Time your ‘Kanga-rule’ now, sport!

Counting ‘one kangaroo….two kangaroo’ is not a new way for Australians to go to sleep - but an innovative method to ensure drivers stay safer on Staffordshire’s roads.

‘Close following’ - where drivers fail to leave enough time and space between themselves and the vehicle in front - is widely recognised as a factor in just over one-third of all road traffic crashes.

Staffordshire County Council’s TravelWise Road Safety Unit launched the ‘Two Kanga-rule’ campaign at Stafford South Services (M6) on 29 August, offering advice to drivers on how to make sure they keep a safe following distance. Information leaflets and ‘kangaroo’ air fresheners were given away to demonstrate to drivers that ‘one-kangaroo, two-kangaroo’ takes two seconds to say and is a simple and effective way to measure their following distance.

"A lot of drivers drastically underestimate the time it will take them to stop," Malcolm Jones, Staffordshire’s TravelWise road safety co-ordinator, said. "Keeping a two-second time gap in front at all times takes the guesswork out of it and allows sufficient distance should they need to stop quickly."

Further information can be obtained from Malcolm Jones, malcolm.jones@staffordshire.gov.uk