City of Launceston joins road safety initiative in Tasmanian first

The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing both to promoting road safety in Launceston.

The SARAH group was founded by Peter Frazer OAM after his daughter Sarah was killed on a New South Wales road in 2012.

The 23-year-old was driving to Wagga Wagga to start university when her car broke down on the Hume Freeway.

Mr Frazer said that section of the road wasn't built to specification, with the emergency lane measuring just 1.5 metres wide.

Unable to get out of her car due to the brambles bordering the freeway, Sarah tried to call her father who was busy in a work meeting.

"At 12.30 I came out of that meeting and tried to ring her. At 12.32, she'd been killed by a distracted truck driver and she was left in pieces and decapitated on the Hume Freeway," Mr Frazer said.

"So if you needed a reason to be out there trying to make a change for road safety in this country, I had the ultimate reason."

Mr Frazer established National Road Safety Week the following year, which is now recognised by federal, state and local governments across Australia.

The movement has come to be known by its symbol of a yellow ribbon, Sarah's favourite colour.

Mr Frazer didn't expect the ribbon to become an icon when he tied one to the aerial of his car for Sarah's funeral.

"Our community within the Blue Mountains, they started to do the same thing in solidarity," he said.

"And within three months, we had yellow ribbons across not only New South Wales, but it started to flow across the nation."

By partnering with the SARAH group, the City of Launceston holds the honour as Tasmania's first 'Yellow Ribbon Road Safety Council'.

"It means the council's committed to ensuring that everyone can get home safe to their loved ones every day. No exceptions," Mr Frazer said.

The agreement comes at a prescient time, with 33 people killed on Tasmanian roads last year and hundreds suffering serious injuries.

Following 1266 deaths nationwide in 2023, Mr Frazer said road fatalities had become "a true pandemic".

"But by working together, we've got an opportunity to make a change and I'm incredibly proud that Launceston City Council is our first council in Tasmania to come on board," he said.

Launceston mayor Matthew Garwood said the initiative "completely aligns" with the council's values.

"The City of Launceston is jumping at this opportunity to improve road safety outcomes in Northern Tasmania; it's a specific goal set out in our Launceston Transport Strategy," he said.

"We hope through the involvement of Peter and the SARAH program in Launceston we can help promote safe road practices - not only during Yellow Ribbon National Road Safety Week, but every single day."