As a Road Safety Champion, Bundaberg Regional Council is joining a nationwide effort to encourage safer choices on regional roads and help reduce the devastating toll of road trauma.
It’s all to support the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF) this Rural Road Safety Month.
The campaign comes as official road toll data shows 906 people lost their lives on rural roads in the past year – a 10.5 per cent increase on the previous year.
Despite more than two in every three Australian road deaths (69%) occurring in regional areas, new research released by the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF) reveals more than a quarter of drivers (27%) still believe country roads are safer than city streets.
The research also found more than half of Australian drivers admit to breaking a road rule on a country road, with the most common reason simply believing it was safe to do so.
Speeding (36%), driving while fatigued (21%) and mobile phone use (15%) remain among the most common risky behaviours on regional roads.
Australian Road Safety Foundation Founder and Chair, Russell White, said every Australian has a role to play in making rural roads safer.
“Make no mistake, the majority of crashes come down to human fault – whether you live in the city, the regions or the bush, you are in control of choices that can have deadly consequences,” Mr White said.
“And it’s not just reckless, high-risk driving.
“The majority of rural crashes happen in broad daylight, on an ordinary weekday, in a single vehicle – on the kind of everyday drive every one of us makes.”
“Every one of those 906 people killed on rural roads last year was heading somewhere – a father picking up a child from school, a daughter heading to the movies, a partner popping out to grab milk.
Our job this Rural Road Safety Month is to make sure more journeys end where they’re meant to.”
To help drive the message home, Bundaberg Regional Council has joined ARSF’s Rural Road Safety Month campaign conversation.
Mayor Helen Blackburn said supporting Rural Road Safety Month was an opportunity to encourage safer choices that could ultimately save lives.
“Road safety is something we all have a role to play in and Rural Road Safety Month is an important opportunity to remind our community that the choices we make behind the wheel can have life-changing consequences,” Mayor Blackburn said.
“Council is encouraging local residents, workplaces, schools, sporting clubs and community groups to get behind the campaign, have conversations about road safety and make a personal commitment to safer driving.
“Small changes in behaviour can make a significant difference and help ensure everyone gets home safely.”
Throughout August, local workplaces, schools, sporting clubs, community groups and individuals are encouraged to Join the Journey by making a personal commitment to safer driving, hosting a community event or sharing ARSF’s free educational resources.
To learn more, access campaign resources or join the movement, visit arsf.com.au.
