Speeding
Speeding is travelling at a speed greater than that posted by the speed limit signs. You can also speed by travelling too fast for the road conditions at the time, despite being under the speed limit. In bad weather or on poor roads, adjust your speed to suit the conditions. If the police don’t worry you, losing control in the wet or on gravel may. Speeding is articularly a problem in rural areas and accounts for almost half of all fatal crashes on country roads. Speeding accounts or nearly a third of all fatal
crashes on metropolitan roads.

Alcohol
Combining alcohol and driving can be fatal. Especially at high speeds over long journeys. Don’t jeopardise ourself and your family - don’t drink and drive. What is the legal limit for drivers? Learners, P-plate and commercial drivers effectively can’t drink at all if they want to stay under the limit of 0.02. Just one drink could put you over the legal limit. All other drivers need to stay under 0.05. How much can I drink and still drive? It depends on the individual, but generally men can have two standard drinks in the first hour and women one. Both can then have only one for each hour thereafter. What is a standard drink? Alcohol levels vary for various types of drinks. One 285ml glass of full strength beer or one 100ml glass of table wine is equivalent to one standard drink.

Seat Belts
Child Restraints provide excellent protection for children in the event of an accident.
• Always use an approved child restraint.
• Never carry a child in your lap. In a crash the child will be thrown around the vehicle interior or out of the window.
• Your child should use a rearward-facing restraint until he or she grows out of it.
• Your child should then use a forwardfacing child seat until he or she grows out of it, but only when they are able to sit and easily hold their head upright.
Wearing Seat Belts can save the lives of drivers and passengers. On average 4% of people fail to wear a seat belt while travelling by car. Approximately 22% of car occupants killed each year are not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. It is a fact that you are much more likely to be killed in an accident if you don’t wear a seat belt.

Fatigue
Becoming tired on a long trip can happen to anyone. It is best to stop every 2 hours and have a 15 minute break. Being sleepy (like consuming alcohol) decreases all aspects of your judgment.
Symptoms of fatigue vary, but include:
• drowsiness
• yawning
• slower reactions
• microsleeps
• missing road signs
• sore or tired eyes
• head begins to nod
• lack of concentration
• feeling irritable and restless
• sudden jerking up of head and eyes
• having difficulty staying in your lane.
Most fatigue-related accidents occur on country roads during long journeys.

Night Driving
Travelling on unfamiliar roads at dusk and in the night presents another set of challenges. As soon as the light begins to fade, turn on your headlights and proceed with extra caution (leaving your headlights on during the day is also a good idea). If driving with high-beam on, you should dip your headlights to low-beam as soon as you see the lights of oncoming traffic. If the other driver doesn't dip his, give a brief flash - not a lingering eyeful - of your high-beam. Eyes take a few moments to recover from the dazzling lights of an oncoming vehicle, so don't stare into the approaching lights. Instead, look at the road immediately in front of your bonnet, and use the centre line as a guide. If the glare continues to dazzle our vision, slow down, and look a little to your left, towards the edge of the bitumen. If drivers coming up behind you fail to dip their lights, you can signal them to do so by placing your hand over your ceiling mounted mirror for a few seconds. If they still don’t dip their lights, adust your mirror so the light doesn’t shine in your eyes.

Information above taken from the Caltex Motoring Guide