Eight people are dead and at least as many more are in hospital after a weekend of horror on roads around the Canberra region and across NSW.
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The carnage, coming midway through the school holidays, is a stark reminder that every time a motorist gets behind the wheel they are taking their life, and the lives of others, into their own hands.
That was the case when a 25-year-old ute driver struck and killed an 83-year-old woman on the Barton Highway at 6.30pm on Friday. The woman, one of three pedestrians killed in separate incidents on Friday, is understood to have just alighted from the car in which she had been travelling.
She died at the scene despite the best efforts of witnesses to keep her alive.
In a separate incident on Sunday a 17-year-old driver was killed in a collision on the Kings Highway near Bungendore.
The driver of the other vehicle was trapped in their car and had to be freed by emergency services before being taken to the Canberra Hospital. Their passenger was also taken to the Canberra Hospital.
While both of these crashes, and the others which claimed at least another six lives over a "short" long weekend of just 71 hours, are still under investigation, it is highly likely they were all avoidable.
The use of the word "accident" to describe a road crash is actually a misnomer. Motorists do not die as a result of acts of God or bolts from the blue. They are, as any police crash investigator will tell you, almost always the result of an error of judgement on the part of at least one of the drivers involved.
That may be something as silly as a driver being distracted by their mobile phone or satellite navigation device, a failure to properly maintain their vehicle making it unsafe, trying to show off to mates or just a penchant for reckless behaviour.
The latter is far more common than most people would like to think; a point underscored by the experience of ACT Police over the weekend when double demerit points were in force.
Saturday began very badly for one 45-year-old man who was stopped after being detected doing 124 km/h on the Majura "speedway" at 8.10 am. His day went from bad to worse when officers noticed that a 14-year-old sleeping on the backseat was not wearing a seatbelt.
The driver has been fined almost $1000 and lost their licence for three months.
While there is no doubt this individual will have learnt a harsh lesson it remains to be seen if this will be sufficient to deter others from doing the same.
Other motorists caught out by the police included a 17-year-old fined $502 for driving through a red light. She also lost her licence for three months.
And, in what was arguably one of the most concerning "gotcha" moments of the weekend, officers caught up with a 30-year-old man whose licence had expired in March 2021 and whose vehicle had run out of registration eight months ago.
While it is often fashionable to complain about the police presence on the roads, and to suggest that revenue takes precedence over road safety, that is not the case.
The police are doing their very best to keep the roads safe for everybody, including those who need to be saved from themselves.
As first responders they know, far better than most, the consequences of motorists getting it wrong. There wouldn't be a police officer, rescue worker, firefighter or paramedic in the country who isn't haunted by sights they will never be able to "unsee".
If you are travelling during these holidays please do the right thing; slow down, stay alert and show consideration to others.
The life that you save might even be your own.
The life you save might even be your own.
