Police stress road safety message

Lower South West police are calling for care on the roads in the lead up to the festive season.

The call out comes weeks after a serious crash on South Western Highway near Yornup, when a 25-year-old female driver from Perth was rushed to hospital after her car rolled over.

Bridgetown police officer-in-charge Sergeant Phil Nation urged people to take care on the roads.

“Fatigue, attention, distraction and speed are all things people have to be on the look out for,” he said.

“Courtesy is a huge thing on the roads that affects road safety.”

Sgt Nation said it could not be too overstated how much work the volunteer emergency services did for the community.

“The amount of work our vollies do and what they see, we can never thank them enough,” he said.

“For people taking trips, please understand the importance of planning your trip — take your time and arrive at your destination safely.

“City people heading this way, please be aware of animals on the road and the varying road conditions.”

Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner urged people to take care on the roads.

“The most common crash type on our regional roads is the single vehicle run off road crash,” he said.

“Last year, single vehicle rollovers and collisions with objects such as walls and trees claimed 16 lives in the South West.

“This year State and Federal governments have committed $100 million to fast-track work on the Regional Run Off Road Program, which installs critical road safety infrastructure to reduce the number of run off road crashes in regional WA.”

Road Safety Commission statistics reveal there have been 20 fatalities on South West roads up to August 28.

This is a slight drop on the 2019 year-to-date statistics, in which there were 21 fatalities up to August 28.

“I remind all road users to be courteous in sharing the road, particularly on our regional roads, which are set to get a lot busier as we head into leavers and the summer holiday season,” Mr Warner said.

“Rain, fog, bushfire smoke, unsealed roads and wildlife are some the risks posed to drivers on regional roads.

“Ensure you are slowing down and taking extra care — drive to the conditions and the road.”