When will the Government and Police force admit their strategy of placing specialist Highway Patrol Police at Local Area Level is not working. At Command Level they are continually deployed on other duties and to fill the gaps in the General Duty roster. If there is any doubt about their deployment on miscellaneous duties, how often does the motorist encounter highway patrol on the highways. Unpatrolled and under patrolled roads result in bad driving habits and behaviour. Numerous studies have shown a high visible police presence is the greatest deterrent to bad driver behaviour. Highway Patrol Police need to be deployed primarily and exclusively on traffic duties on an ongoing basis. Short sharp heavy enforcements work over the period of the operation but once they conclude the police presence is reduced to minimal numbers and the bad driving behaviour returns. Having Senior Police front the media and reinforcing the need for drivers to accept responsibility for their behaviour is a poor substitute for a police presence on the roads. Spin wins elections but will do nothing to save lives on our roads. ACTION IS REQUIRED BEFORE MORE LIVES ARE LOST.

In repsonse to the comment by Don Campbell. I would suggest you obtain a copy of the current NSW Police Force Policies regarding the deployment of highway officers to other duties before you make such comments. All I can say is you are wrong. This does not occur all that often these days in comparison to many years ago. It is ludicrous for you to state that having more highway patrol officers on the roadway would reduce the road toll. This accident did not occur on a major road. For it to have a high deterrent you would need to have a highway patrol officer situated every kilometre along every road in the state of NSW. Possibiity of this occurring is nil. Don your quick fix solution, will unfortunately, not work. Driver education programs with the younger population possibly will. Unfortunately it appears driver behaviour did contribute to this accident. Is it the fault of the police or the government that no one was situated at that exact location, at that exact time to prevent the accident? Or was it the poor choice made by the driver of he vehicle? I wouldn't blame others before considering everything.

the question is are teenage brains mature enough to handle a car capable of high speed on our public roads? the road toll stats should provide the answer.

Im 17 years of age and currentley hold red povisinal licence,i do belive that teenagers such as myslef have the capability to handel a car at high speeds on public roads if there tought how to haldel and drive a car in a safe manner.I do however belive that there needs to be somthing where teens must go to learn more about handling vehicals.Where its free because most people wont pay for somthing they find not nessasery.

More policing aint going to fix this-this is a lack of undertastnding how deadly/lethal motor vehicles are, the real question is When will ALL Government make it mandatory for all year 7 kids to go through Driver saftey training-something public service and private sector employees get as required- This way our kids/jallai's can have 1st hand opportunity to see and understand what happen's to a motor vehicle from 10kms per hour through to over 110 km per hour in dry, wet and mixed conditions-The cost of running such a program far far outweighs each generation losing family & friends continuously. A computer test cannot provide real understanding oof dangers on the road but its what we prescribe!

The facts in this case is that the vehicle was being driven by a 16 year old driver, too young to hold a provisional driver's licence. If the report is correct there was no supervising licenced driver in the vehicle. As for younger drivers being capable, that depends largely on the driver's attitude and aptitude. Proper driver training is essential and our system in NSW where we can have four vehicles on the same highway with four different speed restrictions being applied, i.e., 80 KPH for a learner, 90 KPH for a Red 'P' driver, 100 KPH for a Green 'P' driver and 110 KPH for a full licence holder. What a ridiculous system. No driver should be issued with a licence unless they can operate in all conditions. Gaining experience is one thing, being let loose with a lot of theoretical knowledge and little testing of actual driving skill is another.

i know the girl in the coma...it was a silly move but if people cant afford to pay for the lessons and etc of course us teenagers are not going to know how to handle a car. i do think it should be taught at schools as a subject instead of stupid subjects we are never going to use in our future where as driving is an everyday thing.