General News
22 August, 2025
Police driving home road user awareness
The Queensland Police Service is reminding road users of their shared responsibility in helping to reduce the number of lives lost on local roads as part of this year’s Queensland Road Safety Week.
This year has been one of the worst in living memory for the local area, with crashes at Greenmount, Cambooya, Vale View and Wyreema tragically claiming lives.
Additionally, another incident saw a man succumb to his wounds in January after he was struck by a vehicle on New Year’s Eve at Hodgson Vale.
On 6th August, a 56-years-old female from Cambooya was charged with driving under the influence with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.078.
Across the Darling Downs, from 1 January to 18 August there have been 19 lives lost out of 33 in the Southern Region.
From August 18 to 22, a series of high visibility road safety activities is in place across Darling Downs, South West and Ipswich districts, targeting speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt , driving distracted and driving fatigued.
Police say the Fatal Five are major contributors to crashes and are preventable behaviours.
As of 17 August, 187 lives have been tragically lost on Queensland roads so far this year.
A total of 302 people lost their lives on Queensland roads last year, including 64 across the Southern Region.
Police will be using this week’s educational activities towards improving the safety of motorcycle riders, e-scooters, e-bike riders, cyclists and pedestrians.
Southern Region Assistant Commissioner Andrew Vanderbyl said with increased local traffic in the region it is important all drivers actively check for those road users especially when turning or changing lanes.
“They have less protection than those in vehicles and are more likely to be seriously hurt in a crash, so I’m asking everyone to be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, Assistant Commissioner Vanderbyl said.
“All it takes is one moment of distraction, one wrong judgement or one tired blink and a life can be shattered.
“We are urging our communities to be ‘One Team’ and drive or ride with the wellbeing of all road users in mind, so everyone makes it home safely to their families.”
Assistant Commissioner Vanderbyl is encouraging residents to learn more about road safety by attending any one of the free events being hosted across the region this week.
“These events are designed to educate the public on the importance of road safety in an engaging and interactive way,” said Assistant Commissioner Vanerbyl.
“By working with our partner agencies, we can continue our commitment to reducing the number of lives lost and serious injuries on Queensland roads.”
On Monday, Road Safety Week was launched at the Empire Theatre Precinct Lawn in Toowoomba.
Further events were held at Grand Central on Tuesday and Plainland on Wednesday.
Tuesday, August 19: QPS and RACQ ‘Blooms’ events were at Grand Central Shopping Centre, outside Kmart, and the Corner of Dent and Margaret Streets, Toowoomba
Today, Thursday, August 21, the Oakey Community Road Safety barbecue will be held from 2pm to 4pm at Rotary Park, 51 Campbell Street, Oakey.
Tomorrow, Friday, August 22, the Road Safety Week multi-agency display will take place at 10am, in Bunnings carpark, 239 Ruthven Street, North Toowoomba.
Road users can also expect to see an increased police presence on local roads throughout the week targeting the Fatal Five road behaviours.
