NATIONAL Road Safety Week (formally Yellow Ribbon Week) is being held this week.

Gympie Regional Council is supporting the campaign by illuminating Smithfield Street Gympie in yellow for the week.

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National Road Safety Week, formerly known as Yellow Ribbon National Road Safety Week, recognises the 1200 people who die and 30,000+ injured on Australian roads each year.

The week aims to engage the community and media to raise awareness of the significant road toll, encourage community to engage in discussions, and urge Australians to drive so others survive.

The week was originally instigated by Peter Frazer and his organisation SARAH (Safer Australian Roads and Highways) after the tragic and avoidable death of Sarah Frazer and an NRMA breakdown officer on February 15, 2013 on the Hume Highway, NSW.

People can get involved by driving so others survive #DriveSOS , make a pledge at the SARAH website sarahgroup.org , and on Friday, turning their lights on to show support for road safety .

They can also wear a yellow ribbon to show support for National Road Safety Week available from http://www.sarahgroup.org/