Luckily all she lost was her licence.

The road toll has been horrific – and instead of learning lessons from tragedies, people seem to be spurred on to even greater excesses of bad behaviour.

It seems that no matter what the punishments devised by the State Government, drivers continue to flout the law and put the lives of themselves and others in danger.

Poor judgement often seems to be associated with alcohol consumption and the combination of drinking and driving is an often lethal mix.

Despite numerous strategies, massively expensive advertising campaigns and other ways of raising public awareness, drivers continue to behave irresponsibly and dangerously.

And it’s not always the driver who pays the worst penalty for an accident caused by recklessness.

Often there are innocent bystanders caught up in accidents which should never have happened.

As road surfaces improve and vehicles become more sophisticated there will always be the temptation by some drivers to travel too fast or carelessly.

So, what can be done and whose responsibility is it?

Ultimately the final buck has to stop with the drivers themselves.

But there are still plenty of initiatives which can be taken to educate the community, particularly young drivers before they make a fatal error.

All high schools should have a compulsory curriculum component that includes road safety, defensive driving and a run down of the dangers of and responsibilities of road use.

The State Government should apply some of its extensive advertising budget to pay for driver training in schools - something which is currently carried out on an ad hoc basis and usually funded by community safety groups or service clubs.

If the State Government is serious about reducing the road toll, then it needs to take a more proactive stance – billboards and media advertising have their place, but it is the young people of our towns who need to be educated and given the skills for safe travel.

There’s an election coming up and now is the ideal time for community groups, parents and concerned organisations and individuals to take a stand for ongoing young driver education programs.