Across Victoria during the summer holidays you will find strategic Toll Driver Reviver stops alongside Victoria’s major regional and rural roads to help you avoid driver fatigue and get to your destination – and back – safely.

 “Sadly, in 2016 there have been 281 fatalities on the state roads. This is a 15.5% increase on this time last year,” says Victoria State Emergency Service (SES) CEO, Stephen Griffin.

“Victoria SES is the largest road rescue operator in Victoria. On average, our SES volunteers respond to more than 1,000 road crash rescues per year,” he continues. “In our opinion this is far too many.”

Fatigue is a major contributor to road accidents. That’s why our volunteers at Toll Driver Reviver encourage you to plan your trip, take a break and arrive alive.

Stop, revive and arrive alive

Another way to describe fatigue is ‘lack of focus’ explains Allan McCormac. Allan is a former banker and marketing consultant who coordinated Driver Reviver’s first major sponsorship in 1990. Since then Driver Reviver has become a national network of volunteer run stops that has grown from a handful of sites up to almost 200.

Allan’s top advice before your next road trip is to make sure you are well rested.

“Don’t leave when you are stressed or tired,” Allan warns. “There’s no point rushing your holiday and not getting there. Think about your trip, plan your stops and make the journey as much fun as the destination.”

When you are on the road, also pay attention to how you are feeling. Symptoms of fatigue can include yawning, drowsiness, poor concentration, slow reactions, tired eyes, boredom, restlessness, oversteering, impatience or being distracted. If you start to experience any of these symptoms, pull over at the first safe opportunity.

Sharing a road safe message

This year Driver Reviver welcomes Toll Group as a major sponsor. As one of the largest road users in Australia, freight company Toll Group have thousands of vehicles and drivers on the road every year.

“At Toll we believe every accident is preventable. We partner with Driver Reviver to get the message out about sharing the road safely,” says Head of Corporate Affairs and Chairman of Toll Driver Reviver, Andrew Ethell.

“We are delivering cups and supplies to sites across the country," says Andrew. "We urge drivers to take a break and have that coffee or tea to recharge their batteries – just as all of our drivers take scheduled breaks in their days.”

Thinking through your next road trip and making sure you are alert and well rested will make it a better experience, for everyone.

Say hi to our volunteers

“Please stop and visit the Lions and SES volunteers who are out there doing something for their community,” says Lions Club state committee member Arthur Uren. Arthur helps coordinate volunteers in his region and helps promote road safety, but it’s “the volunteers that do all the hard work on the ground”.

Driver Reviver stops offer free tea, coffee and biscuits provided by sponsors Bushells, Arnotts and Sunshine Sugar. Arthur suggests getting involved in other local activities that are on offer at Driver Reviver sites and to have a conversation with locals, it just might give you a hot tip for your next holiday.

Victoria SES volunteer from Port Phillip Unit, Chris adds, “I don’t want to have to respond to an accident on the West Gate Bridge due to driver fatigue. Please stop and take a break and use our Driver Reviver sites across Victoria.”

The most important holiday memory you create is the holiday where you and your family arrive safely.

Find Driver Reviver locations throughout Victoria on the Victoria SES website and visit Toll Driver Reviver for national locations.