Logan West was a passionate 17-year-old who loved music and footy and wanted to become a police officer.

Key points: Logan West was killed in a crash in Adelaide's south in 2007

Logan West was killed in a crash in Adelaide's south in 2007 His best friend Steven was behind the wheel when the car slammed into a tree

His best friend Steven was behind the wheel when the car slammed into a tree As SA's road toll rises seemingly uncontrollably, Steven has decided to speak out

His dream ended in a split second in 2007 because of a decision by his best friend, Steven, whose dangerous driving took Logan's life.

"I do remember that I was going fast. I do remember kind of losing control, and then I woke up with just people everywhere," said Steven, who asked that his surname be withheld.

A cross by the side of the road in memory of Logan West. ( ABC News )

While 12 years have passed since Logan died on the side of a southern Adelaide road, his family and friends still carry the emotional scars and have appealed for drivers to take greater care.

South Australia's annual road toll is currently at its highest level for this time of year in almost a decade.

At the end of 2018, police were congratulating South Australians on a record low road toll.

But in the first six months of 2019 there have been 60 road fatalities, compared with 38 in the same period last year.

Victoria has also seen a significant jump in fatalities, but South Australia's spike is worse than any other state or territory.

'It will always be there'

Steven said he did not remember much of the night he crashed into a tree.

But he acknowledged it was something he would have to live with forever.

"It will always be there, and it's powerful and very hard to deal with at times," he said.

Logan's death had deep and devastating consequences for his family. ( ABC News )

After Logan was killed, Steven was found guilty of death by dangerous driving and received a 10-year driving ban.

While he is back behind the wheel, quiet moments alone in the car bring back painful memories.

"I've had counselling and things like that," he said.

"I don't like to drive by myself, just because I think of things."

For Brett West, dealing with his son's death is an ongoing struggle. ( ABC News )

Logan's parents, Wendy and Brett, have long forgiven Steven, but the trauma of watching their son die trapped in a car only metres from the family home has changed them forever.

It devastated them, ultimately claiming their marriage.

For Logan's father, Brett, the knowledge of what his family lost was never far from his mind.

"It's just always there; it's just a bit like a screensaver," he said.

"The second you turn off whatever you were working on you've still got the screensaver there. It never disappears.

"To say that time heals, I don't think it does — you just become better at coming to terms with it and coping with it."

Wendy said Logan's death triggered consequences that extended outward from the family.

"It goes way beyond me to his friends; it's the full ripple effect, and that ripple never stops," she said.

'You're driving a lethal weapon'

With the terrible knowledge of how quickly things can go wrong behind the wheel of a car, Steven has called on road users to think about others, both in their vehicles and outside of them.

Logan's mother Wendy wants others to learn from her son's death. ( ABC News )

Wendy and Brett also want to stop other families from experiencing a similar loss.

"When you get behind the wheel you're driving a lethal weapon. Know that and take that seriously," Wendy said.

In the first six months of this year in South Australia, motorcyclist deaths tripled compared with the previous five years.

Deaths in truck and bus crashes are up about 350 per cent on the same period, and pedestrian fatalities have increased about 175 per cent.

About four trauma patients end up at the Royal Adelaide Hospital every day, with one-third of them seriously injured.

"The resuscitation room is always a very busy place … it could be between five and 10 doctors and nurses helping to stabilise the patient," said Ngee Foo, a doctor.

Dr Foo is a member of a large trauma team that has to respond to incoming patients at short notice.

"They usually give us a warning about five, 10 minutes beforehand, from the ambulance services," he said.

Dr Ngee Foo works with trauma patients, including road crash victims. ( ABC News )

Like paramedics, police and other first responders, Dr Foo has become accustomed to seeing the gruesome consequences of road crashes close up.

He said he still felt disappointed that drivers were failing to get the message, and that devastating road accidents were "an ongoing problem".

"It's a preventable injury that we could avoid completely," he said.

Speed limits should be looked at, expert says

South Australia's fines for using a mobile phone while driving have just increased by 60 per cent, to $534, with high-level speeding fines rising by the same amount.

Logan was a car enthusiast. ( Supplied )

Queensland is currently considering an even tougher penalty of $1,000.

However, Associate Professor Jeremy Woolley from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research said road safety needed to be about more than just enforcement.

He urged policymakers to focus on minimising harm on the roads.

"We've got an inherently unsafe system and it's poised to spiral out of control," he said.

"We need to think more broadly beyond just the road users themselves and think about how the system can be more forgiving."

Professor Woolley said that while driver distraction and error were factors in most road crashes, other factors like the quality of the road and safety rating of the vehicle often went overlooked.

Police say all of this year's fatal crashes have been preventable. ( ABC News )

The State Government has established a new Road Safety Committee that includes staff from the Department of Transport, police, health experts and road safety researchers.

The new body follows the dissolution of the Motor Accident Commission, which took effect yesterday.

While it might not be politically popular, Professor Woolley said speed limits on risky roads should be revisited and revised.

"These speed limits were set many years ago, when we didn't have the type of knowledge on safety that we do these days," he said.

In other words, slowing down may be the quickest and simplest solution.