LIMESTONE Coast Police will take a no tolerance approach towards inappropriate driving behaviour this Christmas period in an aim to prevent more lives bring lost on the region’s roads.
It follows the South Australian Police changing the term road toll to lives lost in attempt to bring home the reality of the horror year experienced on the state’s roads, which has seen 106 people killed so far in 2019.
Limestone Coast Police officer in charge Superintendent Phil Hoff supported the change in language and urged the community not to add to the number this festive season.
“To me a toll is something that you pay, so let’s change the narrative because we are actually paying with lives lost and let’s not pay anymore,” Supt Hoff said.
“What people need to remember is that you can be doing everything right on the road, but there are still people not doing everything right and they pose a threat to you.
“Not only do you have to do the right thing yourself, you need to be aware of how everyone else is driving.”
With traffic volumes expected to increase in the Limestone Coast today, Supt Hoff said drivers must be more alert and take extra care as they travel through the region.
“At this time of the year we have an enormous amount of traffic coming down to our wonderful region,” he said.
“Be patient and allow enough time to reach your destination and remember that going 10kph faster does not actually save much time on your journey.”
With a continued focus on the fatal five, the region’s leading officer said the highway patrol would be highly visible right throughout the Limestone Coast over the next few days.
“No one can feel disgruntled if they receive a fine over the next few days for doing the wrong thing, because quite frankly everyone has been educated,” Supt Hoff said.
“No one should expect a warning because if you are doing the wrong thing, we are not only here to keep you safe, we are here to keep the rest of the community safe who are doing the right thing.”
While Christmas will be a joyful time for most people, Supt Hoff said it is important to remember there had been 106 families destroyed by road trauma in South Australia this year.
“Each of us knows someone – even if it’s through three or four steps of separation – who has been impacted by a fatal accident and those people will not recover, they are never going to get over it,” he said.
“The last thing I, or any of my staff want to do, is walk down someone’s driveway and tell them a family member will not be coming home.”
