A joint initiative of Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shires aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers of heavy vehicle load restraint breaches has been granted a share of funding under Round 5 of the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI).

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said the funding would enable the three councils to develop, implement and evaluate a load restraint public education campaign.

“This campaign will assist the local transport industry in gaining a better understanding of the fundamentals of load restraint as well as to reduce the number of load restraint breaches and incidents occurring on local roads,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

“The campaign will include pre and post awareness surveys, ‘how to’ videos, fact sheets, a social media campaign and practical load restraint information sessions.

“Success will be measured by the results of the pre/post awareness surveys, Police enforcement figures, crash data and feedback from participants at the practical load restraint information sessions.”

Federal Member for Parkes and Minister for Local Government Mark Coulton said the campaign will lead to important benefits for all road users.

“Councils are the level of government closest to their communities and as Minister for Local Government I’m thrilled that Lachlan, Parkes and Forbes Shire Councils are taking the lead on this important initiative,” Mr Coulton said.

“It is absolutely vital we continue to invest in critical programs that improve road safety to save lives and reduce road trauma, including across our heavy vehicle sector.

“I commend these councils on their leadership in educating the community with support from the Australian Government’s HVSI, particularly Lachlan Shire Council which lies in the southern part of my electorate.”

The 26 projects across the nation being funded this round target key areas such as developing or testing innovative new technologies, mental health support for drivers, educational campaigns and much-needed training and development.

This latest round of funding builds on the $17.3 million already provided for 62 grants under the HVSI program over the past four years.

The program supports the Safe System principles – a holistic approach to road safety that underpins the National Road Safety Strategy agreed by all governments.

For more information on the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative program and a full list of funded projects, visit https://www.nhvr.gov.au/about-us/heavy-vehicle-safety-initiative