April 14, 2015
by Anne Miller
People seem to be very concerned about their health these days.
They get alarmed if their are micro-traces of pesticide on the skins of their fruit, or if their quinoa is not organic.
They are so worried about skin cancer that they won’t go outside without wearing a hat and sunglasses.
They drink bottled water because the perfectly acceptable water out of the tap is seen to be impure.
They go to gyms, have treadmills at home, join walking and running clubs, diet …
So why do so many of us speed when we get on the highway?
A few years ago, a head-on crash occurred on the D’Aguilar Highway not far out of Nanango. I spoke to people who attended that crash – emergency services workers – and they were still shaken days later.
Our police, ambulance crews, fire fighters and SES volunteers see terrible things at accident sites. Sometimes reporters can be unlucky enough to see some of it, too …
Fatal crashes can be particularly gruesome, but injury accidents can also be extremely harrowing as injured people are cut free from wrecks.
The gentleman booked by Brisbane police on Sunday for allegedly doing 248km/h on his motorbike should be ordered to accompany rescue crews for a month as they attend crash scenes.
But I believe some of the people involved in recent single-vehicle accidents in the South Burnett should, too.
The difference between life and death can be a matter of centimetres – or a few kilometres per hour – as your car hits the ditch and rolls – will your neck snap or will you crawl out with just a few scratches? Will that tree rushing towards you take out the driver or the empty passenger seat?
On southburnett.com.au we tag “accident” stories. Since we launched in April 2013, we have published 200 reports about crashes that were deemed serious enough to report.
Admittedly, they are not all road crashes, but this is an alarming number for a small region such as the South Burnett (and there would be others that, despite our best efforts, we have missed).
So it makes me ask .. why worry about eating healthy food, if you don’t mind dying in a crash?
Slow down. Be patient on the road. Do a defensive driving course. Do a motorcycle rider training course.
These could be far more important than popping on some sunscreen or eating your greens!
