The 2008 Slow Down Roadshow visited the Tamworth Country Music Festival, from Friday 16 - Sunday 25 January 2009. Five-time Golden Guitar winner Melinda Schneider made a guest appearance at the RTA Slow Down Roadshow at this year’s Tamworth Country Music Festival to encourage country music fans to slow down and stick to the speed limit. The country music star lent her support to the road safety campaign in a bid to highlight the dangers of speeding. The festival provided the perfect background to promote the anti-speeding message with more than 41,000 festival goers travelling to Tamworth in their cars. The fact is that 74 per cent of drivers and riders in fatal speeding crashes in country NSW are from rural and regional areas. Melinda Schneider said her late father was a police officer who spent much of his career attending high speed crashes. “Through my father’s experiences I learnt some valuable lessons about road safety,” she said. “He worked hard to change driver attitudes and behaviour on our roads so that other families did not have to go through the trauma of losing a loved one. “I hope that I can also encourage drivers to really think twice before they put their foot to the floor.” The RTA Slow Down Roadshow is an interactive display that visits communities to educate motorists about the consequences of speeding. It features a graphic display of two identical cars that were crashed at different speeds – one at 60kmh and one at 100kmh – to illustrate the impacts of speeding. The roadshow also screens a powerful road safety video that details the emotional story of Michelle Amess who lost her two sons in a high speed crash at Morpeth in 2005. The reaction to the stand has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Here are some of the comments people left in our message book at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Suzanne: I was in a car crash earlier this year. I hit a tree at 70kmh on a wet, dirt road and I’m still so scared of getting behind the wheel again. I’ve never been in an accident before. I broke both sides of my nose, I broke my eye socket area, a cut on my lip and knee both needed five stitches. I think that people should be so careful of speeding and not wearing a seat belt. I was speeding and not wearing my seatbelt and that will never happen again. I am lucky to be here today. Max: Great display that increases the awareness of speeding. Well done and great interest all round. Jan: I lost a good friend, a brother, a sister, two nephews and other friends on the road. Speed kills. So does the news when you get the knock on the door. Please slow down. A mother: Thanks for showing two learner drivers what happens when you speed. A very worried mum. Janine: I would like to see this Slow Down program introduced into schools across the state to educate our children before they go for their licences. We need more education on the impact of speeding so that our kids understand there is no such thing as safe speeding. Ben: It’s easy. Just stop speeding. Ian: After coming across a crash with a young 17 year old dead and his friend in his 30' s critically injured I will never forget the dangers of speeding. Thank you for all the effort you put into trying to get the message across. Jess: I don’t want to get my licence after seeing these crashed cars. Please slow down. Click on any image to see a large version | 
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