It’s National Road Safety Week, a time to honour the memory of the 1,200 lives lost and the 39 thousand seriously injured on Australian roads each year.
While we reflect on our losses, it is also a time to pledge to reduce those numbers. Drivers in our region were involved in 63 major road accidents last year. As a result of those accidents, 42 of our community members were seriously injured and had their lives impacted, or are sadly no longer with us.
Together, as a community, we can work towards reducing these numbers leading by example with our actions when behind the wheel.
This National Road Safety Week, we’re reminding you that when you’re on the road, you are in charge of protecting every life. This starts with your own, but it also includes the lives of your passengers, other drivers, your friends and family, and our wildlife.
Earlier in the month, the road safety yellow ribbon stopped in at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital as it toured across the country, to share this important message. Road strikes account for the majority of deaths at the hospital, so with the ribbons visit, we shone a light on the importance of driving to protect all life.
We’ve enlisted the help of the iconic Hello Koalas trail and local businesses in high traffic areas to share this message among our community and visitors, like the Port Macquarie Service Centre (the donut), and Sail’s resort will be sporting a yellow ribbon for road safety.
Mayor Peta Pinson said the road safety koalas will be a visual reminder to drive to survive.
“We’re a close-knit community, so the trauma of a road accident is felt by so many – family and friends, colleagues, community groups, and our emergency responders. And this trauma is something that stays with us.
“When you see a yellow ribbon this week, I ask you to think about those in our community that we have unfortunately lost, and which behaviours you can change to make sure you are acting in a way that protects every life on our roads.
“That means driving to the speed limit, slowing down in known koala habitat, staying focused and not using your mobile phone, and taking a break when needed so you’re not driving tired,” said Mayor Pinson.
To show you’re ready to #DriveSoOthersSurvive, pick up a yellow ribbon at our customer service desks, or from the Port Macquarie Library. Take the road safety pledge online by visiting roadsafetyweek.com.au.
