Preventable death and serious injury on our roads, tragically, often occurs this time of year.
Speeding, driving distracted, driving fatigued, or driving drug or alcohol affected contribute to this seasonal spike in carnage on our roads.
While others celebrate the festive season uninterrupted, ambulance, nursing, medical staff and surgeons often labour treating those seriously injured in road crashes.
"The best gift for many of us this festive season, would be that of no deaths and no serious injury on our roads.
In NSW, the government lists 20 local government areas that have been fatality free in 2017. On closer inspection of this data, these fatality free intervals have been longer than one year. Similarly, a Dekra 'Vision Zero' study, an international road safety initiative, surveyed 994 cities of over 50,000 inhabitants from 2009 to 2016. The study found 94 towns (almost 10 per cent) had achieved six years or more fatality free from road crashes across Europe, USA and Japan," said Dr John Crozier, Chair Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Trauma Committee.
In late 2018, the Federal Government's Transport Research Bureau (BITRE) published an interactive dashboard 'Vision Zero' with zero road crash fatalities in various sized local government areas across Australia.
"Implementing recommendations of the Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy will also help achieve 'Vision Zero'. The gift of safe arrival is not an accident. Drive avoiding hazard this festive season," he said.
The Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020, announced in October 2018, made a funding commitment of $3 billion a year towards road safety, implementation of vehicle safety technologies and innovations as well as investment in road safety focused infrastructure.