Take care on the roads this summer

Date:

Dec 23, 2014

Here’s a word of advice for anyone heading off the sealed roading network in our district over summer – think about driving on unsealed and gravel roads in the same way you would approach driving in icy conditions.

That means keeping your speed down and staying a safe following distance behind other vehicles. Remember that dust can obscure what’s ahead – that can include cyclists, pedestrians and other vehicles.

Just under half of our roading network is unsealed – that’s about 400km of gravel roads that the Council maintains.

Our contractors grade the roads on a regular cycle. In between grading, the roads will become corrugated and when the weather is dry, they also get very dusty.

Where possible, the graders will grade on damp roads as the moisture helps bind the surface. But given the length of our roading network and the resources available, the graders can’t be everywhere after rain.

Please drive safely this summer: allow extra time for your trip, keep your speed down, leave more space between vehicles, and be considerate of other road users.