It's hard to truly comprehend the impact of a traffic accident until one of your friends or family dies in one.

And that’s the sad reality facing police and paramedics in trying to get the message across about the road toll this Christmas.

For most, the warnings have become so common at this time of year they are instantly dismissed as a message meant for others.

Until your mother, your sister or your best friend gets killed.

And then it’s just too late.

Every year on Australian roads there are more than 600,000 reported crashes, 200,000 injuries, 22,000 serious injuries and more than 1600 people killed.

But they are just statistics.

When it’s someone you know, that one person dying means more than any figure will ever convey of the tragedies that are occurring all too often on the Sunshine Coast.

On the weekend, I received a call from a neighbour whose sister, Deborah Geary, was killed as she and her husband Jim travelled to pick up their daughter Rachel in far north Queensland.

Our family has known the Gearys through church circles for years.

They are what I would describe as "salt of the earth" people.

They live for their kids, the community, helping others and are a personification of the fundamental values that many of us aspire to uphold.

Deborah’s death is an absolute tragedy.

While we believe she is now in a better place, her family is left to wonder why such a special woman was taken in such a way.

The answer is we really don’t know.

Sometimes accidents happen – and too often the best people are the victims.
There’s no point in trying to figure it out – it’s probably a question the Man upstairs will be asked by many of us after we leave this life.

What is important is that all of us make the most of each day.

As I learnt when my sister-in-law died in a road crash about five years ago, you never know when your time is up – or more importantly, that of a loved one.

It’s a brutal reminder to all of us that we should hold on to the things that really matter – and spend time with the people who matter most to us.

Christmas is a time when many families come together.

Too often, however, it is a time of conflict for some, as past hurts and bitterness come to the surface.

Wouldn’t it be nice if this Christmas we took the time to bury the hatchet and realised that every day with mum and dad, sisters and brothers is precious.

It’s also a time when we all need to take far more care on the roads.

It’s crazy when you see people rushing around to get from A to B in record time to do the shopping for loved ones.

I wonder how many people spend Christmas in hospital after trying to "beat the rush" – only to never arrive for the celebration.

The road toll is not a statistic.

For every story you see of a crash and the loss of life, the tragedy has only just begun.

Our roadsides have become littered with memorials to people whose demise is remembered year after year.

And as the Daily has continued to highlight, far too many involve those aged just 18 to 25, particularly young men.

In Victoria, crash investigators are begging motorists to take care after a horror weekend in which 11 people died.

The grim weekend includes the deaths of four male teenagers in a fiery, high-speed crash on Melbourne’s West Gate Freeway.

Disaster victim identification police had to be called in to determine who died in the Holden Commodore that speared off the freeway, striking a tree and bursting into flames, killing all the occupants.

Police are investigating if speed, drugs or alcohol were factors in the crash and are following reports the car and another vehicle were racing along the freeway.

Major collisions investigation unit boss Inspector Richard Watkins, who was at the scene of the freeway crash, said he was horrified by the weekend’s fatalities.

“This weekend has been one of absolute tragedy on our roads, both for the families of those involved and for the police and emergency services workers attending each of the fatal accidents,” he said.

“To have 11 people killed in a single weekend so close to Christmas is heartbreaking and highlights the importance of taking all precautions on the road leading up to the holiday period.

“The road toll isn’t just a figure, it’s a representation of 309 families that have been devastatingly affected by the loss of loved ones so far this year.”

I couldn’t have said it better.

Accidents, like the one that killed Deborah Geary, will always happen.

But there are so many others that could be prevented if we all took a little more care behind the wheel.

It’s only a matter of time before we all discover the pain of knowing that accidents happen to all of us.