Imagine a future where road crashes resulting in death or serious injury are eliminated – that’s what the 2020 Road Ribbon for Road Safety® campaign is asking you to do.
The WA Local Government Association has championed the road safety ribbon campaign every year since 1996, and this year the campaign is firmly focused on how we can ‘achieve zero’ and eliminate road crash deaths and serious injuries from our roads.
The Road Ribbon for Road Safety® campaign commences on Sunday, 15 November, aligning with the United Nations World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims; a day dedicated to remembering the millions killed or injured in road crashes and the families and communities who deal with the traumatic aftermath.
WALGA President Mayor Tracey Roberts acknowledged that whilst significant gains had been made over many years in Western Australia, there was still work to be done in order to improve the State’s road safety journey.
“Local Governments, as road authorities and system designers, continue to design and influence the local road network so that roads and roadsides are more forgiving - catering for the mistakes we make on the road,” Mayor Roberts said.
“Our community is increasingly aware of the benefits of targeted speed limit reductions, particularly in shopping precincts, town centres and other high pedestrian areas. Changes in travel speeds not only improve survivability in the event of a crash, they also help create more liveable neighbourhoods.
“The technology in the cars we drive continues to improve, helping us to either avoid a crash altogether or better protect us in the event of a crash. We can also access information about the safest cars to buy, new or used, at the click of a button.”
Mayor Roberts said that whilst these were important steps towards the goal, in order to achieve more, we need to do more, to reach further, to challenge our knowledge and to go beyond current best practice.
“This is what we are asking as part of the 2020 Road Ribbon for Road Safety® campaign,” she said.
“We all need to take responsibility for behaving safely on our roads and complying with all road rules this holiday season (and always). It is very important that we raise our expectations and pin our focus on zero.”
Support the 2020 Road Ribbon for Road Safety® campaign and help contribute to road safety by:
- Accepting that no one should die or be seriously injured on our roads.
- Wearing a free road ribbon and downloading (and sharing) a free e-ribbon.
- Sharing the road ribbon message on social media.
- Chatting to loved ones about safe driving.
- Prioritising the inclusion of road safety into organisational policies.
For more information or to obtain Road Ribbon for Road Safety® campaign resources (including free road ribbons), visit the RoadWise website;
www.roadwise.asn.au/road-ribbon-for-road-safety.aspx. All campaign resources, including road ribbons, are supplied free of charge.