ATA submits to Road Safety Strategy

Along with fatigue law reform, more rest areas and the mandating of stability control for all trucks and trailers, Australia’s future national road safety strategy should adopt a Towards Zero philosophy and set a target of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads, the ATA Chair Geoff Crouch (pictured) said today.

The goal is just one of a number of issues and priorities the ATA identified in its submission to the Australian Government’s inquiry into the next National Road Safety Strategy.

The ATA’s submission to the inquiry sets out 19 recommendations which include:

>> Mandatory fitting of Electronic Stability Control to all new trucks and trailers, with only limited exemptions
>> The Australian Transport Safety Bureau providing independent, no blame, safety investigations for road crashes involving heavy vehicles
>> Better roads and truck rest areas
>> Fatigue law reform
>> Better education for learner drivers about how to share the road safely with trucks.

“The trucking industry has seen great improvements in safety, but when we look at all road crashes we can see that 1225 people died on Australia’s roads in 2017. This is the equivalent of seven passenger jet crashes in a single year,” Mr Crouch said.

“Australians wouldn’t accept this number of deaths if they occurred on planes or trains. We must not go on accepting these deaths on our roads, either, or the untold number of serious injuries.

“The hardworking trucking businesses who strive for safety excellence in their day-to-day operations need better roads, safer vehicles and better driver education. That’s how we can make sure that everyone returns home safely at the end of the day, regardless of what they are driving or riding.”

You can view the full ATA submission here.