Stop…Revive…Arrive Alive this long weekend

Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) is reminding drivers of the dangers of driving without breaks over the long weekend and to take a break every two hours.

Unfortunately, 87 Victorians lives have been lost in road accidents this year and 20% of fatal road accidents involve driver fatigue. Almost 30% of severe single vehicle crashes in rural areas involve drivers being fatigued. (VicRoads Road Accident Facts).

TOLL Driver Reviver is a national campaign with one objective; to reduce road collisions by alleviating driver fatigue. VICSES volunteers and Lions Club members will offer coffee, tea and snacks at various roadside locations over the Queen’s birthday long weekend to encourage drivers to stop, rest and refresh, in an effort to ensure they arrive safely at their destination.

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) reminds drivers to:

• Plan a break at least every two hours
• Consider swapping drivers
• Pull over for a 15 minute powernap
• Avoid driving at times when you would usually be sleeping
• Aim to get enough quality sleep before driving – regardless of whether the trip is a long or short one.
• A healthy adult needs on average between 7-9 hours of sleep to function properly.

VICSES volunteers have responded to more than 1300 road rescues across the state in the past year. During the 2017 Queen’s Birthday long weekend VICSES was called to 23 road crash rescues. Six lives were lost on our roads over the 2018 Labour Day long weekend. (TAC road crash data).

TOLL Driver Reviver sites will operate at various locations over the long weekend.  Locations can be found via the following link: driver-reviver

Quotes attributable to VICSES CEO, Stephen Griffin

 “The Queen’s birthday long weekend is a particularly busy time on our roads and I ask all Victorian drivers to take special precautions when travelling through the state.”

“It is always more gratifying for SES volunteers to have a friendly chat and serve you a cup of tea or coffee at a Driver Reviver site than be faced with the trauma of cutting you out of your vehicle after a collision.”

For more information, contact:

State Media Duty Officer 
Phone: 1300 783 933 
Email: media@ses.vic.gov.au