually a lot more police on the roads.
I bet, as operations have shown here on the Coast, if there were more police actually doing highway duty we would see more speedsters and drunks pulled up all the time.
But then what do we do with them?
Too often our magistrates send them off with a fine, a short period of disqualification and a warning.
And too often, banned drivers not only don't learn from their behavior but even have the cheek to get back in their car straight after court, ignoring the fact that they have been disqualified from driving.
Anna Bligh has promised to talk with the Queensland Police Service and the Minister for Transport John Mickel about what else the government can do.
I would suggest they seriously look at the penalties for speeding and drink-driving -- and ensuring they are locked in legislation -- and not just an option for courts to consider.
The government would also do well to fast-track the statewide roll-out of driver workshops pioneered here on the Coast.
The workshops have been particularly successful because drivers get to hear firsthand from real people about the consequences of aggressive behavior and poor choices on the road.
Young drivers have come away visibly moved after hearing from a policewoman who lost her son in a road tragedy or paramedics who have treated those dying on our highways.
They should be compulsory for anyone caught speeding excessively or drink-driving.
As for the ad campaigns, I wonder if they have become just a waste of money.
I think we've all been shocked into complacency. Enough is Enough has become a great time during our TV viewing to flick the channel.
As a Premier who has already made a name for herself in quick action -- and getting things done, I really hope Anna Bligh's pledge to have a look at Queensland's road toll is more than just a throw away line for the TV news.
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"Just Let it Go" - Road Rageby tbonez20066,011 views
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