Road safety to be the focus of new Parliamentary Inquiry

The New South Wales Government will initiate an inquiry in the next term of Government to look at whether the Road Transport Act 2013 can be improved, as part of the State Government’s commitment to achieving zero annual road deaths by 2050.

The new inquiry will have a particular focus on dangerous drivers and will hear directly from those who have been impacted by dangerous driving, to ensure the legislation is fit for purpose.

The Inquiry will complement the Law Reform Commission’s review of serious road crime and the experiences of victims of serious road crime and their families, announced by the Attorney General on 11 November 2022.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said the inquiry will consider the current licensing system throughout the state.

“Country people make up around a third of NSW’s population but over the past five years, deaths on country roads have made up 67 per cent of lives lost on all roads,” Farraway said.

“Our aim is to prevent drivers from committing offences and engaging in dangerous behaviour in the first place to stop these preventable deaths.”

This follows on from the New South Wales Government’s Motor Accidents Injuries Amendment Bill 2022, which was passed on 17 November 2022. The legislation allows the State Insurance Regulatory Authority to establish a trauma support service for families of those who have been injured or killed because of a motor accident.

For more information on the Motor Accident Injuries Amendment Bill 2022, click here.

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