08-07-2025
Paramedic frustrated as experts put focus on driver behaviour amid 10-year high in road deaths
The number of people who have lost their lives on Western Australia's roads has reached a grim height not seen in at least a decade — and authorities appear perplexed on what more they can proactively do to prevent more tragedy.
After a tragic 24 hours on the roads last week, the state has recorded 108 deaths so far in 2025 — the highest year-to-date level since at least 2015.
And in the past 24 hours, another two people have died, including a 35-year-old e-scooter rider who was hit by a truck in Bibra Lake on Tuesday morning.
Around the same time, a 73-year-old died in a crash between his sedan and a ute near Bridgetown.
What to do about the soaring road toll is something many now agree isn't just an issue for the politicians — but for drivers themselves.
"We need to be conscious about the choices we make when we get behind the wheel," WA Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said on Saturday.
If it's not a lack of targeted policy aimed at preventing road deaths, then the crux of the issue is something much harder — fundamentally changing driver behaviour.
It's something experts think can be done, albeit with a completely different way of thinking.
University of Western Australia Centre for Road Safety Research Director Professor Teresa Senserrick said speed was the largest contributor to road crashes.
"We commonly like to blame the roads or other factors … WA seems to be very accepting of fatigue as being risky, of alcohol and drugs in your system being risky — but not so much speed," she said.
"Driving several kilometres over the speed limit, is like driving over 0.05 and it's like driving after you've been awake for about 19 hours."
Ms Senserrick said while investment in safety cameras and regional roads would help prevent crashes, it comes down to the individual.
She suggested more emphasis should be placed on strategies to better manage speed.
"A very real factor in people speeding is that they feel pressure when the rest of the traffic seems to be going faster," Ms Senserrick said.
"They feel that they will be a hazard if they stick to the speed limit because people will get aggressive around them and this is where it becomes the shared responsibility as individuals."
The spate of road deaths has prompted emergency frontline responders to speak up as the rising number of fatal and serious crashes continues to take a lasting toll on them.
St John WA special operations manager Deane Coxall said attending those scenes were a "really harrowing experience."
"I think if road users experienced what we experienced, I think if they saw what we see in our daily business, I think they would understand the real impacts that these crashes have and what we carry with us."
Mr Coxall said every fatal crash caused a ripple effect and it was extremely frustrating to see drivers continue to make poor decisions.
"We see people that are distracted either by the radio or the mobile phone, we see people not wearing seatbelts.
He's pleading for road users to change their behaviour to avoid further tragedies.
"Slow down, particularly in inclement weather, you need to give yourself a little bit more space, a little more distance," he said.
"Don't be distracted and if you're fatigued, stop, take a break [because] we need to stop these road accidents happening in the first place."
