THE South Australian Motor Accident Commission’s latest regional campaign Left Behind targets unsafe driving behaviour to help reduce the increasing rate of regional crashes and work towards zero road deaths in the state.
It comes at a crucial time on South Australian roads after a spate of regional fatalities.
In the first half of 2018, 29 of the 38 lives lost on the road occurred on South Australia’s regional roads.
Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard said regional road tragedies continued to have a devastating impact on communities.
“MAC’s newest road safety campaign is based on research conducted among regional residents that identified some drivers let their behaviour slip when they are by themselves, thinking it’s okay because ‘they’re only putting themselves at risk’,” Mr Wingard said.
MAC road safety communications manager Matthew Hanton said the new regional campaign targets the solitary behaviours of drivers while on the road.
“Left Behind targets the behaviours of drivers where they may be sneaking away from the pub and driving home drunk or speeding when alone in the car, thinking they are not putting anyone else at risk,” he said.
“But the reality is, it is not just themselves they could be hurting.
“Before drivers get in the car and make bad choices, we want them to think about who they are leaving behind if something were to happen.”
Despite making up only 30pc of the state’s population, generally 60pc of fatal crashes are continuing to take place in regional areas.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Mr Wingard said.
“If everyone made the simple choice to drive within speed limits, wear their seatbelts and not drive while under the influence, we would go a long way to reducing the road toll.”
