25 February 2026

Thirteen years after Colin Caudell witnessed his wife’s death while working alongside her as a traffic controller at a roadworks site, he says he is still waiting for answers and meaningful reform as Queensland records its highest road toll in 16 years.

After travelling around Australia as grey nomads, the couple had taken up work as traffic controllers when, in 2013, Suzanne Caudell was struck and killed by a truck travelling 106km/h in a 60km/h zone on the Bruce Highway, near Marlborough north of Rockhampton.

Since then, Mr Caudell says he has written hundreds of letters, met with officials and repeatedly called for stronger protections for road workers and greater transparency around how road trauma is measured and reported.

Mr Caudell says that while Queensland publishes weekly road toll figures through the Department of Transport and Main Roads, there is no single, publicly accessible source that integrates public road fatalities, work-related road deaths, serious injury hospitalisations and enforcement data in one place or in near real time.

“My wife’s death was hidden in the data,” Mr Caudell said.

“Because workplace safety data is recorded separately from the public road toll, deaths of road workers on public roads are not reflected in the headline figures.

“If someone wanted to know how many road workers were killed or seriously injured on Queensland roads last year, they would have to piece that together from multiple agencies, delayed datasets and sometimes formal information requests.

“The way the data is fragmented means we don’t see the true trauma picture, and without that we cannot learn from each fatality or make decisions that save lives.”

Travis Schultz & Partners acted for Mr Caudell in a personal injury claim following his wife’s death. Partner Greg Spinda said the way road trauma is classified contributes to that visibility problem.

“A traffic controller killed at a roadworks site does not appear in a public ‘road worker’ category,” Mr Spinda said.

“They are absorbed into broader labourer and construction data, which obscures the specific risk profile of roadwork environments. From a legal and policy perspective, that makes it harder to isolate risk patterns and implement targeted reforms.”

Mr Spinda said while better data integration is critical, the behaviours driving Queensland’s road toll remain deeply concerning.

“We continue to see crashes caused by inattention, intoxication and excessive speed – the same poor behaviours we’ve been warning about for years,” Mr Spinda said.

“Road workers are especially vulnerable because they are exposed on high-speed corridors where a single reckless decision can have catastrophic consequences.”

Mr Caudell has written again to the Transport Minister and local representatives in recent months seeking action and a response to concerns about road worker safety and data transparency. He says he has received automated acknowledgements but no substantive reply.

“Thirteen years on, I’m still asking the same questions and still waiting for real answers. An automated reply is not accountability,” Mr Caudell said.

“These are people who helped build the roads we all use every day. They deserve to be counted properly, and their families deserve accountability.”

Mr Caudell is now calling for the establishment of an independent, legislated Queensland Road Safety Commissioner to oversee transparent reporting of fatalities, serious injuries and enforcement statistics, and to ensure data from transport, workplace safety and health systems is integrated and publicly accessible.

“A commissioner would not invent new data,” Mr Caudell said.

“They would ensure the data we already collect is not hidden, delayed or fragmented, and that Queenslanders can properly scrutinise what is happening on our roads.”

Mr Caudell said the trauma of losing his wife remains constant.

“There is not a day that goes by that this doesn’t replay in my mind. I feel absolutely let down by the lack of concern, but I keep speaking up because nothing changes unless someone does. Suzanne had a right to come home at the end of her shift,” Mr Caudell said.

The call comes as Queensland grapples with rising road trauma. Queensland’s 308 road deaths in 2025 mark the state’s highest annual toll in 16 years. Mr Caudell says unless structural reform and transparent reporting are prioritised, the state risks falling further behind its national road safety targets.

Mr Caudell says there was no public coronial inquest into his wife’s death.

“This can’t happen again. We owe it to every family shattered by road trauma to do better,” Mr Caudell said.

Media contact: Trudie Abel, Fresh PR & Marketing | 0408 119 443 | trudie@freshprm.com.au

To learn more about Travis Schultz & Partners, visit www.schultzlaw.com.au

Greg Spinda, visit: www.schultzlaw.com.au/meet-your-team/greg-spinda/

About Travis Schultz & Partners 

Travis Schultz & Partners was established in 2018 by founding Managing Partner Travis Schultz on the guiding values of fairness, respect and expertise. Today, the award-winning, nationally recognised compensation law firm is home to Queensland’s largest team of Personal Injury Accredited Specialists among its more than 70 staff. The firm services clients across the state from offices in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and Cairns.