THE ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme has been awarded first place in the Local Government Excellence in Road Safety Awards at the Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) NSW State Conference in Coffs Harbour at the end of October.
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Moree Plains and Gwydir Shire Council’s road safety officer Renee McMillan was delighted to receive the recognition and acknowledgment for a project that encouraged travelling motorists to stop at participating businesses anywhere from Lithgow to Moree for a free cup of coffee or tea in order to take a break from driving long distances.
“The whole team is passionate about this project and we are proud to deliver it to the community because it encourages visiting drivers to stop and take a break, increases awareness of driver fatigue, highlights strategies to avoid fatigue driving, and encourages visitors to visit new towns and villages along their route,” she said.
Since its inception in 2010, the ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme, through its 150 participating businesses, has given away 1500 free cuppas throughout 50 cities, towns and villages across the 13 participating Local Government areas.
“The added benefit is that great partnerships are developed between the council and participating businesses. The council provides the marketing and local businesses provide the free cuppas,” Mrs McMillian said.
Between 2008-2012, there were 712 fatigue related crashes across the Cabonne, Dubbo, Forbes, Gilgandra, Gwydir, Lachlan, Lithgow, Moree Plains, Narrabri, Orange, Parkes, Warrumbungle and Wellington council areas. “These crashes resulted in 54 fatalities and 12,222 injuries. Almost 60 per cent of the drivers involved in these fatigue crashes were not from the local area.”
