The Australian Road Safety Foundation marks this Friday as “Fatality Free Friday”. This on going safety campaign continues to resonate with the Australian community and highlight the importance of road safety.
As we know road safety is a complex issue and it is impossible to find one single key to reduce road trauma.
The statistics tell a sobering story. There were 1,195 people killed in road-related deaths in 2019 – that’s over three per day. Road crashes place major emotional and economic strain on all affected communities but particularly on the families and friends of the victims. And from an economic perspective, accidents on our roads cost Australians approximately $30 billion per year.
Like the assistant Minister for Road Safety, The Hon Scott Buchholz MP, NatRoad is a strong supporter of this day. We encourage everyone to get involved and to take the Fatality Free Friday pledge to drive safely.
“I want the community to pledge, one must promise to always be fit to drive, to stay focused on the road, to scan the road ahead, to keep a safe distance, and to drive in a way that suits the conditions,’ said , The Hon Scott Buchholz MP.
Since its inception in 2007 the Fatality Free Friday campaign has continued to expand its operation and is now recognised as Australia’s only national community-based road safety program.
It has successfully fostered community ownership, complex road safety issues and encourages those who can make a significant difference in reducing road trauma. There is an obvious need for all of us, the industry and the wider community to take ownership of road safety in order to reduce the road toll.
The campaign is more than just a single day. Whilst their target is to have a fatality free Friday ultimately we should all be aiming for a longer term community change. To date over 482,000 road safety pledges have been signed- this is an outstanding result. NatRoad urges you to take the pledge and put safety at the forefront of your mind. Help raise road safety awareness and champion the reduction of road injuries and fatalities.
