00:00 Dozens of teenagers gathered in grief, staring at the site where two young friends lost their
00:07 lives. Hours earlier, their Nissan sedan slammed into a power pole in Sydney's north-west after
00:14 colliding with another car.
00:16 Speed may be a factor where the Nissan has lost control and crashed into the rear of
00:21 a Ford Falcon.
00:23 Two teenage boys who were passengers in the car died at the scene. The 17-year-old driver
00:29 was taken to hospital with serious injuries but is expected to recover.
00:34 Upon his discharge, crash investigation unit officers will be interviewing him.
00:39 The crash happened at 9.40pm. Four and a half hours earlier, a man and a woman were killed
00:44 when their car crashed into a truck in Hay. And a little over two hours before, a 77-year-old
00:50 man was killed when his station wagon hit an SUV in Cowra.
00:55 Officers say the underlying cause of all three crashes was driver error and there are calls
01:00 for specific data on the cause of every fatal crash to be made public so experts can analyse
01:06 how to prevent them.
01:08 New data released this week shows more than 1,200 people died in crashes across the country
01:13 last year. That's an increase of 7% on the year before.
01:19 Doctors say an increase in hospitalisations is also having an impact on other types of
01:23 surgery.
01:24 Each hospital has a set number of intensive care unit beds, it has a set number of theatres
01:31 and therefore if there is more emergency work, more trauma to be done, then something has
01:38 to give.
01:39 The federal government says it's working on a national strategy.
01:42 The road toll has been increasing, there is no doubt about that and some states are doing
01:46 a little better than others.
01:48 Driver behaviour and personal responsibility are important factors as well. Getting that
01:53 message across is absolutely critical.
01:57 A message that could save lives.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
