NOSTALGIC festive memories of Christmas past will be the focus of Queensland’s new Christmas road safety advertising campaign announced today.

Road Safety Minister Mark Bailey and Police Minister Mark Ryan joined with emergency services’ representatives today to also launch this year’s police campaign targeting the Fatal Five.

Minister Bailey said the new ‘Memories’ road safety advertising campaign, asks Queenslanders to remember this Christmas and holiday season for all the right reasons.

“The campaign which asks ‘what will Christmas 2016 be remembered for?’, features a powerful ad with real footage from family Christmases, concluding with the sobering image of a road crash,” Mr Bailey said.

“We want everyone to arrive at their destination safely and enjoy a happy festive season with family and friends.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and our ‘Memories’ campaign, which will continue over key holiday periods, reminds us that we all have a role to play.”

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said 33 people lost their lives while more than 2,000 people were injured in traffic crashes during last year’s campaign.

“We know the devastating impact traffic crashes have across the community and we must do everything we can to reduce the trauma on our roads,” Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said.

“No matter where you are in Queensland, there will be an increased police presence on the road networks with officers particularly targeting impaired driving and speeding.

“Throughout the campaign, we’ll be rolling out a series of intelligence driven traffic operations such as random driver testing for alcohol and drugs and speed enforcement on roads and highways in key high-risk areas.”

The 50-day QPS Christmas Road Safety Campaign will be conducted over four phases. It started on December 9 and finishes on January 27.

FAST FACTS

• 227 people lost their lives on Queensland roads this year (down four on last year)

• 1 in 4 road fatalities involved a speeding driver (2015)

• 1 in 5 road fatalities involved a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol (2015)

• 33 fatalities and 2,068 people injured from traffic crashes during last year’s 50-day campaign

• 624,798 RBTs and 9,287 drug tests were conducted during last year’s campaign

• $365 and three demerit points is the current first offence fine for using your mobile phone while operating a vehicle.