“Stop, Revive, Survive” is a public campaign run in Australia urging the thousands of holidaying motorists to take it easy on the roads this Christmas, New year and School Holiday summer season.  Basically it’s recommended that you break up your drive every 2 hours by taking a short break. The campaign runs year round but is especially ramped up at this time of year.

Read more about the Stop, Revive Survive Campaing on the RTA’s website

Below is shocking  reminder of the dangers we all face on the roads. I’m purposely including this confronting article as I think it’s important that nobody has any illusions as to the dangers that exist on our roads.

Northern Advocate Christmas carnage: Two die in SH1 smash Northern Advocate by staff reporters | 23rd December 2009 An horrific head-on crash involving a campervan, a truck and trailer and a ute claimed the lives of two Spanish …

We wholeheartedly support the STOP, REVIVE, SURVIVE campaign and would like to see everyone get to their destination safely.

Here’s a little bit of Travellers Auto Barn advice to help you have a safe trip this Summer;

• Don’t PUSH ON when you are tired.
• Don’t get into the mind set of needing to ‘make good time’.
• Don’t drive at dawn, dusk, or overnight when you as travellers, should be enjoying a cup of tea, a beer, making dinner, sleeping, sleeping in or enjoying the beautiful surrounds you’ve woken up in.
• BEWARE TRUCKS, SEMIS, LORRIES, ROAD TRAINS. Besides Kangaroos and livestock on country roads, there is also the fact that most of the road freight travels at night and these huge trucks and their drivers are on very dangerous timetables and you do not want to be on the truck highways at night duelling with these unforgiving behemoths of the road. At night they own the road.
• WET ROADS – Beware unfamilair roads in the wet……another good government campaign is ‘Wipe off 10 in the wet”. Meaning whatever speed youa re doing take off another 10 when it’s raining.
• LOCAL FLOODS – In the Wet Season it’s quite common to get periods of heavy rain which can cause localised flooding.  Highways can be cut for 1-3 days, usually not much longer. Have some patience, don’t try and drive through the flood or find a small local raod to get around the flood. The spot where the water covers the road isn’t just an unlucky spot. It’s usually the spot where the road is at it’s lowest. In fact under the water the seemingly level road probably dips quite substantially so that what starts our 10cm deep becomes 1-2 metres deep. Not good. Many people are rescued from the roofs of their vehicles every year. Don’t be one of them….and besides that the car will be ruined.
• SPEED – Statistics prove it. Young people and speed are a deadly mix. The need for speed, the exhilaration of speed, and inexperience usually equate to a loss of control of the vehicle at a speed that results in carnage. Australian / NZ roads are nothing like Europe, many highways are simply rubbish. A sudden corner, an unforgiving camber on a bend with no shoulder. No room for error, your off the road, and the car is on it’s roof.
• UNSEALED ROADS / DIRT ROADS – corrugations, pot holes, more animals, sandy or dust drifts…all of these things will result in a loss of control of the vehicle at speeds as low as 30km/h depending upon how bad they are.
• UNFAMILIAR CARS – this is one of the greatest contibuting factors amongst those incidents involving http://www.travellers-autobarn.com.au/ Travellers Auto Barn Vehicles. Our Ford Falcons are 4 litre, rear wheel drive, lots of power to the rear wheels. Unless you are a very expereinced driver you do not ‘test out’  one of these cars, they will bite back. The CHUBBY and HiTOP campers have a high centre of gravity and with any combination of speed, poor road, inexperience and that essential ingredient stupidity, you will end up on your side. Australian Cars are not small, 1.3 litre, front wheel drive, manual transmission vehicles that many of our customers got their licence driving.

Some further safe driving advice from New Zealand

Please drive safely this festive season
Scoop.co.nz (press release)
There will be a variety of vehicles on the roads – cars, motorbikes, cyclists, trucks, buses, campervans/caravans and pedestrians – so take care to share …

Finally the last bit of advice is you MUST have adequate Travel Insurance. Australia has a very good Third Party Personal Injury Insurance Scheme that covers most people in the advent of an accident, but there are differences from state to state and will depend upon where the car you are travelling is is registered. Are you travelling in an NT, QLD, WA, NSW, VIC or SA registered car? This insurance may not provide the complete level of insurance you need and most certainly would not cover repatriation costs to your home country if needed. So please ALWAYS TRAVEL with TRAVEL INSURANCE that is applicable to your circumstances.

At Travellers Auto Barn we use and recommend WORLD NOMADS TRAVEL INSURANCE

Please take it easy this Summer. Have fun, but once you behind the wheel of the car be responsible.

Happy holidays and safe driving,

Peter Burke

Managing Director

Travellers Auto Barn