Thousands of Australian motorists are only now discovering why there are ‘green stickers’ on road markings across the country.
And they could be crucial to staying safe on the road this Christmas.
The small reflectors, placed on white posts on the side of some highways, indicate that there is a safe place to stop. When viewed, drivers can then indicate that they plan to stop early and are prepared.
They are appearing on highways in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, but not all as the rollout is slower than planned.
MP Colin Boyce, federal member for Flynn in Queensland, reported on the informal stopping zones to remind drivers and said the green markings were likely to keep people safe over the festive period.
“At about 500 meters from a safe place to stop you may see three green reflectors, at 250 meters you may see two green reflectors and just inside the safe place you may see one green reflector,” Mr Boyce explained.
‘The idea comes from road safety advocate and B-double truck driver Rod Hannifey, who is warning drivers that there is a safe place to pull off the road.
‘Although the idea was originally intended for long-distance truck drivers, all road users can use it.’
The small reflectors, placed on white posts on the side of some highways, indicate that there is a safe place to stop. When viewed, drivers can then indicate that they plan to stop early and are prepared
What he didn’t expect was that so few people knew about it.
“Many more people need to know about this, especially people with caravans,” one woman wrote.
‘I would love this all over Australia! “There’s nothing worse than driving at night with a screaming baby in the back wanting food and not knowing if it’s a safe place to stop,” said another.
“This would be great along all the highways to give people a chance to prepare to get off the road,” someone else agreed.
“Especially when your child is carsick and you’re driving on a 60mph highway with steep gradients along the way and you’re desperate to find a place to get off the road safely before your child throws up.”
However, some drivers criticized the method, calling it “primitive.”
“It’s a great idea, but why do we have to resort to this?” a man asked.
“Why can’t some of the tax and vehicle registration costs be paid to have properly signed and constructed stopping and passing lanes?”
Another replied: ‘The problem is that it costs so much to build formal parking bays because they have to be designed.
“They need an environmental impact study, they need facilities like toilets, picnic table, water supply, lighting, sewerage, rubbish bins.”
Despite the serious nature of the road safety message, some people couldn’t resist turning it into a joke.
“Now we just need lots of bright orange reflectors all along the road to show where all the potholes are,” said one driver.
“It would be easier to put orange ones where there are no potholes,” joked another.
“The roads would be a lot clearer,” one person agreed.