MOTORISTS got rare praise from Queensland’s police force this morning after a 17.7 per cent drop in the state’s road toll from 271 in 2013 to 223 over 2014.
It was the lowest road toll the state has recorded.
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the 223 deaths in 2014 was down 26 on the previous record low toll recorded in 2010.
He attributed the result to an extra 800 frontline police, a focus on the Fatal Five during the year, tough anti-hooning laws and lower speed limits.
He said road safety awareness campaigns and education programs meant 48 fewer families were affected by road trauma in 2014 but there were still 223 families grieving road deaths.
“We are developing a new Queensland road safety action plan and our key strategies in 2015 will include an expansion of our roadside drug-testing capability, improvements in speed camera technology and continuing our ‘anywhere, anytime’ high-visibility road policing operations.”
SOUTHERN DISTRICT, which includes Redland City
The Southern Brisbane District, which covers Redland, did not follow the downward trend for road fatalities.
In the district, 18 people died in car accidents over the year, compared with 15 in 2013 and 12 the year before.
REDLAND CITY POLICE AREAS: Capalaba, Cleveland, Dunwich, Macleay Island, Redland Bay and Russell Island
A range of crimes across the eight police areas of Capalaba, Cleveland, Dunwich, Macleay Island, Redland Bay and Russell Island fell over the year.
There were no murders or cases of prostitution recorded in 2014 in any of the Redland areas of Cleveland, Capalaba, Dunwich, Macleay Island, Redland Bay or Russell Island.
In Capalaba, arson, assault, sexual offences, and traffic crimes fell but weapons breaches and drugs offences rose.
Drugs continued to be a problem in Capalaba, where cases rose from 817 in 2013 to 913 last year. Drugs offences also rose at Dunwich, Macleay Island and Redland Bay, where there was a 6.9 per cent increase in cases from 186 in 2013 to 199 in 2014.
Cases of arson dropped across seven of the eight Redland police areas with the exception of Russell Island where arson cases doubled from one to two year-on-year.
In Cleveland, crime across the board was down with drops in cases of drugs (472 down to 465); arson (nine down to five); assault (112 down to 72); weapons breaches (40 down to 38) and sexual offences (39 down to 30). However, traffic crime in Cleveland rose from 215 cases to 220.
Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island also recorded drops in arson (two down to one); sexual offences and traffic crime.
In Redland Bay, cases of arson dropped from seven to three, and sexual assaults dropped from 17 to 12.
But drugs offences rose from 186 to 199 in the southern suburb, which also experienced a rise in population over the 2014 year.
Assaults in Redland Bay were up from 26 to 31; weapons breaches up from seven to 12 and traffic offences up 5.9 per cent from 119 to 126.
