Mid West-Gascoyne drivers asked to keep this year’s tragic road toll in mind when travelling this Christmas

Police are urging drivers in the Mid West-Gascoyne to slow down and avoid taking risks this festive season that could lead to becoming another statistic in what has been one of the worst years on WA roads in almost a decade.

With Christmas around the corner, traffic on regional roads will soon increase, and Mid West-Gascoyne district traffic co-ordinator Sgt Beau Jones is asking travellers to consider the high number of lives lost on roads this year before they get behind the wheel.

Crashes across WA have claimed 178 so far this year, with 101 of those deaths occurring on regional roads.

It is the worst road toll since 2016.

The Mid West-Gascoyne has seen 12 deaths this year — higher than the five-year average of nine. Last year, eight people lost their lives on roads in the region.

“Twenty-twenty-four has been a particularly tragic year on WA roads, especially in the Mid West-Gascoyne region, with the death toll continuing to rise past last year’s total,” Sgt Jones said.

“Geraldton police are urging local motorists to please take care on the roads this Christmas period. Plan ahead, take regular breaks, and if you plan to drink, arrange a designated driver.”

Local traffic police will be out in force targeting what they call the fatal five — speeding, distractions, drunk driving, fatigue, and restraints — with hopes everyone in the community is able to make their way home safely.

“If you speed, fail to wear a seatbelt, touch your mobile phone whilst driving, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or drive tired this holiday period, expect a knock on the window from us,” Sgt Jones said.

Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said historically, most crashes in the regions occurred on 110km/h roads, and were often single-car crashes when a driver lost control of the vehicle and rolled or collided with a tree.

“The biggest contributor to deaths is speed. Speed plus inattention, or speed plus fatigue, or a combination of both is a fatal cocktail,” he said.

“And if you are not wearing a seatbelt, the risk of death is much, much higher.

“If everyone just made small adjustments to their driving, it would go a long way to reducing our road toll.”

Road Trauma Support WA 1300 004 814

Mid West-Gascoyne 2024 road deaths as at December 17

2024 12

2023 7

2022 10

2021 9

2020 12

2019 8

2018 14

2017 13

2016 10

2015 17

2014 7