Safe Driving Tips

Driving a motor vehicle requires the concentration of the driver at all times, not just for your own safety but for the safety of the passengers in your vehicle, the other road users and pedestrians on the street.

The following information will help you prepare for driving a motor vehicle.

Essential Knowledge as a Road User

The road system is made up of four basic groups:

* Road users: drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, bicyclists and pedestrians.
* Vehicles: eg. cars, trucks, buses, motorcyclists and bicycles.
* The physical environment: roads, median strips, traffic signals and the footpath.
* The social environment: eg. social pressures connected with speeding and the use alcohol and drugs.

To minimise the risk of accidents and injuries to road users, the following three measures have been undertaken:

Primary Measures or ways to avoid crashes:
These include street lighting, road design, driver/rider licencing, law making and enforcement, vehicle visibility, braking, steering, lighting and signalling systems and public education.

Secondary Measures or ways to keep injury to a minimum:
These include breakaway lightpoles, guard rails, energy absorbing steering wheel columns, safety glass in windows, metal reinforcement to passenger cabins, occupant restraints like seat belts and helmets for motorbike riders and cyclists.

Tertiary Measures or ways to allow for the best possible recovery:
These include the services of the police and ambulance officers, hospital and other medical care, legal aid insurance and/or social welfare payments to road crash victims.

Our Tips for Safe Driving:

* Be courteous, friendly and help other road users
* Make sure everyone in the car is properly buckled up
* Don’t rush, keep within the speed limit
* Start a long trip after a good night’s sleep and don’t travel at times you would normally be sleeping
* Take a break every two hours on a long trip
* If you plan to drink, don’t plan to drive – catch a cab or travel with a non-drinking driver
* Always set a good example for young children by wearing your helmet when cycling
* Check your car’s tyres and brakes regularly
* Always use your indicator well before you change lanes or turn
* If you find yourself driving along a road directly into the sun, pull over and wait whenever you are able; if you must continue driving, reduce your speed, use your sun visor and scan carefully for other road users (especially pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists).
* For more safe driving tips, please visit the following website: VicRoads

Common Road Signs

Below are a selection of common roadsigns fround on our roads.