Police

For decades, the Christmas period has been marred by horrific road deaths, but this once-notorious road toll has been dropping sharply to the point where the fatality rate at Christmas is now well below the average for the year.On average, 3.2 people die on Australia's roads every day, although many more are seriously injured. Had this rate prevailed over the past 11 days, 35 people would have been killed on our roads, but instead the toll so far is a much lower 25 or 2.3 per day.These results are at odds with some of alarmist claims reported in the media. A Fairfax columnist wrote yesterday that "it has been an appalling holiday season on Australia's roads".Massive police resources have certainly had an impact, as has the threat of double demerit points, according to Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, who commands NSW Police's Traffic and Highway Patrol."Good drivers drive better over this period. They are extra-cautious. The double demerit points highlight the road safety message," he said.NSW yesterday reported its lowest road toll since 1923 with just 309 deaths for 2014, but drug and mobile phone use are two emerging threats to road safety.Analysis by the NSW Centre for Road Safety found that illicit drug use was a factor in about one in 10 fatalities, almost as many as drink driving. The focus on lower fatality numbers, however, tends to obscure the full extent of road trauma.Better medical treatment has meant that fewer people die in accidents, but many more are left with serious injuries.Assistant Commissioner Hartley said about 5000 people were seriously injured in road accidents last year in NSW.Figures for 2008-09, the latest available national data, reveal that bout 9000 people were hospitalised in Australia with what is termed "high threat to life" injuries.While the road toll has fallen about 30 per cent since the early 2000s, the number of seriously injured people has increased by the same margin.The ACT, which has the lowest incidence of road deaths, did not record any deaths over the Christmas period, and only 10 for all of 2014. But about 700 people are injured on ACT roads each year.Sergeant Tracey Duck said driver awareness and joint programs between police and government had contributed to the lower-than-average road toll."It's also up to individual drivers to make a personal commitment to drive safely so that we can reduce road trauma in the ACT," Sergeant Duck said.Rebecca Ivers of the George Institute for Global Health said there needed to be "much more thought put into managing new technologies in cars and keeping abreast of technological developments".

Melbourne inner-city streets are set to get a lower 40km/h speed limit in a bid to boost safety and encourage more people to walk and cycle.

It might look like a video game but this car chase actually happened in real life in Denver Colorado.While the driver clearly excelled at stealing cars, driving like a maniac on the wrong side of the highway and dodging police and spike strips, he could do with a bit more practice at jumping fences.Watch the real life GTA video on our desktop site. 

The young Saudi Arabian illegal street drifter known on the internet as 'The King of Nazeem Neighborhood' was this week given a 10-year prison sentence and an extra penalty of 1000 lashes for reckless driving.A report in the Saudi Gazette said the 23-year-old, whose name was withheld, will also be banned from driving for life. However it seems he at least kept his life, for now, with the three judges voting two to one against giving him the death penalty.The Prosecutor-General has objected to the decision on the death penalty and has indicated there will be a review of the case. There is precedent for the death penalty, with a driver in 2012 executed by beheading after his stunts resulted in the death of two people.The King was prosecuted over drifting stunts that resulted in the death of a man who was riding as a passenger in his car -- which is emblazoned with the 'King's' crown logo on the bonnet.His videos show him speeding into and drifting through traffic, and firing machine guns into the air, the report says, adding that many residents in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, had complained about his driving.Undercover police officers arrested him in 2012 in a house on the Riyadh outskirts, where they also found numerous sets of license plates and false identification.Watch the desktop version of the car drifter gets 10 years video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

Paul Walker, the 40-year-old star of  the Fast and Furious films was killed when the driver of a Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in lost control and hit a telegraph pole in Valencia, California.  Watch the desktop version of the Paul Walker crash video here. Also watch: Fast and Furious 6 final trailer Also watch: Fast and Furious 6 extended trailer Also watch: Fast and Furious 6 trailer

Senior cops are taking Victoria Police to Fair Work Australia claiming they're entitled to fancier cars than more junior members.The high-ranking police, with the backing of the Police Association, also object to being given LPG and hybrid cars, which are for their private use, as a cost-cutting measure. Instead, they are demanding they be given less fuel-efficient petrol driven Commodores or Falcons. Last month the Police Association wrote to Chief Commissioner Ken Lay saying that during negotiation of a 2011 enterprise bargaining agreement "verbal undertakings" had been given "that there would be a distinction between the range of cars available to commanders to those available to superintendents and that commanders would be entitled to the use of a higher-quality vehicle".The Police Association had since been informed that all new replacement vehicles for private use must be either a Toyota Hybrid sedan or a Holden 6 cylinder LPG vehicle, the letter stated. The move to LPG and hybrid vehicles would save Victoria Police tens of thousands of dollars a year through lower fuel bills.But the Herald Sun understands the top cops are not happy with the amount of space in the boot of the LPG models after the installation of the gas tank and special communications equipment which police need fitted.Last week the PA lodged a dispute in Fair Work Australia complaining that "Victoria Police have advised Commanders and Superintendents that . . . the range of vehicles will be severely restricted and that the range of vehicles that can be accessed by Commander and Superintendent will be the same".Police Association secretary Greg Davies said the dispute was about Victoria Police keeping its word. "The force entered into an agreement to provide specific types of cars and not even half-way through that agreement, they're changing the make of vehicle," he said."If they want to make savings that's all well and good but don't go changing horses in mid-stream." Victoria Police spokeswoman Leonie Johnson said: "Victoria Police has received a dispute notification lodged with Fair Work Australia. "We will not be providing comment at this time."

A London-style congestion tax to cut car numbers in major city centres has been flagged in a new report.Governments should adopt a "user pays, user says'' model where the community makes a direct contribution to projects and, in turn, gets a say on the level of service provided, Infrastructure Australia says.Government subsidies went only so far, it said, and a debate was needed about how to fund a growing number of critical projects such as roads and rail lines."A move to congestion charging will be needed if we are to reduce the growing economic burden of congestion and make best use of existing network infrastructure,'' the report said.Infrastructure Australia chairman Sir Rod Eddington said there was a deep disconnect between the infrastructure people wanted and the infrastructure people were prepared to pay for."The national infrastructure plan outlines the major reforms that are needed to lay the foundations for a more productive Australia over the next 50 years,'' Sir Rod said.IA spokesman Michael Deegan said Australia's road systems were broken."We think there is a need for a broader debate, including who pays,'' he said.The report said charging taxpayers to fund projects had several benefits, including managing demand and better use of existing infrastructure, improving the road network's productivity and reducing the need for expensive new investment.The congestion tax in London, set up over a decade ago, had reduced the number of cars and trucks entering the heart of the city by about 20 per cent and dramatically increased travel speeds. The money raised had been put back into the capital's public transport.The East West Link's status on the infrastructure priority list, also included in the report, remained unchanged as a project of "real potential'', the second-lowest of the four rankings.Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has pledged $1.5 billion towards the link -- which is the State Government's top transport project -- if elected.Jeff Singleton, a spokesman for Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese, said Infrastructure Australia recommended immediate funding for projects in the top two categories, "ready to proceed'' and "threshold''."When it comes to East West, we recognise that this project has potential merit, but we want to be able to fund a project where the numbers stack up and which is deliverable.""At this stage...they didn't have the business case,'' he said.

A man has been charged after Gold Coast police allegedly caught a seven-year-old boy driving a car at Surfers Paradise early this morning.It is alleged the 41-year-old man from New South Wales was drunk and riding in the passenger seat when police pulled over the car, being driven by the seven-year-old, on The Esplanade around 3am.He has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and adult in charge under the influence of liquor. The man will front Southport Magistrates Court on July 3. 

A Major review could see Queensland's top 110km/h speed limit lifted on some routes. Transport Minister Scott Emerson says he'll consider raising limits where there's a demonstrated need to do so, and if it's safe.“There is research out there which shows if you don't have the appropriate speed limit for the quality of the road, there is a tendency for people to break the law,” Mr Emerson told The Courier-Mail.“But it's not a case of ‘Look, everybody's speeding on this road so we should raise the limit,’ because the road may not be suitable for that speed.”Just as many speed limits were likely to drop, he said. Queenslanders will be invited to have their say on what speed limits should be.Currently, the Northern Territory is the only state or territory where motorists can legally drive faster than 110km/h on public roads. 

Jerimiah Clyde Hartline, 19, allegedly stole a big-rig full of strawberries and then crashed on a California highway, blocking traffic for hours, The Press-Enterprise reports. "He said zombies were chasing him and he had to get out of there,” said California Highway Patrol spokesman Nathan Baer.Mr Hartline allegedly took off with the truck and speed north, striking a car which then ploughed into two more vehicles. He continued driving, hitting two more cars and then losing control and flipping the truck.The accident blocked the entire highway and sent its cargo of strawberries all over the road. It took hours to clear, police said.Read more here: www.news.com.au