Safe driving tips

Nobody is immune to tiredness. Driving while tired is a major factor in fatal crashes on Victorian roads. Tiredness happens during both long-distance driving and everyday driving. The two main causes include a lack of sleep or driving when you would normally be asleep.

Signs of tiredness include:

• constant yawning
• sore or heavy eyes
• difficulty remembering the last few kilometres
• drifting in the lane
• variations in driving speed
• daydreaming or zoning out
• not being able to concentrate on driving
• slower reaction times.

Being tired also impairs your ability to recognise the danger signs.

What to do if you feel tired when driving

Take a power nap (sleep for 15 to 30 minutes). Allow time to recover from your sleep before commencing to drive.

If you don't get enough sleep, you accumulate sleep debt. The only way to repay this debt is to sleep.

Some people are more likely to be sleep-deprived than others and are more at risk of having a tiredness-related crash. This includes:

• 18- to 25-year olds whose work, study, spontaneous or late-night lifestyles put them at risk because they don't get enough sleep.
• Shift workers, who often have disrupted sleep patterns leading to tiredness – night-shift workers are especially at risk.
• People with sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea, which can impair driving ability.

Read more about sleep disorders at VicRoads

To avoid feeling tired on a long trip:

• make sure you regularly get 7 to 8 hours of sleep
• never drive when you would normally be asleep
• take a break if you're feeeling tired
• don't start a long trip after a long day's work
• plan your trip so you can take breaks at least every 2 hours and share the driving
• seek medical advice if you often feel sleepy
• check if any medications cause drowsiness.

Resources

• Rest area locations in Victoria
• Driver Reviver (SES Vic)

All drivers need to let VicRoads know about any serious, permanent or long-term illness, disability, medical condition or injury that may affect their ability to drive safely.

Under the Road Safety Act 1986, VicRoads is responsible for ensuring that all drivers are fit to drive.

There are many medical conditions, or combinations of conditions, that can affect a person's ability to drive safely. These include, but aren't limited to:

• vision impairments
• diabetes (requiring medication or insulin)
• heart conditions
• psychiatric conditions
• sleep disorders including sleep apnoea
• hearing impairments (for commercial vehicle drivers)
• neurological conditions such as dementia, seizures, epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson's disease or Multiple Sclerosis
• acquired brain injuries or tumours.

If you have a long-term medical condition or you're concerned about your fitness to drive, speak to your health practitioner about your need to report.

If you don't report your condition

If you drive with a medical condition or disability that impairs your driving, you're putting yourself and other road-users at risk. Your insurance coverage could also be affected, because you haven't complied with your legal requirement to report.

Visit notifying VicRoads about your medical condition for more information.

A conditional licence sets out safe driving parameters to suit a person's circumstance. Examples of conditions that can be applied to a licence include:

• Always wearing glasses while driving.
• Not driving at night.
• Only driving within a prescribed kilometre radius of the driver's home.
• Using a vehicle with a modification, such as a steering aid or additional hand-controls.

People who require their medical condition or disability to be monitored will be asked to undergo periodic medical reviews (for example, every 2 years) to manage their driving independence.

Family members or friends can also encourage drivers to seek advice about their medical condition or disability and its impact on their driving.

Here are some tips to help you bring up the conversation:

• Know when to have the conversation.
• If possible, go with the driver to see their doctor.
• Rehearse the discussion you plan on having with the driver.
• Be compassionate, calm and supportive.
• Discuss specifics in a casual, observational way (for example, "I noticed you didn't see the stop sign").
• Be prepared for resistance and anger.
• Ask for the driver's opinion of their driving, as they might have noticed problems, too.
• Appeal to the driver's sense of responsibility.

It is difficult to see clearly in the rain. Remember, it takes much longer to stop when the road is wet.

To improve safety when driving in wet weather:

• make sure your windscreen is kept clean inside and out
• ensure your windscreen wipers are in good condition
• turn your headlights on to low beam
• use your air conditioner to prevent your windscreen from fogging up
• maintain a safe distance form other cars, increasing the gap between you and the car in front to 4 seconds.

If you don't have an air conditioner, use the heater demister and, if necessary, open the windows.

Don't put your lights on high beam, as this only lights up the fog and makes the road more difficult to see. In fog you should:

• dip your headlights so you can see more easily
• drive slowly
• not follow closely behind another vehicle
• use fog lights if you have them.

Before leaving home, research the area you plan to visit and the areas you will be passing through.

• Use the VicEmergency app to check for official warnings and Fire Danger Ratings.
• Set up a Watch Zone for the area you will be visiting or passing through.
• Avoid traveling through high-risk areas when the Fire Danger Rating is catastrophic.

If you're staying in a high-risk area, the safest option is to leave the night before or early in the day on which the catastrophic day has been declared.

Monitor conditions throughout your trip on the VicEmergency app or ABC local radio.

The roads are more crowded at holiday times, so make sure you remember these tips for a safe and happy journey:

• Share the driving if possible.
• Take rest breaks at regular intervals.
• Pull off the road and have a power nap if you are feeling tired or drowsy.
• Never drive when you would normally be asleep (late at night or early in the morning).
• Make sure your car is well-maintained and consider a service before a lengthy trip.
• All tyres (including the spare) should be correctly inflated to the correct pressure.
• Ensure windows and lights are kept clean to ensure the driver's visibility is not reduced.

While in your car, keep the doors locked at all times.

If you find yourself being followed while driving, try to keep calm and keep your eyes on the road ahead. Don't go home and drive to the nearest police station, petrol station or well-lit convenience store. Only leave your car when you feel the threat has passed. Report the incident to the police.

If you break down, try to leave the car in a safe, well-lit spot. Put your bonnet up and turn on your hazard lights. If you have to call for assistance, make sure the car is secure and go to the nearest phone.

Getting out of your car into traffic can be dangerous, so if possible, separate yourself from moving traffic.

• Try to park in a well-lit location where there will be plenty of people around.
• Avoid parking too close to walls and hedges.
• Never leave valuables like purses, wallets or mobile phones in your car. Move things into the boot before you leave, rather than when you arrive at the destination.
• Have your keys ready to open the car rather than rummaging through your bag to find them.
• If it's dark, have someone accompany you to your car. Try to avoid multi-storey car parks.
• Never double park or park in a clearway, as this is a dangerous practice and puts other road-users at risk.

• Be careful with the keys; don't leave car keys lying around or in the ignition.
• Try to park in a busy, well-lit area.
• Make sure the car is locked and don't leave valuables on display.
• At home, if off-street parking is available, use it; lock the car in a garage or behind gates.
• Leaving valuables on display inside the car or a spare key underneath invites problems. Keep your licence and fuel card in your wallet, not the glovebox. The owner's handbook should also be stored elsewhere, as it contains security information, details about the car and personal details.
• Raise the level of theft protection on older cars by fitting an Australian Standards approved engine immobiliser, certified to AS 4601.
• For cabin and contents protection, a good alarm will provide interior surveillance with audible and visual warning. It should also have immobilising to prevent the car from being driven.
• To prevent false triggering, we advise an alarm certified to the Australian Standard AS 3749. Units are available with additional features for convertibles.

Thefts from private dwellings account for more than 40% of all the cars that go missing.

Car keys are burgled from homes, gyms, beaches and other public places.

• Always find a safe place to store your car keys.
• Don't leave a spare key in the car's glovebox or hidden under the car.

Older cars are often targeted due to a lower level of security. For pre-2001 cars, having a good quality engine immobiliser fitted can be an effective protection measure.

Visit CarSafe for more information

Car theft often has many victims, including the unsuspecting buyer of a sold stolen car. The buyer often suffers an even greater financial loss than the car's original owner.

Vehicles that have been given a new identity or substantially upgraded using stolen parts can be difficult to detect, but there are sensible precautions you can take to minimise the risk:

• Beware if the car is significantly under-priced for its age, kilometres and condition.
• Be suspicious if the seller offers to bring the car to you or is waiting for you outside the address given and doesn't go inside.
• Make sure the person selling the car is the owner. Ask for proof of identification (such as their driver licence) and proof of purchase. Check information against the registration papers.
• Make sure the car's documentation is consistent with the kilometres and service history in the owner's handbook or receipts for work on the car.
• If the car has been re-registered, check why.
• Get a Personal Property Securities Register Search Certificate (fees apply). This is a national service to find out if a vehicle is encumbered, written-off, stolen or registered in any state or territory of Australia.
• While recording these numbers, look for signs of tampering, or welding and repainted areas on surrounding panels. Check the compliance plate for damage.
• Be wary if the seller asks for payment in cash.

If you buy a vehicle privately and it is later found to be stolen, you could lose both your car and money.

A Licenced motor Car Trader (LMCT) must guarantee clear title, so if you've purchased through a licensed trader, you have options.

Some sellers may claim to be an LMCT when they are not. An LMCT must prominently display their licence number on their premises and on any advertising.

You can use this number to search the dealer's credentials via Consumer Affairs public register.

A bull bar is a rigid structure, usually metal, which is fixed to the front of a vehicle.

Bull bars are designed to protect a vehicle against damage to the radiator and headlights if the vehicle strikes an animal. This works by making sure the animal takes more of the impact in a collision. However, the same principle applies if the vehicle hits a pedestrian.

Any bull bar fitted to your vehicle must meet specific safety standards:

• ADR 42 – General Safety Requirements
• Australian Standard AS 4876.1–2002
• ADR 69
• ADR 73.

This means:

• The bull bar must follow the profile of the vehicle it's fitted to.
• The bull bar must not increase the width of the vehicle (excluding the mirrors).
• Any sharp edges on the bull bar must be chamfered or radiused.
• No open-ended frame members are allowed.
• No small components (such as brackets) can be attached to the front of the bull bar.

The bull bar must be certified by the vehicle manufacturer as:

• suitable for that vehicle
• not adversely affecting the vehicle's compliance with ADR 69 or ADR 73
• not interfering with any critical air bag timing mechanism.