Tasmanian Government, Dept of State Growth

The Amy Gillett Foundation’s It’s a two-way street campaign is set to reach a further half a million Australians, with Tasmania becoming the second state to implement the road safety awareness initiative.

Dr Marilyn Johnson, Research and Policy Manager at the Amy Gillett Foundation said it was a sign of commitment by the Tasmanian Government to improve bike rider safety with a highly visual and engaging campaign.

Mutual respect between all road users is the main message of the It’s a two-way street campaign. It’s about people being responsible for their actions on the road, whether they’re riding their bike or driving their car,” Dr Johnson said.

Implementing the It’s a two-way street campaign forms part of a broader suite of initiatives proposed by the Road Safety Advisory Council.

It’s a two-way street will raise driver and bike rider awareness about how to share the road responsibly and safely through eight drive rules and eight ride rules,” Dr Johnson explained.

The Tasmanian Government will deliver the awareness campaign through radio, social media and a convenient “Z-card” pocket guide containing the drive and ride rules.

Radio ads launched today on stations across Tasmania, deliver two of the campaigns key bike rider messages – Wear a Helmet and Use Your Lights, and two key driver messages – Pass Bike Riders Safely and Always Expect Bike Riders.

10,000 units of the pocket guide will be distributed by Bicycle Tasmania, Cycling Tasmania, Service Tasmania (a government service centre that has branches throughout the State) and community groups linked to the Department of State Growth’s Road Safety Operations branch.

The launch of It’s a two-way street in Tasmania follows significant moves from other state and territory governments to put bike rider safety on the agenda. The campaign itself was successfully implemented by the NSW Government in February this year.

Last week, the ACT Government committed to exploring a trial of minimum overtaking distance legislation which would require motor vehicles when passing bike riders to ensure a minimum distance of one metre at speeds of up to 60kph and 1.5 metres for speeds higher than 60kph.

This follows the introduction of similar legislation in Queensland and a submission into Federal Parliament by the Federal MP for Bass, Andrew Nikolic of a petition of nearly 30,000 signatures in May calling for safer passing distance legislation nationally.