Each year during Yellow Ribbon National Road Safety Week, our emergency services join forces to send a life-saving message to motorists.
The week highlights the responsibility that every motorist has for their own safety and that of every other person using the road.
Locally, Mandurah Police Station acting senior sergeant Rob Lewis said nothing had changed from a policing point of view.
He said Mandurah officers would continue their work of charging offenders and deterring unacceptable behaviour on our roads.
Read more:
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he saw the week as an opportunity for the local community to have a conversation about road safety with family and friends.
”As a community we have a shared responsibility and must work together to prevent more families experiencing the tragedy of road trauma,” he said.
“As a member of parliament, I know the McGowan Government is focused on reducing road trauma and saving lives on our roads.”
The City of Mandurah joined this year’s national campaign by beaming yellow light across its iconic traffic bridge to raise awareness of road safety.
The bridge is one of many West Australian landmarks that have donned yellow for the cause, including Elizabeth Quay, The Bell Tower, Council House, Tonkin Highway Gateway and St George's Cathedral.
Yellow Ribbon National Road Safety Week was set up by Safer Australian Road and Highways (SARAH) president Peter Frazer, following the tragic roadside fatality of his daughter Sarah in 2012.
Sarah was killed along with a tow truck driver, after a truck hit them as they were standing in the breakdown lane of a New South Wales highway.
Road safety minister Michelle Roberts said she encouraged every West Australian to wear a yellow ribbon across the week, have a conversation about road safety with their family and friends and take the pledge to drive safely.
"Last year, 1,227 people were killed on Australian roads, and of those, 161 lost their lives here in WA,” she said.
"The impact road trauma has on families, friends and the broader community is devastating and as a community, we must aspire to zero being the only acceptable number of deaths on our roads.”
Drink and drug driving, speed, fatigue, failing to wear seatbelts and distractions have been labelled as the leading causes of death and injury on our roads.
The public can make an active commitment to road safety on the SARAH Group website by making a pledge to drive safely.
