Two separate road accidents in Queensland have brought into tragic focus the sorts of dangers grey nomads face as they travel Australia.
In the first incident on the Warrego Highway northwest of Toowoomba, a five-year-old girl was critically injured when a kangaroo smashed through the windscreen of the car she was a passenger in.
The Courier-Mail newspaper reports that another child and two adults received minor injuries when the animal apparently bounded into the path of the vehicle early this morning at Kingsthorpe.
Wandering wildlife which can include anything from kangaroos to camels is one of the biggest hazards that travellers need to be cautious of on the roads, particularly at dawn, dusk or at night.
In the second incident, the peril of changing a tyre at the side of the road was horrifically illustrated as tragedy unfolded on the Bruce Highway early this morning.
The Courier-Mail reports that a 73-year-old woman was killed as she watched her husband change a flat tyre just south of the Noosa-Cooroy turn-off.
Initial reports suggest that the couple pulled off the road in their Holden Commodore wagon when a tyre on a boat trailer they were towing got a flat. The man, 73, was reportedly changing the tyre, and his wife also was outside the vehicle when disaster struck.
It is believed a 20-year-old male heading to work in a Toyota Camry may have drifted left and collided with the couple and their vehicle. Police said fatigue could be a factor. The woman died at the scene while her husband was taken to Nambour Hospital with chest injuries.
Queensland’s road toll now stands at 230 – four more than the same time last year. Acting Inspector of Operations for the Road Policing Taskforce, Shane Panoho, told the Courier-Mail that motorists needed to be more alert and wary, particularly at night and early and late in the day when light could be an issue.
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Police said motorists need to be more alert and wary. How often have we heard that before?
so four more deaths on Qld roads than last year those revenue raising speed cameras sure are working