Stay Safe On The Road These Holidays

Author: NRMA MediaDate: 19 December 2008

To ensure families are safe on the roads this holiday season NRMA Motoring & Services President Wendy Machin suggests the following advice:

• Seat Belts: Always wear a seat belt. It's a legal requirement for the driver and passengers. Babies and children should always be in an approved capsule or child restraint of the correct size. The NRMA recommends that correctly installed and sized child restraints be used until the child can safely and securely fit in an adult's seat belt.
• Concentrate: Driving is a complex task. Ensure you start your trip well rested.
• Driver Fatigue: Every two hours you drive, stop and rest for at least 15 minutes. Share the driving whenever possible.
• Speed Limits: Never exceed the posted speed-limit and drive to the conditions. Slow down in wet weather.
• Alcohol: There is no absolute safe level of alcohol consumption for competent driving. For fully-licenced drivers the legal limit is 0.05. Zero for L and P plate drivers. If you plan to drink plan not to drive.
• Safe following distance: Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you - in wet weather allow for a greater stopping distance.
• Travelling with pets: Make sure they are restrained for everybody's safety.
• Mobile Phones: It's illegal to drive using a hand-held mobile phone including when you are waiting at traffic lights.

Driver fatigue

• You're four times more likely to have a fatal fatigue crash if you're driving between 10pm and dawn. That's because your body's programmed to sleep at that time.
• Don't drive long distances after a day's work - you're already tired before you start. It's better to drive a short distance and stop over for the night.
• Plan your trip. Take at least a 15 minute break from driving every two hours. Rest area maps are located on the RTA website.
• Stay refreshed and where you can share the driving - ensure your co-driver has had enough rest and has not been drinking alcohol.
• Fighting fatigue won't work - the only cure for fatigue is sleep.

Drink driving

• In NSW, drink driving is a factor in about one in every five fatal crashes. Of those who are killed, 88 per cent are men and 75 per cent are under the age of 40.
• Any amount of alcohol increases the risk of being involved in a crash. If you are planning on driving, the best advice is to not drink any alcohol at all.
• You don't have to be drunk to be affected by alcohol. You might feel normal but no one drives as well after drinking alcohol.
• There is no quick way to reduce your BAC (Blood Alcohol Content).
• The legal alcohol limit for Learners and P-plate drivers is zero BAC (Blood Alcohol Content). All other drivers need to stay under 0.05 BAC.
• Remember after a night out drinking alcohol, you may still be over the limit the next day.
• Medication can affect driving. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking medication. It can affect your ability to drive, especially when combined with alcohol.
• Since the introduction of random breath testing in 1982, fatal crashes involving alcohol have dropped from 40 per cent of all fatalities to the current level of 19 per cent. Last year police conducted 3.4 million breath tests in NSW.

Distractions

• Driving requires all your attention. Keep distractions to a minimum and focus on the speed limit, traffic lights, other vehicles or pedestrians
• It is illegal to drive while using a hand-held mobile phone. Mobile phones should be turned off or set to voicemail. It is legal to talk via a hands-free device (except L and P Platers), but conversations can distract and affect concentration.
• Reading or sending text messages when driving is illegal and increases your chance of being in a crash
• Eating, drinking or changing music also increases your crash risk.

Country driving

When driving in rural areas, be extremely careful of potholes and rough surfaces, soft or broken road edges, single lane bridges or road surfaces changing without notice. Livestock and wildlife cross country roads, particularly just near sunrise or sunset. Be alert for very large trucks. For information on road closures due to bush fires, call the RTA on 132 701.

What to do if you're involved in a crash

1. Switch on your hazard lights and make sure you are safe
2. Don't panic: You risk being injured if you get out of your car without taking the time to check for traffic around you
3. Where is your car? If your car is on the side of the road, stay in the car and keep your seatbelt on. People are sometimes injured and killed standing on the side of the road waiting for assistance
4. Are people injured? Call 000. Do not assume someone else has called. People at a crash may be distressed and forget to call
5. Provide your location detail: For emergency services to find a crash scene they need an address. If you don't know the address of the crash, provide landmarks
6. Record important information: Name and telephone number of all people involved in the crash, and any witnesses. Take down drivers' licence numbers. Sketch a quick diagram of where the vehicle occupants were seated and indicate the vehicles' direction of travel and lane. Note the date, time and weather conditions. Exchange insurance company information, but do not discuss "fault" or make statements about the crash to anyone but the police.