Following what associate transport minister Julie-Anne Genter said about wearing a seatbelt this Easter, the AA is asking drivers to check their mirrors as road deaths in April have matched this time last year.
“We know that improving road safety involves improving the quality of our roads, getting people into safer vehicles and making sure we have safe speed limits for different environments, but none of that is going to change by this weekend,” says AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen.
“But every single one of us can take a good look in the mirror ahead of the holiday break and think about whether there are some things we could do better?”
The police will be out on the roads this holiday season and the AA hopes this visible police presence will make people drive more safely.
The AA has dished out their top driving tips for drivers and passengers to make it through this Easter.
- Give yourself more following distance – at least two seconds in good conditions
- Drive at a safe speed for the conditions
- Stay fresh and alert. Take regular breaks and don’t drive tired.
- Be prepared for sun-strike in the morning and late afternoon.
Thomsen says all of us can drive a bit safer if we want to, and the AA would like to ask every driver to aim for doing one thing better on the roads this weekend.
“For some people that may be keeping a better following distance, for someone else it might be not using their phone behind the wheel, and for others it might be slowing down or taking more breaks when you’re driving.”
The AA and Vodafone have teamed up to send a message about drivers using their phones behind the wheel.
We do not ‘accidentally’ use our phones behind the wheel, unlike being tired or unable to see something, says Thomsen.
Their campaign, which you can watch here in video form, aims to get people thinking about driving while using phones in an entertaining way.
Seven road deaths were recorded during Easter last year, along with 45 serious injuries and 115 minor injuries.
