When the coronavirus is finally spent Springwood road safety campaigner, Peter Frazer will have the opportunity to travel to the US, Canada, UK, Sweden, Malaysia and New Zealand to examine how road users and workers are kept safe on those roads.
Peter Frazer's daughter, Sarah, 23, died on an unsafe road in 2012. He continues to campaign for road safety.
He's one of two Mountains residents to be honored with a prestigious Churchill Fellowship this year of the 112 given out to Australians. The awards were announced on Monday [September 28]. It offers them a life-changing opportunity to meet and work with leaders of influence around the world.
The Winston Churchill Trust website said the project is "borne of the concern that our society has placed mobility above improving road safety outcomes for those vulnerable on our roads and highways".
It says this "bias ensures that individuals (and loved ones) suffer unnecessary injury and death in what are avoidable crashes. However, there are states that have implemented world-leading initiatives, behavioural change strategies, infrastructure programs, technologies and legislation that deliver improved outcomes for those vulnerable road users".
Mr Frazer said the trust will sponsor his travel and accommodation for seven weeks.He is hoping to travel by 2022.
"I am very grateful that this fellowship will allow me to increase my practical understanding of those evidence-based policies, strategies and treatments that have been both successfully (and also not so successfully) implemented overseas.
"It will probably be at least 12 months before I can travel, but I will look forward to this wonderful opportunity. Sarah always changed the world around her for the better... she may have passed the baton to me, but it is because of her that we are in this race, and hopefully, like her, influencing positive change.
Churchill Trust CEO, Mr Adam Davey said "with international travel on hold for some time due to COVID-19, we will be supporting our new Churchill Fellowship recipients in making good use of this additional preparation time by connecting them with some of our highly achieved Churchill Fellows who work in similar fields or project areas via virtual networking and collaboration events".
"All untraveled Churchill Fellowship recipients have been granted an extended timeline ... to allow them the opportunity to experience the real-life benefits of meeting 'in person' with their international counterparts."
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Mr Frazer said the project was about cultural change.
"I am hoping ... my shared learnings can help our community view the loss of life, those serious injuries and the resultant trauma due to road crashes, as totally unacceptable for any civilised society".
The president of Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) is also gearing up for the annual yellow ribbon national road safety week [November 15-22], which he created. It is now in its eighth year.
This honour follows many others. He was bestowed the Third Sector volunteer of the year award last year, was Blue Mountains Citizen of the Year in 2013, received the University of Western Sydney's Award for Community Service and Leadership in 2014, was chairman of the inaugural International Road Victims Conference in 2018, named a Local Hero last year and managed to speak all over the world on road safety. He is also a volunteer firefighter.
Last year, 1226 people were killed in road crashes in Australia and 36,000 people are injured every year.
The SARAH group's advocacy ensured laws have changed to make passing motorists slow down for emergency vehicles and those who have broken down.
