Choose road safety this Rural Road Safety Month

September is Rural Road Safety Month, and Australians are being urged to take extra care on regional and remote roads – including being particularly mindful of all road users such as children walking to or from school.

Rural Road Safety Month, now it its fifth year, is a national community-based initiative from the Australian Road Safety Foundation that seeks to highlight the additional risks present on or around rural roads.

Regional and remote road users account for almost two-thirds of the people who die on Australian roads each year.

It is not just visitors but locals are also killed and seriously injured on rural roads.

Stay safe by driving to the conditions, staying within signposted speeds limits, taking regular breaks and sharing the drive on long road journeys.

For more on Rural Road Safety Month, and to make the promise to Choose Road Safety, head to arsf.com.au/rural-road-safety-month.

More information on the Australian Government’s road safety initiative and investments is available at www.officeofroadsafety.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Carol Brown:

“The over-representation of regional and remote road users in our road fatalities should be of great concern to us all and Rural Road Safety Month is a poignant reminder of the work that needs to be done in order to eradicate this trend.

“The Australian Government is taking this issue seriously, we’re committed to Vision Zero—that is zero deaths and serious injuries due to road crashes by 2050.

“In December last year, governments across Australia released the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 setting us on the path to Vision Zero.

“The Strategy has nine key priorities, including regional road safety and remote road safety and we’re working to reduce road deaths and serious injuries nationally, engaging closely with state, territory and local governments and other stakeholders to implement the Strategy.

“One death on our roads is too many.”

Quotes attributable to Senator Nita Green, Senator for Queensland:

“Take extra care on our rural roads and keep road safety at the front of your mind not only this September but every time you head out on our regional and remote roads.”