Free cuppa fights fatigue for decade

Ninety-three businesses in 15 council areas across New South Wales have joined forces for the tenth year of the 'Free Cuppa for the Driver' scheme.
The scheme is a collaboration between local councils, Transport for NSW and participating businesses to combat driver fatigue.

On Thursday, community members, participating businesses and councils got together to celebrate 10 years of the 'Free Cuppa For The Driver' scheme at a community morning tea in Templar Street.
The 'Free Cuppa for the Driver' scheme offers visiting drivers who have travelled 100km from home a complimentary cup of tea or coffee at any of the participating businesses.
Councils' Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor said the scheme has grown since it was first implemented in Forbes, Parkes and Condobolin.
Ms Suitor said they had 15 participating businesses which gave out about 100 free coffees in the first year.
This has since grown to cover more than 90 participating businesses in 15 council areas which cover many different regions of NSW.
They have now given away more than 23,000 free coffees.
Councillor Jenny Webb said the scheme was introduced to help combat fatigue and encourage drivers to take a break.
Ten years ago, the region was seeing a large number of fatigue related crashes, with approximately 60 per cent involving visiting drivers.
Since then, Mrs Suitor said, they have seen a 19 per cent decrease in fatigue related crashes in the last few years with the help of programs like the 'Free Cuppa for the Driver'.
But the toll is still too high: NSW Police Western Region Traffic Tactician Inspector Ben Macfarlane said there had been at least 60 fatalities attributed to fatigue in the western region over the past year.
The 2020 'Free Cuppa for the Driver' scheme runs from March 1 to May 31.
If you're travelling, go online to freecuppa.com.au/ to find a free cuppa provider by town or highway.




​