More police called to local roads

More traffic police resources will be deployed to regional areas including the Great Southern to avoid a horror repeat of last year’s Labour Day long weekend where 11 people were killed.

Six crashes resulted in 11 deaths on WA roads including eight on country roads in one of the worst holiday weekends in memory.

Double demerit points remain in place until midnight on Monday with police urging vigilance on the roads.

Currently 10 people have died on regional roads compared to 23 this time last year while the Great Southern is yet to record a fatality this year after a horror 2016.

State Traffic Commander Scott Higgins urged caution and said drivers should expect to see officers patrolling the roads.

“We are going to be putting extra resources out into the regional areas starting from metro targeting those road user behaviours that we see continually causing serious crashes, so speeding, drink and drug driving, not wearing seatbelts, using mobile phones whilst driving, driving recklessly, unlicensed drivers all these factors are things that not just cause crashes but make crashes more serious,” Cdr Higgins said.

“So we are going to be targeting those with extra resources. You are going to be seeing a lot more patrol cars a lot more motorbikes, there will be more speed cameras going out there including out into the regional WA areas so there is going to be a lot more police enforcement.”

Road Safety Commissioner Kim Papalia appealed to drivers to take responsibility behind the wheel.

“We cannot have a recurrence of the appalling loss of life suffered on WA roads in 2016,” he said.

“We know there is an increase in the number vehicles on WA roads on long weekends, so drivers need to exercise caution and patience, and ensure everyone makes it to their destination safely.”

“Drivers need to be aware of road conditions, plan their trip using the latest road and weather information and use common sense when driving, particularly in regional areas this weekend,” he said.

Cdr Higgins said police could only do so much.

“We enforce the law with the resources we have but road deaths are caused by people making poor decisions,” he said.