“Limit the number of passengers on P-platforms” – a request from a mother from Washington state after the death of a teenager

WA Police Commissioner Colonel Blanch has just spoken out about the state’s surge in tolls after two more people were killed on WA roads yesterday.

He told Radio 6PR that a review of drivers involved in fatal crashes found that most had been fined for speeding “five, ten or 15 times” but the message had not gotten through.

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It comes after three young people died in a car crash in Carlisle on Saturday and an 18-year-old driver was accused of speeding while intoxicated.

“How do we get into the mind of a 20-year-old man and say, ‘Don’t be an idiot, don’t be reckless, don’t be stupid?’ They don’t listen, and unfortunately we saw three people die over the weekend… due to what we believe to be alcohol, distraction, speed, lack of seat belts – essentially all five fatalities in one crash.” – he said.

“Perhaps the consequences (of speeding) need to be strengthened to make people think twice.”

The annual toll on Washington state roads is 152, which is above the “20+” that is typical for this time of year.

Earlier today Samantha Saffioti, the mother of Tom, who was one of two young men killed in a car crash in Seville Grove three years ago, called for Tom’s Law to be introduced.

Tom, 18, was among five passengers in a car driven by an 18-year-old player at the time.

Ms Saffioti, a relative of WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti, wants P-plate drivers to be allowed to have only one passenger outside their immediate family when driving at night.

“Tom didn’t even graduate… he couldn’t do any of the things I saw his friends do. His future was stolen,” she told the ABC.

“(The P passenger cap) is working in other states and I think it’s time for the Western Australian government to take action.”

Asked today about the State Government’s plans to improve road safety, WA Premier Roger Cook said restrictions on the use of passenger P signs were being considered.