The award was presented to the Mackay Road Accident Action Group and Mining Industry Road Safety Alliance at a Parliament House ceremony yesterday.

The program includes employee education presentations and materials designed to maintain an ongoing awareness of the dangers of driver fatigue throughout mining worksites.

Royal Automobile Club of Queensland general manager for external relations Gary Fites said the Mackay Road Accident Action Group fatigue management team and Mining Industry Road Safety Alliance initiative was an excellent example of what could be achieved through the cooperation of government, communities and industry.

“They have joined forces to develop this initiative, which has done much to educate mine shiftworkers in central Queensland about the dangers of driving while tired,” he said.

“So far this program has delivered its message to 3500 employees across the mining industry with some 95 percent of program participants expressing their determination to alter their driving behaviour as a result. This is a terrific outcome.”

The initiative was named as the overall winner in the 2006 Queensland Road Safety Awards.

Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety (Queensland) director Professor Mary Sheehan said the awards were an important means of recognising and honouring the outstanding efforts of individuals and groups who, through innovative programs, persistent activism and sheer hard work, had developed programs to improve safety on Queensland roads.