“No one factor to blame”

Executive Officer John Weinhert said the biggest problem with the road toll increases is that no one factor is to blame.

“All the boxes for driver distraction are being ticked,” Mr Weinhert said.

“Mobile phones are a big issue. We are part of an age now where as soon as our phone goes off, we need to check it.

“In a perfect world we would not even use Bluetooth as it is still very distracting.

“We have also seen that seatbelt usage has dropped. I am a firm believer in seatbelts and there is research that proves they work.

“We need to fix public transport’s road safety for one. An example is buses where in some states, even if the bus is fitted with seatbelts it is not legal to have to wear them. That is up to the driver to impair.

“Drink driving is also a bad one in the regions as people have the mentality that there are not as many police around and so many back roads to take.

“The conditions of the roads are not a direct correlation to accidents but it does add to the stress. “Anxiety and stress make accidents more possible.

“As an organisation we don’t believe we are going to change behaviour but if we can educate someone to the behaviours of driving dangers, that will change attitudes to driving, not enforcement.”

As part of their work in local communities, RoadSafe North East utilise several campaigns such as the “Who will you leave behind” campaign which is still going across the Moira Shire.

A new program RoadSafe is conducting is ‘look after your mates’ which is presented to inexperienced drivers and adolescents.

“We talk about plan b, leaving your keys somewhere, having a designated driver, alcohol and drugs and the dangers of driving when you are under the influence,” Mr Weinhert said.

“Too many young people have a mindset that ‘it won’t happen to me’, until it does. That is the sad reality of the situation.

“We often run a session at a high school or sporting club after an event has happened because it is now becoming people you know who are being killed on our roads and if we can do something to lessen those numbers, then we are doing the right thing.”

While young adults are a key demographic to work with on road safety, RoadSafe Northeast present programs on everything from young children and restraints, primary school aged children and bicycle education to the trucking industry with speed, fatigue and distractions through to senior citizens and the use of gofers as well as when it is time to give up the license.

“There is no one answer but individually we can do something about it.”