‘Slow Down’ campaign success in Wagga

Published: 11 Sep 2020 12:25pm

Wagga Wagga City Council’s recent ‘Slow Down’ project has been hailed a success towards helping reduce the number of speeding motorists on local roads.

"Slow Down in My Street", a local road safety project jointly funded by Wagga Wagga City Council and Transport for NSW with support from NSW Police, aimed to deliver a strong message to local drivers that speeding is not acceptable on the city’s streets.

Recent research showed one Wagga street recorded almost 1 in 3 drivers travelled more than 10km/h above the speed limit with some speeds recorded considered “grossly dangerous”.

The campaign has involved the local community, Police and Council to deliver a strong message to local drivers that speeding is not acceptable.

Council’s Road Safety Officer Emma Reynolds said speeding is a factor in about 40 per cent of road deaths in NSW.

“During the past six months Council has collected data across the city which not only records traffic numbers, but also the speed at which vehicles are travelling,” Mrs Reynolds said.

”On several local roads, almost 13 per cent of vehicles were detected travelling up to 25km/h over the speed limit during the five-week recording period.

“Speeding is one of the most common factors associated with road crashes. Any increase in speed adds to the potential for a crash. This also increases the impact forces associated with a crash and the severity of injuries sustained.”

Wagga Wagga Highway Patrol’s Sergeant Bloomfield said officers saw a noticeable change in driver behaviour during the campaign.

“Although speeding offences were still detected, there appeared to be a lesser number than there would usually have been,” Sgt Bloomfield said.

“Public opinion to the campaign was very positive. Police reported residents in many of the identified locations speaking to them favourably regarding their presence.

“I believe that the campaign was a valuable initiative that acted as both a deterrent to offenders and a reassurance to Wagga residents. It reinforced the message that the issue of speeding motorists can be effectively addressed by a collaborative approach from WWCC and the NSWP Highway Patrol.”

Another speed focused project will start this year with Transport for NSW supporting the expansion of the project to rural roads around Wagga Wagga.

Five residential roads and five rural roads will be chosen in consultation with the community and Police. Community members can nominate their street before the 28 September closing date at https://wagga.nsw.gov.au/services/roads-and-transport/road-safety

For more information on safer speeds visit the Road Safety page on our website.