This week marks National Road Safety Week (30 April – 6 May), a week dedicated to highlighting the impact of road trauma and ways to reduce it.
An initiative of the Safer Australian Roads and Highways Group, a key part of the campaign will see national and state icons turn yellow.
Across regional and metro cities, emergency vehicles, cars, fleet trucks, motorbikes and bikes will also don yellow ribbons to honour both those lives we’ve lost and demonstrate a pledge to drive safely on our roads.
Each day of the week is themed around groups of road users, with Saturday 5 May themed the ‘Yellow ride’ for people who ride bikes and motorcycles.
The message for Saturday is simple—bike riders and motorcyclists are our most vulnerable road users, give them space and share the road.
More specifically, on Saturday people who ride bikes are being asked to wear yellow and turn their lights on during the day to help raise awareness for National Road Safety Week.
As part of the initiative, Bicycle Network will also deliver three Ride2School sessions in at schools in Warrane, Cressy and Deloraine, Tasmania.
While it’s important to continue to raise awareness about road safety for all, it’s clear that more can be done to protect our most vulnerable.
Bicycle Network’s recent Fatalities Report found that while the total number of cyclist deaths fluctuates each year, the national annual average of 37 has barely changed in two decades.
“It’s hard to see how we can reduce fatalities towards zero when we can barely reduce them by one. People who ride bikes will continue to die on our roads until urgent action is taken by all levels of government,” Bicycle Network CEO Craig Richards said.
As part of the report, Bicycle Network also came up with 14 recommendations to reduce the risk for people who ride, which has been presented to both federal and state governments across Australia.