Glen Eira City Council encourages motorists, cyclists, motorcyclists, truck drivers and pedestrians to be more courteous and to look out for each other on the roads.

With more people on Victoria’s roads every day, some of us are more likely to display aggression, frustration and a lack of compassion towards other road users.

To reduce this risky behaviour and improve safety on the road, we can all do our part to build mutual respect so we can share the road and travel happy.

Public car parks In the event of entering or exiting a public car park, cars must give way to pedestrians when turning from the main road into the driveway.

Pedestrians need to be vigilant of cars leaving public car parks.

Pedestrians and private driveways Each year, a number of pedestrians are injured by vehicles exiting private driveways.

Under the Victorian road rules, a driver exiting a private driveway must give way to pedestrians and all other traffic — even if such traffic is hidden by high front fences, hedges or buildings.

Courteous tooting the horn before exiting the driveway is not sufficient to prevent crashes. Some pedestrians, including young children may not understand the significance of a car horn and those that have a hearing impairment or are wearing a headset, may not hear the horn.

When exiting a private driveway, drivers are advised to:

• Exit in a forward direction where possible.
• Drive slowly to the exit and stop with the nose or tail of the car just short of the footpath.
• Inch out slowly across the footpath — at less than walking speed.

By following these steps, you will minimise the risk to pedestrians and young cyclists travelling along the footpath.

Remember — there is a place for everyone on the road and that a little respect goes a long way.