Getting from A to B risk free

THERE are few things more sobering than seeing blood being hosed off the road. Or white sheets covering an unspeakable but undeniably recognizable entity. Or the sight of someone being consoled by emergency services, near a metal wreck that could not possibly have been a car..could it? It is one thing to see these images on TV shows, advertising, newspapers or the Internet. It is another thing to see them first hand. 

My partner and I were first on the scene to a single vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway, Christmas Eve a few years ago. We were travelling southbound, just before Brisbane, and a car drove up an embankment and flipped over onto its roof a few hundred metres in front of us. 

While my partner was on the phone to 000, desperately  trying to fit his arm in the wrecked window to turn off the engine, fuel was spilling out of the car and the passengers were screaming. I was trying to put my recently acquired first aid training to use by asking questions to keep the passengers calm and conscious. The smell of alcohol was overpowering. The car was so crumpled that, laying on the road, looking through the window, I could not make out where the bodies started and where the ended. Or how many people were in the car. So when a female starting screaming about her “babies” I thought there were children in the car. It took every ounce of self control not to just walk away and cry. 

It felt like time had stopped and the police were never going to arrive. Other cars stopped both to try help, and to gawk. One man was ripping the front of the car and turning the engine off manually somehow while debate started to rage about trying to get the passengers out of the car. Then emergency services started to arrive. Police took our statements and said we could leave. The passengers were still in the car when we drove away – firemen were using the Jaws of Life. Disturbing. Heartbreaking. Sobering. We never heard anything about it on the news so I pray it wasn’t a fatality. But who knows? Only their family.

Easter Sunday, on the Bruce Highway heading from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast traffic was at a standstill. I rang Queensland Government Transport and Traffic Hotline (131940) to find out what was happening. It was a multi-vehicle crash over 1km ahead. Thirty-five minutes later, being diverted off the now closed highway,  I saw the eight crumbled up vehicles sitting across all three lanes, facing every direction, smashed together like a puzzle. The Queensland Police Service reported there were no fatalities but after seeing the mess I don’t know how that is possible. 

What disturbed me the most was not the sight of the wreckage. Or the six ambulances called to the sight. Or the four police cars, or the two fire trucks. It was the cars speeding past me when we were back on the highway. I became paranoid that I was driving well under the speed limit as car after car zipped past me. I wasn’t. Everyone else was speeding, making up for lost time I suppose? It was a 100km zone and cars would have easily been pushing 120km. These weren’t single occupant cars either. Or P platers. These were predominantly cars full of families. I was, and still am gob-smacked. Flabbergasted. Bewildered. Disturbed. Frustrated. 

The problem with drivers today is arrogance and ignorance. Simple. Everyone knows that speed kills, drink driving makes you a bloody idiot, red lights mean stop and seat belts save lives. Yet every day we are surrounded by people who flaunt a blatant disregard for the rules. Why?

The Transport Accident Commission Victoria (TAC) surveyed Victorian drivers in January this year about their perceived socially acceptable driving behaviours. Speeding was deemed the most “socially acceptable” of all illegal driving behaviours. Of those surveyed up to sixty percent believe driving ten percent over the speed limit is acceptable.  Many drivers across the country (and even the world) would no doubt agree. To put this in perspective, consider the following:

To drive from my house to my parent’s house is 81km, and involves driving on roads with speed limits ranging from 50km suburban streets right up to 110km zones on the Bruce Highway. If I drive ten percent over the speed limit the entire journey, I will get to my destination six minutes earlier. SIX MINUTES!!! 

Government departments can introduce as many different rules, regulations, advertising campaigns, fines, incentives or educational initiatives as they want but realistically, the problem comes down to the individual. How do you change the mentality of the driver who is willing to disobey the law, despite knowing all the risks associated? 

Next time you considering ignoring the rules or regulations of driving consider this:

Can you afford the fine?

Can you afford to lose your license?

Can you afford to repair your car?

Can you afford to lose your car?

Can you afford to destroy your life as you know it?

Can you afford to cause grief to all who love you?

Can you afford the guilt of knowing you destroyed someone else’s life?

Are you an arrogant and/or ignorant driver?

Pre-mix spirits drinkers rejoice

Media coverage of the AERF report on Channel 7's The Morning Show

WAR has again been waged, but the question this time is who will really benefit?

Woolworths and Coles are slashing alcohol prices on pre-mix spirits, such as Bundaberg Rum and cola and Jim Beam and cola cans. The major supermarkets have been at war with their prices for bread, milk, eggs, chicken and even laundry detergent, using slogans along the lines of "because everyone needs milk./bread/eggs/etc." Does everyone need alcohol? What next - cigarette prices slashed?

According to media reports, the alcohol price war started a week ago, right around the time a report, commissioned by the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AERF) found that more than four million Australian's drink to get drunk. About half of those surveyed said they get drunk at least once a week. Thanks to the supermarket giants, these people will now have more money to fund their efforts providing their indulgence is pre-mixed spirits.

Why would the supermarkets choose alcohol as their next price war?

AERF chief executive Michael Thorn said that over the past decade Australia's problem with alcohol had got worse.

"There's been an increase in violence, an increase in hospitalisations. There's an ongoing indigenous despair and rising community costs conservatively put at $36 billion a year," he said in Canberra, April 14.

Lowering prices on alcohol cannot possibly help the situation. Thorn said aggressive marketing of alcohol by both producers and retailers tells a sorry tale for Australians. He called for a minimum price on alcohol because there is clear evidence that price influences consumption.

Won’t anyone think of the children? The alcohol war is also likely to raise concerns regarding the fact that pre-mixed “alcopop” drinks are a source of major concern in relation to young and under age binge drinking by health campaigners.

It is easy to point the finger at who is responsible for alcohol issues in society Government? Retailers? Individuals? The real issue is that Woolworths' and Coles' actions cannot possibly help. One thing is for sure, discounting pre-mixes just in time for the Easter/Anzac Day long weekend is sure to boost profits - not that they needed the help considering the extra grocery expenditure that will take place also.

For the record, Woolworths own and operate Woolworths Liquor, BWS, Dan Murphy's and Langton bottle shops. Coles own and operate 1st Choice, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars bottle shops.  

Is discounting pre-mixed spirits a good thing or a bad thing?

Boo hoo shopaholics

THERE are mixed emotions regarding major shopping centres closing over Easter on the Sunshine Coast this year. The four major shopping centres* will be closed Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Anzac Day (Easter Monday).

There are a multitude of brilliant arguments supporting both sides of the debate. What if people want to work (what about those who don't)? Employees are paid double time to work public holidays so why wouldn't they want to work (not all staff get double time for public holidays and what about those who value time with family more than money to work)? Retailers still have bills to pay so let them open if they want to (well let them close if they want to also).

Who can't survive a mere three days without the shops being opened? Shopaholics (the same people who will cause an influx of "panic" style shopping at each shopping centre Easter Saturday). While the shopaholics whinge and moan, many locals and tourists alike just don't understand what all the fuss is about. After all, tourists don't come to the Sunshine Coast for shopping.

Comments on the Sunshine Coast Daily website and the Sunshine Coast Facebook page have highlighted the mixed opinions that abound. Perhaps the most unfounded was the question, "What will tourists do if it rains over the public holidays?" Really?

Are people that short-sighted and narrow-minded that in the rain their only forseeable leisure option is shopping (or movies)? Sunshine Coast Tourism's 50 Must Do's on the Sunshine Coast is a great place to start for the un-imaginative. Shopping up a storm still makes the list, and many of the activities wouldn't be ideal in the rain, but there are definitely things there that are worth a try for something different, rain, hail or shine. The list also highlights that (provided Mother Nature is kind) tourists come to the coast for all the natural beauty on offer (parks, beaches, rainforest).

Another argument is if the major shopping centres were open, the sales would help boost the local economy. True, but shopping at the big four* is not the only way to boost the economy. There are many retailers worth a browse/spend along, for example, King Street Buderim, Currie Street Nambour, and The Esplanade Coolum (just to name a few). And who doesn't enjoy a stroll through the streets and shops at Montville and Maleny? Or more obviously, what about all the amazing restaurants and cafes spread across the coast? Rain is a perfect excuse to sit back and gorge on delectable tasties.

Maybe we should just take a moment to remember what these holidays are for. Whether you are religious or not and whether you buy into the commercialisation of the Easter, holidays are for family. If you can't spend one (or three days) with your family without the distraction of shopping, maybe you need to explore why?

As for Anzac Day, we wouldn't be having this debate about whether to open the stores or not if it weren't for all the men who bravely fought for our freedoms. Shopping shouldn't even be on your agenda on Anzac Day. Your day should be Digger's Breakfast** then Dawn Service  then Gunfire Breakfast*** then few games of Two-Up. It would be un-Australian to do anything else.

*Sunshine Plaza, Noosa Civic, Stockland Caloundra and Kawana Shoppingworld

** Rum and milk

***Rum and black coffee

Do you think shopping centres should open all Easter and Anzac Day?