Editor's note & your letters
The grim toll
Last year 117 people lost their lives on South Australian roads, including the high-profile death of Charlie Stevens – the son of South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
It was the worst year on our roads since 2010 and there were 46 more fatalities than in 2022. It’s not just people driving cars or larger vehicles who are losing their lives on the road.
Twenty-three motorcyclists, eight cyclists and 19 pedestrians were killed on our roads in 2023. Staggeringly, this group of road users made up 43 per cent of the people who lost their lives on SA roads.
With this extremely sad statistic in mind, this edition we’ve spoken to a cyclist, motorcyclist and pedestrian about their experiences on the road, you can read more here.
On a lighter note, we’ve found you, our readers, have been enjoying our quizzes in recent editions of sa move. If you’re asking yourself, “where can I park?” or “is that car parked legally?” then you’re going to love our latest quiz. We test your car parking knowledge and see if you know the difference between an angle park or parallel park.
If you want travel inspiration for 2024, we’ve compiled a guide to Japan for each of the four seasons. Closer to home, the ancient Flinders Ranges are calling. We visit this fantastic South Australian region and see what it has to offer.
Happy reading and drive safely.
Your letters
WIN AN RAA VOUCHER
Did your letter appear in sa move? If so, a $50 RAA EFTPOS gift card is on its way to you in the mail. Here at sa move, we love to know what you think, so email us at samove@raa.com.au or send a letter to sa move Editor, 101 Richmond Rd, Mile End, SA 5031 and go in the running to win a $50 RAA EFTPOS gift card if your letter is featured in the next edition.
Do you know the road rules?
“How well do you know the road rules?” This is the question we ask our kids (aged 12 and nine) when a new edition of sa move arrives in our letterbox. Most of the time they do very well at the sa move quizzes considering their age. And they love to pull the adults up when they’re wrong – which, if anyone asks, is rarely. Thanks to the sa move and RAA teams for providing a few laughs and the prompt for genuinely meaningful discussions with our kids. I have no doubt they’re already better road users, and will be better drivers in the future, because of these quizzes.
B. Blyde, Greenwith
Keep left, please
I’ve lived in a lot of cities and countries around the world, and I find it hard to understand that drivers in South Australia don’t seem to understand the ‘keep left unless overtaking’ rule. I’m aware that it is only enforceable on roads with a speed limit of 80km/h or more. But surely, it’s common courtesy for drivers to stay in the left lane unless they’re overtaking to let other vehicles safely pass on the right. It would be great to see South Australian drivers think more about the other drivers on the road and move to the left when they’re not overtaking.
I love your sa move magazine. It’s reminded me of so many Australian road rules, and your tourism stories are fabulous too.
J. Young, Adelaide
More signage needed along overtaking lanes
On a recent drive from Adelaide to Perth and return, it was interesting to note that the newest overtaking lanes in Western Australia showed the length of that section, so drivers were well informed in relation to potential overtaking options. Compare this to South Australia, where we only get any distance information with 500m remaining.
This leads to my pet hate on open roads, in South Australia in particular. Motorists will drive about 10km/h or more below the speed limit until they reach an overtaking lane. They then suddenly gain confidence with wider overall carriageway and speed up to the limit and make overtaking an illegal manoeuvre.
B. Prior, Fullarton
Test your knowledge
Do you enjoy testing your road rules knowledge with our quizzes each edition? Visit samove.raa.com.au/quizzes to find plenty more quizzes on a variety of topics.
Famous TV and movie cars
Are you a movie and TV buff? Do you like cars? This quiz is perfect for you. Visit samove.raa.com.au/quiz-famous-tv-and-moviecars to test your knowledge of famous TV and movie cars.
Guess that Aussie landmark
Take our Aussie landmark quiz and see if you know the popular tourist destination that’s home to 2300km of coral, turtles and other sea life. Do you know where the first ever one-day international cricket match was held?
Find out if your Aussie landmark knowledge is top notch or lousy at samove.raa.com.au/quiz-guess-that-aussie-landmark
What’s that noise?
You’re at the wheel and suddenly your car starts making a scraping noise, then a splutter and a couple of clunks. Take our car noise quiz at samove.raa.com.au/quiz-guess-that-car-noise to find out what each sound means.
IMAGES: Getty.
