Fourteen Coffs Coast Waste Services trucks are hitting the road with a cheeky new safety message, as the City of Coffs Harbour tries a different tack to get drivers to slow down.
The trucks will carry signage promoting the council’s “Slow the f*st down” road safety campaign, giving road users a highly visible reminder to watch their speed. The garbage trucks operate across the Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca Valley local government areas.
“Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for the conditions can have traffic consequences,” Mayor Nikki Williams said.
“The statistics tell us that speeding is a significant issue here in Coffs, and it’s one we are trying to address through public education.”
The waste truck signage is the last part of a year-long campaign to improve local driver behaviour, City Infrastructure Director Andrew Beswick said.
“This is the last part of our year-long campaign to improve local driver behaviours,” Mr Beswick said.
“We’re also looking at another run of free bumper stickers which this time will also be available for pick-up in Nambucca and Bellingen, plus some fixed metal safety signage at Moonee and Sandy Beach which are known speeding hot spots.”
The “Slow the f*st down” initiative was rolled out in November last year and has included wrapped bus advertising, roadside signage and promotion on social and traditional media channels. At its launch, Sergeant Jarrod Langan from the Coffs Harbour Highway Patrol said men aged between 30 and 60 had been identified as a target group in Coffs for speeding offences.
“Coffs/Clarence Police District continues to have the highest speed detections in North Region, and speed continues to be a major contributing factor in injury and fatal crashes,” Sgt Langan said.
“Police at Coffs/Clarence will continue to target drivers who place themselves and others at risk. Drivers should not exceed the speed limit and also drive at an appropriate speed for the road conditions.”
Coffs Harbour worked with The George Institute for Global Health to develop the campaign, after being one of seven local government areas nationally, a mix of metro and regional, to secure federal funding for a tailored road safety campaign.
“The ‘Slow the f*st down’ initiative was designed to catch attention. It’s important that we all pause and think about driving at a safe speed,” Mr Beswick said.
A small increase in speed can make a big difference to whether a driver can stop in time. As speed goes up, stopping distance increases, the impact of a crash becomes more severe, and the chance of death or serious injury rises sharply. Many serious crashes happen on everyday 50 to 60km/h roads, like the majority of streets in the Coffs Harbour local government area.
“No matter what causes a crash, speed has a direct relationship to the severity of every crash and we all need to be very mindful of that,” Mayor Williams said.
The Education and Awareness for Safe Speeds in Communities project was funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
Got something you want to say about this story? Have your say on our opinion and comment hub, North Coast Times Engage