New Council Initiative puts Road Safety into a calendar

Natalie Di Paola

Northern Sydney Councils have banded together again to revamp their annual calendar focusing on road safety.

Using a combination of retro images and humour, the 2018 calendar takes a fresh and stylish approach to explaining road safety rules that are hard to forget.

Each month on the calendar contains information such as correct speed and breaking times for normal and wet road conditions as well as correct mobile phone use and emergency contact numbers.

“Using humour is a powerful way to engage with an audience. We saw how people responded to this approach last year when copies of the 2017 calendar were snatched up by the public,” says Lisa Pears, City of Ryde Road Safety Officer.

“Rather than telling people what they should and should not be doing, or attempting to scare them with statistics and gory details of dangerous actions, this campaign encourages people to modify their behaviour through the use of humour, style and old fashion courtesy.”

The message for road safety is still imperative to spread. While the national number of road deaths at this time of year has decreased from 1,294 last year to 998 this year, the NSW number has increased from 335 to 342.

The councils involved in encouraging locals to observe road rules are Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Northern Beaches, North Sydney, Ryde and Willoughby.

The topics covered each month are:
• January: Roundabouts – A simple guide on how to use a roundabout.
• February: Sharing the road – Explains some exemptions for drivers when sharing the road with cyclists.
• March: Inside car safety – Ways of keeping yourself safer in your vehicle when driving.
• April: Truckies’ wish list – How to drive around heavy vehicles.
• May: No Parking Zones – What are they for and how do they work
• June: Life in the bus lane – Understanding what you can and cannot do in Bus Lanes.
• July: Floodwater dangers – Advice on driving around flooded roads.
• August: Shared pathways – How to use a shared pathway safely.
• September: Merging – How to merge safely with other vehicles on the road.
• October: Driveway safety – A reminder to check before exiting or entering driveways.
• November: Distracted pedestrians – A reminder to be responsible for yourself when crossing the road.
• December: Buckle up your precious cargo – Advice on car seat restraints.