Mitchell Shire Council is encouraging drivers to think about their behaviour on local roads as part of Rural Road Safety Month.
Rural Road Safety Month, recognised annually in September, is a national awareness campaign run by the Australian Road Safety Foundation to target rural and regional road safety.
The initiative highlights additional risks faced when travelling on country roads and encourages everyone to take personal responsibility and action to reduce trauma.
Regional and rural roads account for almost two-thirds of Australia's road fatalities each year.
Research from the Australian Road Safety Foundation shows many drivers admit to taking more risks once they leave city limits or forget to consider factors that impact safety including:
Speeding
Faster speeds are one of the most dangerous factors on rural roads as they dramatically increase stopping distances and the severity of crashes. To help address this, Council has begun rolling out evidence-based speed limit reductions across both residential and rural areas. This includes new 40 km/h zones in high traffic residential areas to better protect pedestrians and cyclists, and 60 km/h and 80 km/h limits on key rural roads to reduce run-off and fatal crash risks. Visit the TAC website
