FREE CUPPAS: The Free Cuppa initiative has been a success with fatigue-related crashes more recently falling by 19% across NSW.
100 Businesses Join Forces to Reduce Driver Fatigue Crashes on NSW Roads: The ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme has been running for 11 years. This year 17 local businesses in the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas have put their hands up to help fight driver fatigue and reduce our road toll by offering free cuppas to tired drivers.
Our local businesses will join over 100 businesses across regional areas of NSW to participate in the next phase of the successful ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme, which runs annually from 1 March to 31 May. Participating businesses will be encouraging drivers to take regular breaks by offering a free cup of tea or coffee to any driver who is more than 100kms away from home.
Since 2010, over 25,000 free cuppas have been given away. During that time, across NSW fatigue-related crashes have fallen by 19%. Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said that the second biggest killer on NSW roads is drivers who are tired.
‘Free Cuppas’ are available from a broad range of businesses with varied opening hours, making regular breaks and free cuppas more accessible than ever.
“If it wasn’t for the participating businesses supplying the ‘free cuppa’, then this scheme wouldn’t be possible. I would like to thank the 17 enthusiastic businesses across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas who are taking part in this year’s scheme,” Ms Suitor said.
The local participating businesses for 2021 are: Commercial Hotel, Forbes Bakehouse, Forbes Inn Hotel Motel, Isabel’s Place, Shell Forbes and Subway Forbes.
The ‘Free Cuppa’ website, freecuppa.com.au, allows drivers to search for the nearest participating business as well as find useful information on the scheme. There is also an active Facebook page that will keep you up to date on the scheme and the participating businesses.
For further information, please contact (02) 6861 2364.
Clean Up Australia Day: This Sunday, 7 March is Clean Up Australia Day and for those in the Forbes shire there are numerous places to get involved in this important and wonderful initiative. Fitzgerald’s Bridge, Cottons’ Weir and Gum’s Swamp on the Newell Highway are the areas for locals to participate. For more information call Forbes River Meadows Caravan Park on 6852 2694.
CLEAN UP: Cotton’s Weir near Forbes NSW is one of the Clean Up Australia Day sites this Sunday March 7.