To raise awareness around the importance of safe driver behaviour on country roads, Transport for NSW and the New South Wales police are joining forces with a combined safety display at the Henty Machinery Field Days.
More than 55,000 visitors are expected to attend the annual agribusiness event in the southwest region, from Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19 September.
Rural Road Safety Month now in its seventh year, Rural Road Safety Month is an initiative of the Australian Road Safety Foundation, supported by Transport for NSW.
This year’s theme is ‘Help sow the seeds of change; road safety starts with you’.
Road crashes have claimed the lives of 239 people in New South Wales so far this year, including 158 on country roads (preliminary figures up to 15 September 2024).
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Displays at the event will include a police highway patrol car and mobile drug testing van, a level crossing model, motorcycle safety display, and a long-nosed truck with cardboard cutouts positioned around it to help visitors appreciate the significant blind spots of a truck from the driver’s seat.
Cassandra Ffrench, Transport for NSW Regional Director South said there is no room for complacency when driving on country roads.
“Speeding, drink and drug driving and fatigue remain the leading causes of deaths on NSW roads,” she said.
“To illustrate the consequences of speed on rural roads, two crashed cars will be on display, demonstrating the difference speed makes in a crash at 60 km/h and 100 km/h.
“We want drivers to understand the consequences of dangerous driving and make safe decisions when they get behind the wheel. We ask drivers to take the necessary precautions to ensure they, their passengers and other road users all make it home safe.”
Robert Toynton The Commander of Traffic and Highway Patrol South West Superintendent urges all motorists to avoid dangerous driving and excessive speed on rural roads.
“We have seen an increase in road trauma over the last 12 months, with the number of crashes in rural areas in particular unacceptable,” he said.
“Police enforce road rules to discourage irresponsible behaviour, however, at the end of the day it falls on all of us as individuals to follow through and take care on the roads.
“Speed limits and other road rules will only save lives if we follow them. Let’s make sure that we all watch our own and each other’s behaviour so we can get home safely.”