While just over a quarter (27 per cent) of Australians live in rural and remote communities, almost seven in ten road fatalities (69 per cent) occur on rural roads. Last year alone, 906 Australians lost their lives on rural roads.

It's why TMAA is calling on all drivers to step up for road safety and heed the call for action during Rural Road Safety Month this August.

Rural roads are long and unforgiving, and the high speeds involved only compound the risks. At 110 km/h, drivers travel 100 metres roughly every three seconds. To put that in perspective, if you were driving at 110 km/h, you would have covered 100 metres in less time than it took you to read the last sentence.

It's why drivers need to slow down, and stay alert and calm. It means sharing the road and the responsibility, and taking to rural roads with more than just your destination in mind. Rural Road Safety Month gives us the opportunity to reflect on how we can be safer drivers on rural roads - before it's too late.

Rural Road Safety Month is an initiative of the Australian Road Safety Foundation (ARSF). ARSF has provided a range of resources which we encourage you to share with family, friends and colleagues to remind them to step up for road safety. You can access these resources from the ARSF website.

Help spread this important road safety message by sharing on your social media, or prominently displaying road safety messages in communal spaces at your workplace.

Of course, the easiest behaviours that we can change are our own. So next time you get behind the wheel, make sure you put that seat belt on, drive to the conditions, keep a safe speed, and keep distractions like mobile phones out of sight. If you're tired, or affected by drugs or alcohol, never get behind the wheel. And if you're passing the road crews and traffic controllers working hard to keep our roads safe, slow down, give them space, and follow their directions at all times.

With road fatalities continuing to head in the wrong direction, Join the Journey and make a personal promise to choose road safety during Rural Road Safety Month this August.