A new campaign being piloted on Victoria’s Surf Coast aims to reduce road incidents by reminding drivers how important road safety is to local communities.
The Transport Accident Commission, Victoria, has teamed up with the Surf Coast Shire Council to deliver the initiative, ‘Drive Safely Because’.
People on the Surf Coast will see unique blue and white signage in priority areas highlighting reasons to drive safely, like the message ‘because my family surfs here’ below speed limit signs near popular beaches.
In the past five years, nine people have been killed on Surf Coast Shire roads, including two deaths this year and none recorded the previous two years.
However, 278 people have been hospitalised with injuries from Surf Coast crashes in the five years to June 2020, including 50 people last financial year.
Surf Coast Shire Council Mayor Cr Libby Stapleton said she hoped the visual nature of the campaign would help motorists make a connection to the human face behind every crash.
“Whether it’s your children walking home from school, or your grandparents heading to the shops in their car, we all have loved ones we want to see arrive home safely,” Cr Stapleton said.
“I hope this initiative drives these road accident statistics right down – for the sake of our entire community.”
