June is month of Drive to Conditions message

08 June 2018

Police support Council to promote safety on Tweed roads

Council and the NSW Police are working together on Tweed roads this month to promote the message to Drive to Conditions.

Driving to conditions means adjusting your speed to the prevailing road and weather conditions and scanning the road ahead for hazards and other road users.

Speed limits are the maximum allowable speed for a section of road and a safe speed may be well below the posted limit.

The police are supporting the Local Government Road Safety Program campaign, targeting risky behaviours common in crashes on country roads, such as speeding and crossing double centrelines around bends.

“Just because a road is sign posted 80km/h does not mean you should drive that fast,” Senior Constable Justin Lavin said. “We are pleading with motorists to drive to the road conditions, particularly around curves.

“If you do drive too fast around a curve, you risk losing control or crossing the double centreline, and that’s what we will be targeting, especially during this campaign.”

Statistics tell us it is local drivers who crash on local roads – our mates, our families, us.

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and we want the community to share the ‘Drive to conditions’ message with their friends and family.

Road conditions can change quickly on rural roads.

“Even if you’ve driven on a road hundreds of times, you never really know what’s going to be around the next bend,” said Council Road Safety Officer Alana Brooks. “Many rural road crashes in the Tweed involve a driver losing control on a bend. These crashes are preventable if drivers drive to conditions and select a safe speed to approach that bend.”

Driving to conditions in the wet includes turning on your headlights; looking for water and debris on the road; slowing down, especially around bends; and avoiding braking, accelerating or turning quickly to reduce your chances of skidding.”

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Caption: Senior Constable Anthony Brown, Council Road Safety Officer Alana Brooks and Senior Constable Justin Lavin promote the Drive to Conditions campaign on one of Tweed's winding rural roads, Kyogle Road, Terragon.