Wearing a seatbelt doubles your chances of surviving a serious crash, yet despite the benefits shown by road safety research time and time again, too many people do not take the time to buckle up.
Wearing a seatbelt can be a life or death decision – both for you and your passengers. It doesn't matter if you are only travelling a few kilometres because most road crashes happen close to home. It does not make any difference if you are sticking to the posted speed limits or travelling very fast because a crash at 40 kilometres is like falling from a two storey building onto concrete. Passengers not wearing seatbelts can kill or seriously injure others in the car if, for example, the driver has to brake suddenly.
Age-based child restraint laws have been in place in South Australia since 2010 and now apply across the country. The laws specify what type of restraint is to be used at different ages and where children must be seated in a vehicle. The aim of these laws is to offer the best protection for children in the event of a crash and reduce the risk of injury caused by restraints that are unsuitable for a child's size.
Note: Animals must also be suitably restrained in vehicles. It is also an offence for passengers to travel in the back of utes, panel vans, trailers and caravans.
The South Australian Government is committed to the introduction of a heavy vehicle inspection scheme to identify, monitor and mitigate un-roadworthiness of heavy vehicles on South Australian roads.
As part of Operation Moving Traffic, extended clearways will be installed on Glen Osmond Road, Fullarton Road and Main North Road to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion during the morning and afternoon peak periods.
The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) will be improving safety at the junction of Swanport Road, Bridge Street and Mannum Road, Murray Bridge by widening the intersection for vehicles turning in and out of Bridge Street.
The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) will be improving safety and traffic flow on Montague Road at the Port Wakefield Road intersection with Churchill Road North at Cavan.