Sergeant Wayne Sainsbury of Port Macquarie police told the News that 27 people had died in 22 fatal collisions across the Mid-North Coast in 2000.

Port Macquarie recorded five fatal motor vehicle accidents which claimed the lives of seven people.

In 1999 police recorded 18 fatal accidents across the Mid-North Coast, while only 12 were recorded in 1998.

Sgt Sainsbury said the rise in the number of fatal accidents could not be attributed to one factor alone, but rather was a combination of alcohol, speed, fatigue, not wearing seatbelts and weather and road conditions.

“The number of car accidents on Mid-North Coast roads has increased with this year’s (2000) tally reaching 724,” Sgt Sainsbury said.

“Most of these accidents occurred off the Pacific Highway, however the more serious accidents occurred on the highway,” he said.

Sgt Sainsbury said of these accidents, 11.7 per cent were alcohol-related, 10.9 per cent were speed-related, 6.6 per cent were fatigue-related, 5.4 per cent were dependant on weather conditions and 5.1 per cent were the result of road conditions.

In Port Macquarie in 2000, Lake Road featured as the most prominent road for fatal and major accidents, followed by Horton Street, Gordon Street, Pacific Drive, Short Street, the Oxley Highway, Hastings River Driver and Ocean Drive.

Sgt Sainsbury highlighted the major car accidents as the Lake Road accident in February last year where three teenagers were killed when their car slammed into a power pole and the Pacific Highway fatality in June last year where a Cessnock man died after his vehicle collided with a semi-trailer.

On a wider scale, Northern region traffic co-ordinator, Senior Sergeant Don Campbell, said 96 people had been killed in the northern region over the year, an increase of 12 over three years.

Snr Sgt Campbell said that in 1997, 76 people died on northern region roads, 81 died in 1998 and 87 were killed in 1999.

“My message is don’t drink and drive, don’t speed, take rest breaks, wear your seatbelt and you will survive.

“Most accidents occur as a result of one or more of these factors,” he said.

The number of fixed speed cameras in NSW will be tripled this year after the state recorded its worst holiday road toll in five years.

In one of the toughest moves in years to cut the road toll, 50 new speed cameras will be installed at the worst accident blackspots .

Twenty-five people had died so far on NSW roads during the holiday period, late yesterday.