Gold Coast, Queensland - As millions of Australian families prepare to pack up caravans and head off for the September school holidays -coinciding with the AFL and NRL Grand Final weekends - national road safety advocate Ron Mulder is issuing an urgent warning against a silent threat on regional highways: residual alcohol and holiday driver fatigue.
This warning comes as year-to-date data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) highlights persistent fatality spikes across key holiday states.
In the first eight months of 2026, calendar year-to-date road fatalities have increased across major jurisdictions compared to the same period in 2025—including Queensland (up 4.4 per cent to 214 deaths), Western Australia (up 11.6 per cent to 144 deaths), and South Australia (up 33.3 per cent to 76 deaths).
Mulder, Founder and Managing Director of Affordable Interlock Systems (AIS) and a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) engineer, warns that the convergence of long-distance family travel and late-night Spring finals celebrations creates a dangerous dynamic on high-volume transit corridors like the Pacific Highway, Bruce Highway, Princes Highway and M1.
"Every year during the September school holidays, we see a tragic surge in highway incidents where drivers didn't think they were impaired," said Mr Mulder.
"They woke up, had a coffee, loaded the kids in the car at 6:00 AM, and didn't realise their Blood Alcohol Content was still over the legal limit. Alcohol in your system doesn't pack up and leave just because you went to sleep."
A primary driver of holiday road trauma during the September/October period is the "morning-after" phenomenon, where drivers unknowingly operate vehicles with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) above the legal limit.
Mulder notes that when residual alcohol is combined with early morning start times and the traditional 'Fatal Five' drivers—speed, fatigue, distraction, lack of seatbelts, and impairment - the margin for error on regional roads drops to zero.
"The 2026 road toll figures across the country are a stark reminder that traditional warnings aren't landing with everyone," Mr Mulder added.
"When you combine increased traffic density during holiday periods with fatigue and residual alcohol, a simple mistake on a two-lane regional highway turns catastrophic."
While alcohol interlocks are traditionally viewed as court-mandated penalties following a drink-driving conviction, AIS is advocating for a broader cultural shift toward voluntary, preventative safety technology across commercial fleets and private vehicles.
"At AIS, our engineering mindset is simple: human judgment is flawed, especially when fatigue or residual alcohol is involved," Mr Mulder said
"Safety technology and alcohol interlocks provide an absolute, non-negotiable safeguard. If we want to bring down Australia's road toll, we need to lean into preventative technology before tragedy occurs, not just as a penalty afterwards."
Ahead of the school holiday rush, AIS urges motorists to plan mandatory rest stops every two hours, avoid early-morning departures after late-night celebrations, and use personal or vehicle self-testing measures to ensure absolute sobriety before turning the key.
For more information, visit affordableinterlocks.com.au.
About Affordable Interlock Systems
Affordable Interlock Systems (AIS) was established to help people during a difficult time. We've partnered with a leading provider of ignition interlocks who has decades of experience in the field. The quality, ease of use and flexibility of the ALCOLOCK product line make them the devices of choice for drivers worldwide.
AIS makes it easy for individuals convicted of drink-driving offences to adhere to their jurisdictional program requirements and work towards reinstating their driving licence. Seeing an opportunity to help more Australians easily reinstate their licences after a drink-driving conviction, and without the customer feeling embarrassed, Ron Mulder established Affordable Interlock Systems in 2019.
With decades of experience across many different areas of business, Ron is so passionate about customer service and customer well-being that his personal motto has become “If it’s not right for the customer, then it’s not right for the company”.
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