A FATAL collision with a train in North West NSW made Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy of the State's Traffic and Highway Patrol Command late for his interview with The Land.
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That a major campaign throughout country areas of the state about safety at rail crossings had just ended didn’t sit well with him.
Commanding 1400 NSW Police officers statewide, when he tells you will see roadside breath testing being carried out in the most unlikely of spots during this festive season, you can bet it will happen.
“We’re targeting small communities and the back roads that connect them this year,” he said.
With the road toll tracking 22 less than last year, he said police were not going to allow complacency to repeat last year’s spike of fatal crashes around Christmas time.
“There was a rash of fatal traffic accidents at year’s end 12 months ago, particularly multiple fatalities,” he said.
“We have to stop that trend.”
He said the major contributors to accidents alcohol, fatigue, drugs and speeding would all be targeted.
Assistant Commissioner Corboy knows country back roads well.
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“I’m just a simple farm boy from Mulwala,” he said.
He was stationed in the Riverina in the early 1990s.
Police said the vehicle left the road, crashed into a fence, rolled and overturned, before ejecting the driver, who died at the scene.
Two people including a child lost their lives on local roads in the lead-up to Christmas after accidents at Moonbi, near Tamworth, and Coolatai.
Double demerits are in force throughout the operation until midnight on January 1
