Seventeen people have lost their lives on Sunshine Coast roads in 2022 — more than double the number recorded during the same time period last year.
Two people have died in crashes on the Coast in the past week, including respected basketball coach Dale Ryan.
Sunshine Coast police district officer Superintendent Craig Hawkins said the rising road toll was causing an "enormous amount of concern".
"This time last year, we were sitting at eight deaths," Superintendent Hawkins said.
He said it was five people the year before.
"It's just not the person who unfortunately passed, but a broad range of friends and families who are affected by this," he said.
As of Wednesday morning, the number of people killed on Queensland roads stood at 155, compared to 137 for the same time last year.
Lingering impact of COVID
Superintendent Hawkins said of the 17 road deaths on the Sunshine Coast this year, 10 were single car crashes.
"So that very clearly suggests that the behaviour of our drivers has changed," he said.
"And the behaviours are leading to serious accidents that are causing the deaths.
"I suspect that over the COVID period, with our policing attention diverted to other areas, that may have had an effect on drivers and now we're starting to see a consequence of that some degree."
University of the Sunshine Coast road safety researcher Levi Anderson said the pandemic period had a lasting impact.
"Since the start of COVID ... when we first announced that we were stopping doing RBTs, we saw an increase in drunk driving," Mr Anderson said.
"The police officers that are dedicated to road safety have been tasked with other duties and they haven't been out policing other types of things like speeding, seatbelts."
But with state and international borders lifted and hotel quarantine scrapped, Mr Anderson said more officers were back on patrol.
Faces behind the figures
Well-known and respected basketball coach Dale Ryan died in a single-car crash at Doonan on Friday night.
Mr Ryan, affectionately known as "Daisy", worked at various clubs across south-east Queensland for decades, including the Brisbane Bullets and most recently, the Sunshine Coast Phoenix.
Phoenix club president Victor Benjamin said his members were in shock and were rallying behind Mr Ryan's wife Rachel and their two daughters.
"He had a big heart," Mr Benjamin said.
Mr Ryan played a pivotal role in the Brisbane Bullets' record season in 2007, while he was the team's assistant coach.
Brisbane Bullets general manager Sam Mackinnon said he was lucky enough to be involved with "Daisy" that season.
"Daisy was a genuine good guy who not only cared about the game, but about you as a person and how you were going," Mr Mackinnon said.
Road crashes have ripple effect
Sunshine Coast-based tow truck driver Mike Clayton said the increasing number of fatal and serious crashes was having an impact on his staff and the wider community.
He said one of his drivers recently provided CPR to a young child at a crash scene.
"And the vehicles are brought back to our holding facilities for investigations," Mr Clayton said.
He noted the impact on emergency responders, saying his organisation was just a small part of the process.
"And then you've got people at the scene who pull up who witness it," he said.
"Friends, relatives ... one fatality can affect hundreds or more people."
Superintendent Hawkins said police would be ramping up their enforcement efforts to try to prevent further deaths.
"Ultimately, it comes back to the person sitting behind the wheel," Superintendent Hawkins said.
