Authorities in WA urge swimmers, motorists to take care over Australia Day long weekend

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Water users and motorists have been urged to take extra care this Australia Day long weekend. It comes after a spate of drownings and fatal road crashes across WA over the summer.

Transcript

00:00A plea to keep safe on the water this long weekend.

00:06What we know on Australia Day weekend is that you're four times more likely to drown than

00:10any other weekend.

00:11So it's important that people do stop, assess the conditions before they go into the water.

00:17The warning comes after 11 drownings in Western Australia so far this summer, including two

00:22deaths in one day at Lake Leshenaltia and Bremer Bay.

00:26Hundreds have also been rescued from the water, a massive increase compared to the same time

00:31last year.

00:32Well, 222 rescues last weekend really does paint the picture of the sort of conditions

00:37we've been experiencing and how it can cause rips to form at beaches, which is one of the

00:42most dangerous things that people encounter.

00:44The safety message extending to road users.

00:47We're urging all motorists to drive to the conditions, to take their time getting where

00:52they're going, to not speed and just be generally courteous to other motorists out there on

00:58the road.

00:59And skippers over the long weekend.

01:01We want people out on Australia Day enjoying themselves, but more importantly, coming home

01:06safely.

01:07I'm just going to require a sample of your breath for analysis.

01:10It's the first Australia Day Department of Transport officers will have the power to

01:14conduct drug and alcohol testing on the water.

01:17Tragically, this has been a particularly busy summer.

01:20We have already had a number of fatalities on our waterways, and even over the last two

01:24years, those incidents have increased compared to previous, and many of them have actually

01:29involved drugs and or alcohol.

01:32Authorities working together to help keep everyone safe.

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