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Speaker 1: Well twenty two lives have been lost on Territory roads

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Speaker 1: already this year. This time last year, the number of

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Speaker 1: lives lost on Territory roads was four and the total

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Speaker 1: number of lives lost during twenty twenty three was thirty one.

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Speaker 1: Any life lost, as we know, is absolutely devastating, but

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Speaker 1: the rate at which people are currently losing their lives

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Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory on our roads is shocking stuff.

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Speaker 1: And the Northern Territory Police are certainly cracking down on

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Speaker 1: some of the risky behavior which we are experiencing. Now

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Speaker 1: joining us on the line today is Superintendent Daniel Shan.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, Daniel.

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Speaker 2: Good mine, Kenny, how are you?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, really good? Thank you so much for your time.

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Speaker 1: Now tell us we've seen an increase in the road

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Speaker 1: toll this year. Have we seen an increase in some

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Speaker 1: of the risky behavior that you're seeing on the roads?

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Speaker 2: Yes, most certainly. And I guess the issue is is

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Speaker 2: that Bromley, since COVID nineteen, we've experienced a lot of

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Speaker 2: risky well, selfishness on our roads has to be somewhere yesterday,

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Speaker 2: and that selfishness leads to the risky behaviors and terms

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Speaker 2: of an increase in drink and drug driving, speeding, not

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Speaker 2: wearing seat belts and those sorts of things that cause

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Speaker 2: all factors of the fatal five.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, right, And so over the weekend, the Northern Territory Police,

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Speaker 1: by the look of it, conducted a two day road

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Speaker 1: safety operation Friday afternoon as I understand to Sunday morning,

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Speaker 1: how many officers, how many officers were involved and how

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Speaker 1: did it go?

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Speaker 2: So we had nineteen police officers involved in the road

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Speaker 2: safety operation that occurred on the Friday evening and Saturday evening.

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Speaker 2: The operating times from the operation was from four pm

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Speaker 2: to two am on both of those days collectively. Over

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Speaker 2: those days, there were two ninety eight drivers that tested

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Speaker 2: negative on the bread test. At thirty four drivers tested positive.

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Speaker 2: Most of those were low range and medium range, with

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Speaker 2: a couple of the higher range that's over the point

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Speaker 2: one five. There were one hundred and thirty five drivers

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Speaker 2: that tested negative for drugs in their body and ten

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Speaker 2: drivers tested positive for drugs, mostly methamphotamine and cannabis, and

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Speaker 2: we had one cocaine as well.

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Speaker 1: Wow. I mean, like when you look at those numbers,

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Speaker 1: there's massive numbers that are doing the right thing. But

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Speaker 1: you've still got sort of thirty four people testing positive

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Speaker 1: to lower medium range drink driving, a couple of higher

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Speaker 1: range and then when you look at the drugs, I

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Speaker 1: mean still ten people testing positive.

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Speaker 3: Some of them are mess.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's correct. So in addition to that, there was

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Speaker 2: thirty four drivers were issued infringement notices for a very

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Speaker 2: variety of offenses including using handheld mobile phone, speeding and

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Speaker 2: obviously they low range drink driving and drugs, and a

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Speaker 2: number of drivers thirteen adults were issued noticed to appear

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Speaker 2: for court at court for various offenses as well.

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Speaker 1: Right, so there is quite a few people you know

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Speaker 1: still doing the wrong thing, like you said, engaged in

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Speaker 1: risky behavior.

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Speaker 2: Correct, And look, I've got to agnize. Since COVID nineteen,

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Speaker 2: our raid policing resources have been diverted to do with

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Speaker 2: other competing priorities. Having our road users can expect to

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Speaker 2: see an increase in traffic police presence across and all

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Speaker 2: of the territory by the Territory Raid Policing Division. He

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Speaker 2: could be anywhere at any time. Police. I make no

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Speaker 2: apology to conducting road safety activities and producing the lives

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Speaker 2: lost on our roads and those activities will continue to

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Speaker 2: include random breath testing like we saw over the last

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Speaker 2: the Friday and Saturday speed detection instry cameras and police

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Speaker 2: and the concentration on those other causal factors like using

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Speaker 2: mobile phones.

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Speaker 3: In the how big an issue is that using phones?

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Speaker 2: We still feel? In fact, quite surprisingly, while we were

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Speaker 2: doing our RvTs, we had people driving into the random

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Speaker 2: breath testing sites using their mobile handheld phone whilst driving

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Speaker 2: in and talking to the police officer.

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Speaker 3: Are you serious?

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Speaker 2: So those people received infringement notices for driving using a

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Speaker 2: handheld mobile phone. But that just points out, Wow, the

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Speaker 2: risky behaviors people are taking on our roads every day.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. The thing that worries me about it, like there's

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Speaker 1: a lot that worries me about it, but it's like

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Speaker 1: you're putting other people's lives at risk as well, not

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Speaker 1: just your own.

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Speaker 3: And that's the frightening part I think.

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Speaker 2: Well, you think about that those drivers drove into a

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Speaker 2: random breath testing site, one hand holding a mobile phone

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Speaker 2: to that ear, the other hand using the steering wheel

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Speaker 2: and trying to talk to the police officer who's subjecting

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Speaker 2: the random breath test.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty extraordinary.

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Speaker 1: I mean, do you think, look to me as well,

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Speaker 1: that's so brazen. Do they not realize that they're not

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Speaker 1: allowed to use their phones?

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Speaker 2: It's just stupidity, Yeah, stupidity, And this is what causes

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Speaker 2: the crashes on our roads because you can't seriously concentrate

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Speaker 2: on all of those things at once.

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Speaker 3: Yeah on, Daniel, tell me I know that.

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Speaker 1: We also like, there seems to be a lot of

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Speaker 1: pedestrian strikes in the Northern Territory at the moment, some

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Speaker 1: of those really sadly resulting in deaths. How do we

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Speaker 1: prevent that when in some cases it does seem to

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Speaker 1: be like, in some cases it seems to be pedestrians

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Speaker 1: who are putting themselves in really dangerous situations.

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Speaker 2: Yes, Unfortunately, a lot of those pedestrians that have died

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Speaker 2: on our roads have been influenced under the influence of

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Speaker 2: alcohol at the time, which then increases their risky behavior

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Speaker 2: in terms of having no regard to their own safety

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Speaker 2: or the safety of other people. Yep, it is a

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Speaker 2: tricky one to deal with, especially when these pedestrians are

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Speaker 2: that inebriated that they have no regard for their own safety.

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Speaker 2: All we ask is for matter is to be cognizant

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Speaker 2: of the fact that when they're driving around particular areas

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Speaker 2: that there could be an increase of those pedestrians on

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Speaker 2: the road lane to use care and caution when doing so.

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Speaker 1: A quick listener question somebody sc called through to ask

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Speaker 1: if the police are planning to crack down on unregistered

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Speaker 1: drivers as well. This person is saying that their servo

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Speaker 1: where they work, they get two to three drive offs

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Speaker 1: a day and there's very little that they can do

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Speaker 1: about it.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's two aspects to that. One is the drive

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Speaker 2: off of the service station. The other one's driving unregistered

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Speaker 2: motor vehicle. And yes, we do so. Most of our

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Speaker 2: traffic police cars across the territory are kitted with automatic

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Speaker 2: number plate registration cameras and most the police officers are

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Speaker 2: conducting their duties. Those cameras are giving indication as to

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Speaker 2: vehicles that are unregistered and wherever possible, the police officers

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Speaker 2: will stop that vehicle and deal with the driver for

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Speaker 2: using a unregistered dick on the road.

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Speaker 1: So, Daniel, by the sounds of it, it sounds as

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Speaker 1: though our Northern Territory, well our traffic police, our police

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Speaker 1: are going to be out and about on the roads

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Speaker 1: in force.

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Speaker 3: So make sure you're doing the right thing.

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Speaker 2: Correct, and that's the thing. The key takeaway is is

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Speaker 2: that we could be anywhere at any time. The risk

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Speaker 2: of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol has

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Speaker 2: to be reduced. Drivers have to I guess, if you're

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Speaker 2: going to consume our cohol or drugs and drive, you

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Speaker 2: want to ask yourself, who am I going to kill tonight?

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Speaker 2: Who am I going to kill when I'm driving under

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Speaker 2: the influence of drugs and alcohol. That's the sad reality

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Speaker 2: of it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, look I agree, I think it's you know you,

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Speaker 1: like I said before, you not only put yourself in danger,

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Speaker 1: but you put other road users in danger as well.

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Speaker 1: Superintendent Daniel Sheen, I really appreciate your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for having a chat with us.

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Speaker 2: Thanks having me.

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Speaker 3: Thank you