Fed Govt releases National Road Safety Inquiry findings

Findings from the independent National Road Safety Inquiry have been released, including 12 recommendations that aim to address the costs and impacts of road trauma.

The Inquiry was called in September 2017 to find improvements to Australia’s road safety performance.

Recommendations from the findings include the creation of a federal cabinet minister with multi-agency responsibility to address the impacts of road trauma on the health system, establishing a national road safety entity that reports to the cabinet minister and the investment of $3 billion per year into a road safety fund.

Additional recommendations include setting a vision zero target for 2050 with an interim target for all major capital city CBD areas and high-volume highways by 2030 and the establishment of key performance indicators to report on how harm can be eliminated in the system.

Implementation of rapid deployment and increase the uptake of vehicle safety technologies, improving the adoption of speed management initiatives and undertaking a National Road Safety Governance Review by March 2019 were also found in the report.

The final key findings include investing in road safety focused infrastructure, resourcing key safety initiatives, implementing partnership with other countries and make road safety a part of business as usual across all levels of government.

International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) Chief Executive Officer Rob McInerney said more than 300,000 Australians will be killed or injured between now and 2030, at a cost of over $300 billion unless there’s a seismic change in our response to road safety in Australia.

“Strong national leadership through the appointment of a Cabinet minister with multi-agency responsibility, establishment of a national road safety entity reporting to the Minister and the commitment of a AUD$3 billion a year road safety fund will be key to success,” he said.

“Road trauma impacts every community and every road user. The leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister and the non-partisan support for the Inquiry recommendations provides a unique opportunity for this to be the turning point for road safety in Australia.

“Our vision for 2030 and beyond must be to strive for 5-star performance for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and vehicle occupants in our cities and towns and our highways and local streets,” Mr McInerney said.