MEDIA RELEASE - Road safety reminder for everyone
December 2015
The Shire of Manjimup has hosted its first Road Ribbon for Road Safety awareness ceremony, featuring a blessing of the roads, conducted by WA Police Chaplain Joe Newbold. The aim of the ceremony was to spread the road safety campaign messages which are a part of the Western Australian Local Government Association's RoadWise initiative.
Special guests at the event included representatives from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, St John Ambulance, State Emergency Service, WA Police and the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes.
Shire President Wade DeCampo said the road safety messages don't just apply during the holiday season and can't be repeated too often, urging everyone to remind their family and friends to practice caution and stay safe. "Road safety is so important and we need to band together as a community to make sure the safety messages reverberate as much as possible."
Key messages for drivers to remember, not just over the holiday season but in general, are to turn off their mobile phone while driving, adapt their speed to the weather, light and road conditions, ensure they are restrained while driving, take a break or swap drivers if fatigued and to never drink alcohol and drive.
"Our community has experienced, first hand, the ripple effect that is caused by crashes on our roads, whether fatal or not and whether it is community members or visitors to the region who are victim. Family members, friends, colleagues and the emergency services personnel who attend the scene of the crash, all have feelings of sympathy and empathy, and any trauma can take years to process and overcome," explained Cr DeCampo.
With the blessing of the roads usually occurring as a part of the Easter tradition, the Shire's initiative to conduct it in conjunction with the Christmas break was welcomed by the RoadWise group. Shire President Wade DeCampo explained that the Shire's aim is to do something different to raise public awareness of the importance of road safety for visitors and locals alike.
"The summer holiday season is always busy on the roads, but that is compounded in the Southern Forests region by the number of extra people we have on the roads at this time of the year who are part of our itinerant workforce," explained Cr DeCampo.
