Government flags rising road toll

The 2016 Australasian Road Safety Conference has seen the Government call for action on Australia's growing number of road deaths

The Government has appealed to a wide range of stakeholders to come together to tackle the nation's rising road toll, with deaths and serious injuries rising significantly this year compared to the previous year.

Speaking at the 2016 Australasian Road Safety Conference in Canberra (September 6 to 8), the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester, said community complacency had in part contributed to the rising toll.

"Australia has done an incredible job of reducing road trauma over the past 50 years but we have to redouble our efforts," Mr Chester said.

"Hospital data indicates that road-crash-related injuries appear to have been increasing for some time.

"Tragically, road deaths are also increasing, with 1292 people killed in the 12 months to July this year, compared to 1171 people killed in 12 months prior to July 2015.

"This latest data should serve as a call to action for us all – we are not on target to reach the National Road Safety Strategy targets and we are failing in our efforts to keep Australians safe on our roads.

"We have to make this personal and we have to shake off the national complacency and acceptance which I believe is contributing to the growth in road trauma.

"I simply refuse to accept that this is the best we can do."

Mr Chester said he was determined to see the Australian Government's $50 billion infrastructure investment program help improve road safety, as well as improve land transport networks and ease congestion.

"We are building for the future, and I firmly believe that a well-planned and strategic infrastructure investment program will deliver transport projects that can change lives and save lives," he said.

The increase in deaths comes after a record low in 2014. In that year 1155 people died on Australia's roads – the lowest annual figure since 1945.

The record for articulated truck fatalities is also improving, with data from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research showing such deaths fell by 80 per cent from 1982 to 2015, despite a doubling of the number of articulated trucks on our roads over that period.

Government flags rising road toll

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