I woke up this morning and got the paper and on the front page in big type was the headline, "Tragedy on the Road" and I thought to my self, "oh dear, looks like summer’s arrived early".

I’m a veteran of summer holiday talkback and there’s no way you can avoid a general discussion about the road toll, the reasons for it and the ways to prevent the carnage.

Every year the talkback goes in the same circle. The ridiculousness of the 4km/h tolerance rather than a 10km/h, how you have to go 120km/h to get out of trouble, how it’s the slow cars that are the real danger, that our roads are horrendous and finally that we are a nation of bad drivers. Then nothing and nobody changes.

So today we see the headlines that we often see over summer. But the headlines are bad. At least seven dead in eight different crashes and others fighting for their lives. Dozens of families bracing themselves for their worst day sometime this week as the dead are laid to rest. The road toll tracking to the be the worst in 10 years and already greater than last year.

What got me this Monday was how the weekend’s fatalities were a microcosm of the perils that we encounter on the roads every day.

The first fatality on Friday night was a 19-year-old woman who died in a car fleeing police. Three others terribly injured. The driver still at large. We talk over and over about police chases and their implications. It’s always met with the refrain that if we don’t chase them, the crims will know that all they have to do is drive away from the cops.

On Friday, police said the driver was fleeing, but officers called the pursuit off because they deemed it too dangerous. The crash happened just minutes later.

The stupidity of this kid is unbelievable. We keep saying to these youngsters that if you run from police in a car, there are only two consequences. You’re caught or someone dies but that doesn’t get through their idiot heads.

Last week we heard all about the number of people driving in this country who don’t have a full licence. I bet this kid ran without the licence with four mates on board. The St Lukes chase two weeks ago was also because the driver was breaking licence laws with passengers. They’re not crims, they're just dicks who are paying the biggest price for a moment of stupidity

But all that said it doesn’t convince me that the benefits of police chases outweigh the risks and the costs. They’re not working. It needs to change.

Then there were the motorcycle casualties. Worryingly, two crashes killed three people during two weekend fundraising and memorial rides. Weekend warriors out and about on their pride and joys on what should have been a fun and safe time.

While the exact details of the crash are not known yet, I have long had a suspicion that we have an awful lot of inexperienced riders on our roads, particularly on the weekend. I also suspect a lot do not have the appropriate licence. In fact, the other day I was looking to buy a 150cc scooter that I’m not licensed for and the owner told me not to worry about that, you’re never checked.

I’m beginning to believe that a driver licence crackdown is more needed than a speeding blitz.

I’m also a big old nancy on the roads these days because I swear the driving is getting worse. I’m the sort of guy who doesn’t understand why we have tolerance levels in the first place. Who doesn’t believe there should be any areas on our town and city roads that should have a speed limit greater than 80km/h. The sort of numpty who thinks our main shopping roads should have 40km/h limits.

And I say all this because we are a nation of bad drivers, on bad roads, making bad choices and paying terrible prices for it.