Australia’s annual road toll is
gradually reducing, but a greater
focus on regional roads is required.
WORDS BY DANIEL BRAID
C
ast your eyes back a moment to 1995. Paul
Keating was the Prime Minister, Babe was
cleaning up at the Australian box office and
the Carlton Blues had just won the AFL Premiership.
Fast forward to 2019 and Australian politics in in
disarray, the Australian film industry is under threat and
Carlton are arguably as far away as they’ll ever be from
contending for their next piece of AFL silverware.
But let’s get serious for a moment and think about the
changes in Australia’s road toll. In 1995, Australia’s
road toll rose from the previous year, soaring to 2,017
people killed in that 12 month period. Indeed it was
a wake up call for everyone that messages of road
safety cannot be forgotten, and that it’s up to the entire
community to remain vigilant.
Fast forward to 2018 and on the surface a reduction to
just 1,146 lives lost would seem cause for celebration.
Yet for many, including the Australian Automobile
Association (AAA) the reduction is simply not enough.
“This devastating count of human lives highlights that
the National Road Strategy, agreed to in 2011, is failing
because of a lack of resources and willpower from
politicians and bureaucrats alike,” says AAA’s Chief
Executive, Michael Bradley.
The National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020 that
Bradley speaks of represents the commitment of federal,
state and territory governments to an agreed set of
national goals, objectives and action priorities; setting
out a path for action to reduce fatal and serious injury
crashes on Australian roads. Or that’s the theory anyway.
Mr. Bradley said a recent response from the Federal
Government has been disappointing and displayed
a lack of genuine commitment from many key
stakeholders.
ISSUE 15 2018 / WWW.AFMA.NET.AU
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