A WOMAN endangered the lives of her two children and hundreds of other road users when she was caught travelling 64km/h over the speed limit, Jimboomba police say.
The Cedar Grove woman was allegedly caught driving 144km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Mount Lindesay Highway at 6pm on Thursday night.
She had her two children in the backseat, Jimboomba's Senior Sergeant Peter Waugh said.
"It's ridiculous behaviour," he said.
"We make no apologies for the penalty she received.
"She put her own life, her children's lives and the lives of everyone else on that road at risk."
The woman received a fine of $1245, eight demerit points and had her license suspended for six months.
It comes during Operation Own It, which encourages drivers to take responsibility for their actions on the road.
On the Mount Lindesay Highway two days earlier, a 33-year-old man from Ebbw Vale in Ipswich was allegedly found to have methamphetamine in his system after a crash at Park Ridge.
The single vehicle crash occurred in the southbound lanes of the highway about 3pm on Tuesday.
As well as drug driving, the man, a learner driver, was also issued infringement notices for driving unaccompanied and without L plates.
The incidents came in the lead-up to the holiday period, which is one of the most dangerous times of the year for motorists.
"Christmas is an exceptionally busy time for police," Senior Sergeant Waugh said.
"There's more people on the road, they're going out celebrating and they're not concentrating on driving.
"Some of the big problems are speeding, drink driving, and unsecured loads when people are going on holiday.
"We're really pushing people to own their behaviour on the roads."
A Queensland University of Technology study has revealed road crashes during the Christmas period are significantly more likely to result in death or serious injury.
QUT's analysis of road crash data between 2015 and 2019 showed crashes that occurred between December 21 and January 10 were 21 per cent more likely to cause death or serious injury than crashes during the rest of the year.
Researchers from QUT's Accident Research and Road Safety Centre compared the crash data from Christmas travel with non-Christmas travel, looking at key contributing factors based on those five years.
CARRS-Q deputy director Mark King said there was no escaping the statistics.
"When you look at the numbers, the Christmas-New Year period is the most dangerous time to be involved in a traffic crash - we have 'worse' crashes," he said.
"COVID has made us stay at home more this year and we've learnt we don't have to drive as much.
"So think about whether you really need to be on the road during some of the busiest days over the holidays."
Compared to the rest of the motoring year, the Christmas season modelling showed:
- Crashes involving an unlicensed driver are 37 per cent more likely to happen
- Head-on crashes are 35 per cent more likely to happen
- Crashes involving a single vehicle are 24 per cent more likely to happen
- Crashes involving an alcohol or drug-impaired driver are 19 per cent more likely to happen
- Crashes on weekends are 19 per cent more likely to happen
- Night-time crashes (6pm to 6am) are 12 per cent more likely to happen
Dr King said driver distraction and driver fatigue contributed to many crashes over Christmas, but both were preventable.
"Mobile phones are now one of the biggest distractions and causes of crashes, so don't touch your phone when you are driving - no matter how short or long the trip is," he said.
"If you are driving long distances, make sure you plan your journey to take regular breaks and avoid driving at night whenever possible."
