Road Safety

All NSW drivers should know the Road Rules. Whether you drive a car, truck, motorcycle or bicycle and you are uncertain about a road rule this link will take you to a the latest copy of the Road Users Handbook.

In the following link Road Safety Topics and Tips you will find answers and frequently asked questions on the following subjects:

• Alcohol & driving
• Drugs & driving
• Mobile phones
• Seatbelts
• Fatigue
• Speeding
• Emergency vehicles
• Demerit points

In the following link Information for all road users you will find answers and frequently asked questions on the following subjects:

• Parents and Carers
• Young Drivers
• Motorcyclists
• Bicycle Riders
• Pedestrians
• E-Scooters
• Passengers

• Being aware of the Road Rules, is also being aware of Parking Offences.
• Residential Parking: We acknowledge that occasionally people choose to park on the nature strip rather than the road because they believe it to be safer, particularly on little streets. Nevertheless, regardless of the purpose, it is unlawful to park entirely or partially on nature strips and walkways.
  • But, Why ? These are some of the reasons it is illegal to park on the nature strip or footpath:
    • can cause major damage to public infrastructure, both above and below the ground
    • may prevent emergency personnel from accessing key infrastructure such as water, sewage, gas, telecommunications and drainage pipes
    • can pose increased safety risks for pedestrians as they are less visible to oncoming cars
    • restrict access for wheelchair and pram users
• Parking near/across driveways
  • Motorists must not park on or across a driveway or prevent access to a property. This restricts pedestrian access and can reduce visibility for other road users. This includes parking in your own driveway outside of the property boundary
• Heavy Vehicles and Parking
  • Heavy vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more or long vehicles, 7.5m or longer, can only park in a built-up area or where a 50kmh speed limit applies for one hour.
  • Motorists must leave at least 3m of clear roadway between their vehicle and parked vehicles on the other side of the road, dividing strips, traffic islands or double unbroken dividing lines. This allows large vehicles such as waste trucks to access local streets.
• Commonly misunderstood parking rules: to learn more about parking and vehicle restrictions in the Bega Valley Shire Council local government area, download the following brochures
  • Safe and Legal Parking Brochure 1(PDF, 2MB)
    • Accessible parking
    • Angle parking
    • Heavy vehicle parking
    • Restricted parking areas
    • Pedesrian and childing crossing
    • Parallel parking
  • Safe and Legal Parking Brochure 2(PDF, 2MB)
    • No Stopping and No Parking
    • Parking on footpaths and nature strips
    • Parking wrong direction of travel
    • Parking too close to intersections
    • Obstructing driveways and passageways

• Parking Offences
• Children are small, harder to see, behave unpredictably and are extremely vulnerable. They need you to take extra care when driving and parking around school zones. Council care about your children and want to keep them safe during school travel times, together we can teach our children to be aware around our roads. Did you know that parking-based offences are harsher when in a School Zone. Council School Zone Offences.
• FAQ: What are School Zones ?
  • School zones are in place outside every school in NSW and the ACT to keep children safe during school travel times. They are marked by school zone road signs, flashing lights and dragon’s teeth road markings. There is a 40km/h speed limit within each school zone and heavy penalties for motorists who drive over the speed limit or break school zone laws.
    Most* school zones operate from 8:00am to 9.30am and from 2.30pm to 4pm on gazetted school days (including school development days) in NSW.
    *There are a small number of non-standard school zone times in NSW and ACT. They are identified by red/orange school zone signs to show non-standard times. Signs at these schools show the times that apply.
• FAQ: How close to a school is considered a school zone?
  • Ideally, the school zone starts at the front door and encompasses the campus and as many blocks as possible that surround the school and have a high concentration of school-generated traffic. Often the school zone includes the streets along the school and usually the area one to two blocks around it.
• FAQ: Where can I park during School travel times:
  • Merimbula Public School - Download the brochure(PDF, 2MB)
  • Bega Valley Public School - Download the brochure(PDF, 2MB)
  • Pambula Public School - Download the brochure(PDF, 4MB)
  • Eden Public School - Download the brochure(PDF, 2MB)

• Council strive to keep our roads safe. All maintenance and scheduled works will be reflected here on Live Traffic NSW. Live Traffic NSW provides real-time information about roads and changed traffic conditions also scheduled works, major events, weather events and other unplanned disruptions.

Wondering what resources are available for all of us on Road Safety. This link will take you to professional learning and support for you and your school