The State’s tourism and road safety bodies have joined forces to tackle fatigue-related road trauma and help people stay safe when traveling across Victoria.
Announced by the Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, Vicki Ward, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) has teamed up with the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) to pilot TAC’s Pause Stop program as a permanent resource across the State’s Visitor Information Centre network.
“New TAC Pause Stops will initially pop up at 11 accredited Visitor Information Centre locations, where visitors will be greeted with a range of resources to help them plan a safe onward journey, as well as activities for the kids,” Ms Ward said.
“Victorians are being urged to plan ahead and drive safely these school holidays and beyond, as the number of lives lost on the State’s roads reaches 125, an increase from 104 at the same time last year,” she said.
“Fatigue is a major cause of death and injuries on Victorian roads, with TAC research showing that driving while tired is a factor in around 20 per cent of road crashes.”
Ms Ward said the partnership would provide a unique platform for the TAC to engage with the millions of people who stopped at Visitor Information Centres each year on key road safety issues.
She said the Visitor Information Centres to pilot the initiative included Benalla, Bendigo, Dunkeld and Grampians, Echuca/Moama, Frankston, Geelong and Bellarine, Hamilton and Grampians, Heathcote, Melbourne Visitor Hub at Town Hall, Phillip Island, and Prom Country in Foster.
She said the pilot campaign would run until December and a feasibility assessment into extending the partnership and including the entire network of 62 Visitor Information Centres would be conducted.
