The Queensland Government in Australia has launched a new road safety campaign, which is set to begin this weekend.

The 50-day Queensland Police Service (QPS) Christmas Road Safety Campaign launched in Brisbane is planned to be conducted over four phases.

Queensland Road Safety Minister Mark Bailey said: “The campaign which asks 'what will Christmas 2016 be remembered for?', features a powerful ad with real footage from family Christmases, concluding with the sobering image of a road crash.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and our ‘Memories’ campaign, which will continue over key holiday periods, reminds us that we all have a role to play.”

Scheduled to complete on 27 January next year, the road safety campaign will involve a highly visible police presence as well as a series of targeted traffic operations that would be rolled out across the state.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said during last year’s campaign 33 people lost their lives while more than 2,000 people were injured in traffic crashes.

Gollschewski said: “Throughout the campaign, we’ll be rolling out a series of intelligence driven traffic operations such as random driver testing for alcohol and drugs and speed enforcement on roads and highways in key high-risk areas.”

"Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and our ‘Memories’ campaign, which will continue over key holiday periods, reminds us that we all have a role to play."

This year, 227 people have lost their lives on Queensland roads and one in four road fatalities last year involved a speeding driver.

Last year, one in five road fatalities involved a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

During last year’s campaign, 624,798 RBTs and 9,287 drug tests were conducted.


Image: The new Fatal Five QPS vehicle. Photo: © State of Queensland (Queensland Police Service) 2016.