TRC backs Queensland Road Safety Week call to drive like ‘one team’

“Queenslanders must work as one team to keep all road users safe”. It’s the clear message that Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) and emergency services want all road users to always keep front of mind.

The message was repeated at today’s (August 26) 2024 Queensland Road Safety Week launch at the LifeFlight Toowoomba Base, where Council was joined by representatives from the Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service, the Queensland Ambulance Service, LifeFlight, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and community road safety education organisations.

Toowoomba Region Mayor Cr Geoff McDonald said Council was determined to focus attention on residents’ individual responsibility to make a positive difference on the roads.

“We must all adopt the attitude that everyone plays a role to keep our roads safe,” Mayor McDonald said.

“Queensland Road Safety Week offers another forum for raising road safety awareness and pledging to work toward saving lives on our roads.

“This week’s campaign sharpens our focus on collective and individual responsibilities for all road users – including pedestrians, cyclists, public transport passengers, motorcyclists and motorists – so we’re very proud to be supporting this initiative with our partners.”

TRC Construction and Maintenance (Infrastructure Services) portfolio spokesperson, Cr Carol Taylor, said the organisations were asking all road users to give their full attention to the road and surrounding conditions on every journey.

“There is no room for complacency. Please remember to avoid taking risks behind the wheel as you not only endanger your own life, but the lives of your passengers, other motorists and road users around you,” Cr Taylor said.

“Council is committed to improving road safety through better engineering of our road projects and advocating for road safety education.

“Council will keep advocating to state and federal governments to reverse the reduction in road funding in real terms for regional and rural roads. Increasing funding for road infrastructure projects is vital to keep pace with higher traffic volumes and our residents’ expectations.

“As we finalise our permanent reconstruction works under our current Flood Recovery Program, I ask motorists to please be patient and observe all roadwork signs to ensure everyone goes home to their loved ones.

“Council also recently completed Black Spot program work in Toowoomba that upgraded traffic signals at the Holberton-Bridge Street and Margaret-West Street intersections, including improved safety for cyclists and pedestrians.”

TRC Transport and Drainage Planning portfolio spokesperson, Cr Trevor Manteufel, said Council was finalising an update to its Road Safety Strategy and thanked residents for recently submitting their feedback. The draft Toowoomba Region Road Safety Strategy 2024-2028, which outlines Council’s commitment to significantly reducing road trauma across the Region by 2028, will be presented to Council for endorsement in late 2024.

“Council is working towards a vision of zero road deaths and serious injuries in our Region,” Cr Manteufel said.

“Today’s messages and the work of the LifeFlight team and all emergency services reinforces the devastating emotional and financial toll that loss of life and serious injuries from road crashes has on our community.”