A shocking new report has revealed one person dies on Queensland roads every 29 hours.
It comes as the number of fatalities on roads across the State this year surpasses 200, meaning Queensland is on track for its deadliest year since 2009.
Josh Cooney from RACQ said speeding remains the leading causing of death.
“We cannot accept the status quo while this road safety crisis worsens,” Mr Cooney said.
“With four months left of 2025 and the ‘silly season’ still ahead, Queensland is on course for its deadliest year since 2009.
“Right now, one person dies on our roads almost every day, and speeding remains the leading factor in fatal crashes, contributing to an average of 79 deaths every year.”
A recent road safety survey revealed young drivers, especially young men between the ages of 18 and 24, are among the most reckless – with 28% believing it was safe to drive more than 11km/h over the limit.
“Speeding is dangerous because it not only increases the risk of a crash happening, but also the severity of the impact if one does happen,” Mr Cooney said.
He’s now calling for urgent action to curb the alarming surge in tragedies.
“We must urgently implement a number of key reforms to change driver behaviour including more visible police on our roads, more point-to-point cameras, and tougher penalties for repeat offenders such as impounding vehicles,” Mr Cooney said.
“Unless attitudes shift, the number of lives lost each year will only get worse and right now we’re staring down the barrel of above 300 deaths again in 2025.”
Since 2017, self-reported speeding had risen 5.7%, and almost 65.1% of drivers said speeding happened because they were simply not paying attention.
On top of this, almost half of drivers (46.1%) believed they would not get caught.
“The reason why people speed is because they aren’t focussing or believe they won’t get caught, this shows just how far we’ve drifted from a safe driving culture in Queensland,” Mr Cooney said.
“To reverse this trend, awareness isn’t enough – we need action.
“That’s why RACQ launched our ‘Get Serious on Road Safety’ campaign this year and we will continue to advocate for meaningful action until Queensland’s road safety crisis is addressed.”
