Held annually since 2015, the 10th annual Bus Safety Week is finally upon us in NSW, reminding all road users how to stay safe on and around buses.
Running from February 17-23, the safety week provides the perfect opportunity for operators and those alike to share some tips on how to be safer around heavy vehicles and spread awareness.
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Buses are large, heavy vehicles that can take a long time to stop and have wider blind spots. Whether you’re walking, driving or riding, give buses plenty of space and don’t expect the driver to be able to see you or stop in time to avoid colliding.
Since 2019 there have been 45 fatalities from bus crashes (including minibuses) in NSW. The 45 fatalities included 13 pedestrians, 6 drivers (of vehicles other than a bus), 7 motorcyclists, 4 bus drivers, 11 bus passengers, 3 passengers (of vehicles other than a bus), and 1 pedal cyclist.
Passengers, pedestrians, drivers and all others must work together to ensure these numbers continue to decline.
Efforts have been made across the country in the past 12 months to ensure the safety of road users and buses, with the federal government introducing a new ADR in January that will require new seatbelt wearing monitoring technology to be fitted to Australian buses and coaches.
The NHVR also jumped aboard the safety train, launching the ‘We All Need Space’ bus safety campaign, while last year, the DITRDCA set up a Bus Safety Working Group to regulate safety.
The bus industry’s BusSAFE initiative has also been a major win, working to prevent incidents and loss of life via bus safety education sessions across South Australian, Queensland and Tasmanian schools.