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The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) has thrown its support behind this year’s Rural Road Safety Month.
An initiative from the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF), Rural Road Safety Month, which runs throughout September, is a national community-based initiative aimed at all regional and rural road users.
Rural road crashes account for more than 65 per cent of the Australian road toll, and the rate of serious road-related injury in rural areas is nearly twice as high compared to major cities.
The theme of this year’s event is ‘The keys to road safety are in all our hands’.
NHVR CEO Sal Petroccitto OAM said the number of fatal crashes involving a heavy vehicle was also significantly higher in rural areas compared to metropolitan cities.
“In 2023, there’s been more than 50 fatal crashes involving a heavy vehicle in regional areas,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“For all drivers travelling on rural roads, don’t be complacent and remember to always be cautious around heavy vehicles.”
Mr Petroccitto said an example of drivers being heavy vehicle safe in regional areas involved overtaking trucks safely on long stretches of road.
“Drivers should always wait for the right opportunity to safely overtake a truck, even if it means being extra patient and using an overtaking lane when it becomes available,” he said.
“Don’t be tempted to take a risk to get to your destination just that little bit earlier, because if you try to overtake at the wrong time, you may not get there at all.
“It’s important we all play a role in heavy vehicle safety.”
As part of Rural Road Safety Month, the ARSF has released statistics around regional road safety, indicating:
- High risk rural roads are used by almost all Australians (91 per cent) at least once a year,
- More than a third of drivers utilise regional roads at least once a week,
- Personal travel is the number one reason (60 per cent) for driving on regional roads, and
- Living in the area accounts only for 27 per cent of reasons for driving on regional roads.
Drivers looking to find out more about the initiative should visit https://arsf.com.au/rural-road-safety-month/