Fast Five: tips and reminders to stay road safe

Did you know we run free workshops to help learner drivers? It is one of the ways to support road safety across our city. With National Road Safety Week coming up, it is a great opportunity to refresh our community’s road safety knowledge and behaviours.

National Road Safety week, in collaboration with Transport for NSW, is from Sunday 5 May to Sunday 12 May 2024, with this year’s theme ‘All road safety is local – Drive So Others Survive’. The week serves as a reminder that road safety affects and involves everyone. Whether you are a pedestrian, driver, rider, or cyclist, – we all have a responsibility to travel safely.

We’re committed to working with our community and government agencies to make travelling on Wollongong’s roads a safe experience.

So, here’s five different ways to shape your road safety knowledge and behaviours.

1. Come along and join our free workshops for Learner and Supervising Drivers

Learning how to drive can be exciting and scary. We regularly run free workshops to help our next generation of drivers be safer on the road.

• Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers – Parent workshops – These free online sessions provide practical advice and helpful information for supervisors who are teaching - learner drivers.
• Learner Driver Logbook Runs – Join other L-plate drivers on a driving journey on our local roads to improve your driving skills and gain more experience in a range of conditions.

To find out more, including when the next workshops are, please visit our Road Safety page.

2. Refresh your knowledge about School Zones

Keeping children safe around all schools is a big focus of our road safety education program. There are some simple tips when driving in a school zone during busy peak times, such as:

• don’t queue for a spot
• drive around the block if you can’t find a park
• it is illegal to stop on a children’s crossing
• you can stop in a No Parking zone for up to two minutes (for pick-up and drop-off) and you must always stay within three metres of your vehicle.

You can watch the video above to find out more about school zone parking rules and signage at your child’s school.

We continue to work together with Transport for NSW and local schools and to make routes to school safer no matter the mode of transport. If you have a concern or request about road safety at your local school, please talk to your school Principal and P&C, then use our traffic request form to share your concerns with Council.

3. Ride on our separated cycleways

If you prefer to cycle, skateboard, scoot, or roller skate, you can use our separated cycleways across Wollongong to support your journey on our roads.

They are located beside the kerb and gutter and are separated from parked cars or the driving lane in a street by a yellow traffic separator like the one shown in the picture above.

Rules also apply when driving near separated cycleways. For example, when you exit or enter a driveway beside a separated cycleway, you are required to give way to both pedestrians on the footbath and cyclists in the separated cycleway.

You can find out more information on our Separated Cycleways page.

4. Stay aware when walking around our roads

There are lots of tips to stay safe as a pedestrian on Transport for NSW website. You can also find out more on our Walking page including our strategies and plans to support safe paths.

To stay aware and safe as a pedestrian, always remember to ‘Stop. Look. Listen. Think.’ This road behaviour will make sure that you are always being mindful of vehicles, buses, trucks, motorists and more. Even if you walk on the same roads, you should never be complacent, as pedestrians are particularly vulnerable in crashes.

Remember to always use pedestrian crossings if available as they are a safe access point to cross the road.

5. Every time you ride, Ride to Live

As a motorcyclist, you can enjoy the road but know the risks. Transport for NSW has an initiative ‘Ride to Live’ that provides a range of resources and tips for motorcyclists. This includes an interactive virtual ride quiz to mirror common scenarios as a rider.

From choosing the right gears to checking the roads before travelling, find out more on the Ride to Live website.

National Road Safety Week in Wollongong

• Check out the lighting up of the Wollongong City Inactive Lighthouse at Belmore Basin from Sunday 5 May to Sunday 12 May from 5.30pm to 9.30pm with yellow lights.
• On Friday 10 May, our Road Safety Officer and Transport for NSW representatives will be available to chat about National Road Safety Week and how to stay safe on our roads. They will be on the Blue Mile, Wollongong from 11am to 1pm. This is an opportunity to take the road safety pledge, and receive a Yellow Ribbon and yellow jellybeans.
• Take the pledge to drive so others survive, be safe on our streets as it’s everyone’s responsibility. Find out more information on the National Road Safety Week website.