National Road Safety Week honours lives lost on SA roads

Posted 27 May, 2021 Ellen Morgan

In South Australia, an average of nearly 100 lives have been lost every year on our roads over the past 10 years, a staggering – and preventable – statistic. So far in 2021, 42 lives have been lost and 312 people have been seriously injured due to road accidents.   To highlight the importance of road safety and commemorate the people who have lost their lives on our roads, RAA held a number of impactful public awareness displays and events around the state as part of National Road Safety Week (16-23 May).   An installation in Elder Park West, held last weekend in the leadup to National Road Safety Week, saw 977 chairs placed along the River Torrens in Adelaide, honouring every person killed on South Australian roads over the past decade. At the sombre memorial, large screens displayed scrolling messages from the family and friends still grieving the loss of their loved ones lost on our roads. RAA Senior Manager of Safety and Infrastructure Charles Mountain said the installation not only paid respect to those who lost their lives, but also those who had suffered serious injuries over the past decade (7391), educating the broader South Australian community about the importance of road safety.         “I think when you see it with your own eyes, and hear people’s real-life stories, it can be more impactful than reading the figures. “We have to remember the wider impact, too, as there are families and friends of these people who are still affected,” he said. Several iconic South Australian buildings were also lit up in yellow – the official colour of National Road Safety Week – to further highlight the importance of road safety. RAA would like to thank Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Convention Centre, Sky City Casino and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for getting involved in such a worthy cause.   A number of regional installations took place throughout the week, too, highlighting the state-wide importance of road safety. Fatality markers were placed in the town centres of Whyalla, Mount Gambier, Port Lincoln, Renmark, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor, Broken Hill and Clare, commemorating those lost in regional areas of our state. “The installations highlight the fact that we need to constantly be working on ways to reduce road fatalities and injuries, not just during National Road Safety Week, but all the time,” Mr Mountain said. “We need to continually invest in our road network, particularly in regional SA, with a focus on improving safety to reduce the likelihood and severity of road crashes.”   Back in the CBD, RAA co-hosted activations in Rundle Mall with the Department for Infrastructure and Transport. The activations took place throughout the week and saw our Street Smart, Bike Education and Road Safety teams educate the public on everything from the dangers of drink driving to school-zone safety. Kids were given the opportunity to snap pictures with RAA patrol vans and given badges confirming their honorary ‘Junior Patrol’ status as a result. “It’s important to make sure our youngest road users are educated, too,” Mr Mountain said. To broaden discussion in the wider community, RAA hosted a dinner at the National Wine Centre on Wednesday, 19 May, featuring a panel of road safety experts, weighing in on the important topic.   To further spread the word and spark conversation about road safety, more than 580 classic cars – each adorned with a yellow road safety ribbon – joined in the Kernewek Lowender Cavalcade of Cars on Sunday, 23 May. The Copper Coast’s annual event saw record attendance this year, with cars making their way from Wallaroo to Kadina. A number of RAA Patrols and historic vehicles joined the cavalcade, with members of the RAA team joining in the fun. Yellow ribbons were attached to the cars to further spread the word for greater road safety. “RAA remains focussed on raising awareness of the importance of road safety, and the responsibility of all road users to be vigilant behind the wheel,” Mr Mountain added.