Sergeant Angus Duncombe: Photo:

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Police make a plea after four dead in ten days on our roads

GRIFFITH Police have issued an emotional plea to motorists to smarten up after an horrific two weeks on the region’s roads.
A spate of four road deaths in 10 days has left police frustrated that people are not heeding the road safety messages hammered home by police for decades.
The fatalities of Rik Zoffman, Peter Garbin, Andrew Platt and Shane Sutton bring the road toll in the Griffith Local Area Command (LAC) to nine, one fewer than at the same time last year.
Highway patrol Sergeant Angus Duncombe said fatalities could be avoided if people simply complied with the law and used basic commonsense. 
“We’ve had four in the last 10 days and all of those have had the causal factors of alcohol, speed, fatigue and the non-wearing of seat belts,” Sgt Duncombe said.
“All those factors can be avoided if people adhere to the continual message of compliance in regard to those areas.”
Sgt Duncombe said he hoped the fatalities, which have occurred in the middle of the police’s month-long Operation Raid that has netted 48 drink driving offenders, would be the last for the year. 
“The police at present are doing more than their fair share of what’s required in regard to education and enforcement … and the time has come that people within the Griffith LAC start being responsible for their own actions,” he said.
“We’d like to see all motorists take some form of ownership in regards to their drinking habits and their decision making prior to or after they have gone to a licensed premise as to driving a motor vehicle.”
Griffith City Council road safety officer Bob Campbell said the council would be working with police in undertaking a concerted campaign over the Christmas period to prevent drink driving.
“The police will be out in force during the Christmas period and we make no apologies for that,” Mr Campbell said.
“We’re really trying to hammer home the message about drink driving.”