Australia’s most eminent road safety campaigner will be a special guest at a solemn ceremony in Coffs Harbour today to reflect on the impact of road trauma.
Peter Frazer OAM – who lost his daughter Sarah after she was hit by a truck on the Hume Highway in 2012 – is among a powerful line-up of speakers at the City of Coffs Harbour-organised community event at the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden.
The ceremony is part of National Road Safety Week, an initiative driven by the Safer Australian Roads and Highways Group (SARAH) which Mr Frazer set up. Additional partners include road safety organisations and government.
The event will be held alongside a yellow-flowering Remembrance Garden, where guests will have the chance to pen the name of a loved one on a tribute ribbon.
“Road trauma touches so many lives in Coffs Harbour. Unlike the often slow creep of illness or a chronic medical condition, a road crash can happen in the blink of an eye and lead to life-changing heartache rippling across a community,” Deputy Mayor, George Cecato said.
Cr Cecato, a member of the City’s Local Traffic Committee, said National Road Safety Week was a time to reflect on lives lost and changed, and ongoing efforts to improve safety for all road users.
Other event speakers include Sergeant Jarrod Langan from the Coffs Harbour Highway Patrol and Professor Julie Brown who leads the injury program at the George Institute for Global Health, Australia.
Prof Brown heads a team of researchers working on the Community Action for Safe Speeds Study (CASS) in local government areas across NSW, including in Coffs Harbour.
This research aims to find innovative ways to reduce speeding-related road trauma through increasing public demand for safer speeds.
Mr Frazer has dedicated his life to improving road safety in Australia and overseas.
He created and remains the driving force behind National Road Safety Week, as well as Australia’s road safety symbol, the ‘Yellow Ribbon’.
Those attending the North Coast Regional Botanic Garden ceremony will be welcome to take the ‘Pledge to drive so others survive’:
I pledge to drive as if my loved ones are on the road ahead.
I will remove all distractions and never use my mobile phone while driving.
I will not put other people at risk by speeding, driving while tired or under the influence of alcohol/drugs.
I will protect all vulnerable road users, especially those whose job places them in harm’s way, by slowing down and giving them the space they need to be safe.
The Coffs Harbour National Road Safety Week event will run from 2.30 to 3.30pm and include a complimentary afternoon tea.
