Be alert to vulnerable road users

Monthly traffic focus - Vulnerable road users

ACT Policing is targeting driver behaviour risking the safety vulnerable road users as part its traffic focus for March.

Children, pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists are all considered vulnerable road users, as they do not have the same protection as a car during a collision.

Officer in Charge of Traffic Operations, Detective Station Sergeant Marcus Boorman said police expect all road users to obey the road rules so everyone makes it home safely.

“It’s important to remember the road is a shared space, regardless of how you use the road,” Detective Station Sergeant Boorman said.

“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. We ask that all road users be alert of their surroundings, be vigilant and concentrate when travelling on our roads – particularly in the wet conditions as we have seen this past week.

“I’d ask drivers to pay particular attention in and around school zones. Children are some of our most vulnerable road users, and their unpredictability exposes them to high risk around traffic.”

Police are also actively targeting the safe passing of cyclists, with vehicles required to remain a minimum of one metre away from a cyclist in speed zones at or below 60km/h, and one and a half metres in speed zones above 60km/h.

“Road users should treat cyclists as if they were any other vehicle, including giving way when required and keeping a safe distance,” Detective Station Sergeant Boorman said.

“Police have been conducting, and will continue to conduct, targeted operations focused on the safe passing of cyclists - the next cyclist you pass could be a police officer.”

The joint road safety campaign with the Justice and Community Safety Directorate forms part of the ACT Road Safety Strategy 2011-20, which takes a Vision Zero approach to road safety.

Throughout the year, the multi-agency road safety strategy targets specific issues and behaviours which contribute to death and serious injuries on Canberra's roads, with driver distraction among those concerns.

If you would like to report any road user behaviour to police, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.

Media enquiries

Police Media — (02) 5126 9070, act-police-media@afp.gov.au

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