The death of a woman in Logan this week has prompted a national lobby group for pedestrians to call for reduced speed limits in built-up areas.
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A 67-year-old woman was killed and a man, 67, injured after they were hit by an SUV on Thursday.
The woman was the second person killed on south-east Queensland roads in as many weeks, after Caroline Davis was killed while crossing the road in Brisbane’s inner-west on her 33rd birthday.
A man was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after he was hit by traffic in Brisbane's north the following day.
The deaths brought Queensland’s pedestrian fatalities to 16 this year, an increase from 2017, when the road toll was 14 for the same period.
The Pedestrian Council of Australia called for speed limits to be reduced to 30 km/h in built-up areas across the state.
Roads that carry traffic through suburbs and across towns have a speed limit of 60km/h or higher, while built-up areas in Queensland have a speed limit of 50km/h.
Chairman Harold Scruby said the call wasn’t about taking away the responsibility of pedestrians, but about bringing Queensland speed limits in line with other countries.
“Most of Europe now ... they are all 30 km/h in areas of high pedestrian activity and it works,” he told ABC Radio Brisbane.
“We have right around Australia this phenomenon where the pedestrian death toll is going back up through the roof.
“In Brisbane, 92 per cent of the road users will be pedestrians, 6 per cent vehicles and 2 per cent cyclists. Why is the whole CBD controlled by vehicles?”
Mr Scruby said the reduced speeds could limit the level of harm caused in pedestrian and vehicle collisions.
“The average speed through most cities is about 17 kilometres in normal business hours,” he said.
“It is usually around 6pm or dusk when you get old people or people using mobile phones not seeing motor vehicles and they are coming through at high speeds.
“A pedestrian hit at 50 (km/h) is twice as likely to be killed as someone at 40 (km/h), well it doubles down again when you get to 30.”
RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said while Thursday's tragedy was a reminder to all road users to take extra care, a "blanket" speed limit reduction was not the answer.
“Any death on our roads is devastating and we all need to play our part to ensure every road user gets home safely,” Mr Turner said.
“However, we don’t think a blanket speed limit reduction in built-up areas is appropriate and would prefer 30km/h speed limits in high-activity areas to be considered on a case-by-case basis.”
