WE all know that road safety is our responsibility on every trip we take behind the wheel. Every trip.
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We all know that a licence to drive is a privilege, not a right, and that we have a duty to drive in a way that protects ourselves, our passengers and every road user. Every road user.
And we all know that we have to make good driving decisions every day. Every day.
So it almost beggars belief that the idea of a Fatality Free Friday could have any real impact on lowering the state's appalling road toll.
It does not make sense that simply picking one day on the calendar and calling it "Fatality Free" could make it happen. And maybe it can't.
But if calling one day of the year Fatality Free Friday gives us another reason to focus on everything that comes with the incredible responsibility of driving a car, then that can only be a good thing.
The fact is, too many people are dying on the state's roads and the rate is even worse in the regions.
There have already been 34 deaths on Western Region roads since the start of 2019 and the year is not yet five months old.
That's 34 people who have not made it home to their loved ones and 34 groups of families and friends left mourning their loss and having their own lives forever changed as well.
And that's not to mention the impact that road trauma inevitably has on the emergency services personnel called to the scenes of these terribly tragedies.
They are the police and paramedics who see things few of us can imagine, and they cannot be unseen.
And that's why we must listen when senior police from across the Western Region speak about the local road toll and the reasons for it.
We must pay attention to the toll statistics and we must pay attention to the advice from police about how we can bring it down.
Overwhelmingly, police point to a single factor to blame for most of this region's road trauma and it's not speed or alcohol.
In fact, the number one killer on our roads is so simple, it's shocking: It's fatigue.
The bad news is we've all been guilty of driving tired; the good news we can so easily fix it by ensuring a good night's rest before big trips and taking regular breaks.
And we must fix it. It's a matter of life and death.