NSW Government submission - Joint Select Committee on Road Safety Inquiry into steps that can be taken to reduce Australia's road accident rates ...
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NSW Government submission Joint Select Committee on Road Safety Inquiry into steps that can be taken to reduce Australia's road accident rates, trauma and deaths on our roads
Preface ......................................................................................................................... 3
1 Context ................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy .......................................... 6
1.2 Future Transport 2056 ............................................................................... 6
1.3 Road Safety Plan 2021 .............................................................................. 6
1.4 Safe Systems approach to road safety ...................................................... 7
2 Effectiveness of programs and opportunities to integrate with other departments
and sectors ............................................................................................................. 9
2.1 Safer Roads Program and Towards Zero Infrastructure Program ............. 9
2.2 Enhanced Enforcement Program............................................................. 10
2.3 NSW Speed Camera Program................................................................. 10
2.4 NSW Road Safety Education Program .................................................... 11
2.5 NSW road safety public education campaign program ............................ 11
2.6 NSW Government fleet procurement policy............................................. 12
3 Impact of road trauma on the nation ..................................................................... 14
3.1 Importance of achieving zero serious road trauma .................................. 14
3.2 Importance of achieving safety outcomes in regional NSW ..................... 14
3.3 Delivery of road safety measures in regional NSW ................................. 15
4 Functions of a future parliamentary Standing Committee on Road Safety ........... 17
5 Measures to ensure road infrastructure investment incorporates Safe System
principles .............................................................................................................. 18
5.1 Improved practitioner guidance and delivery requirements ..................... 18
5.2 Mainstreaming road safety requirements for federally-funded
infrastructure programs ..................................................................................... 18
5.3 Revision of the national Black Spot program ........................................... 19
5.4 Improved coordination and delivery of safety treatments on local and
regional roads ................................................................................................... 20
6 Data collection and coordination across Australia ................................................ 21
7 Strategies, performance measures and targets for the next National Road Safety
Strategy ................................................................................................................ 23
7.1 Strategies and trauma reduction targets .................................................. 23
7.2 Performance indicators and management systems ................................. 23
8 Recommended role of the Office of Road Safety ................................................. 25
9 Other measures to assist Australian Parliament to reduce road crashes, with a
focus on National Inquiry recommendations ........................................................ 26
9.1 Implementing best-practice in safety management ................................. 26
9.2 Australian vehicle safety standards ......................................................... 26
2Preface
On 1 August 2019, the Joint Select Committee on Road Safety was appointed by resolution
passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The resolution was subsequently
amended on 2 December 2019 to include the following terms of reference:
The Joint Select Committee on Road Safety has been established to inquire into and report on:
a. the effectiveness of existing road safety support services and programs, including
opportunities to integrate Safe System principles into health, education, industry and
transport policy;
b. the impact of road trauma on the nation, including the importance of achieving zero
deaths and serious injuries in remote and regional areas;
c. the possible establishment of a future parliamentary Standing Committee on Road
Safety and its functions;
d. measures to ensure state, territory and local government road infrastructure investment
incorporates the Safe System principles;
e. road trauma and incident data collection and coordination across Australia;
f. recommending strategies, performance measures and targets for the next National Road
Safety Strategy;
g. recommendations for the role of the newly established Office of Road Safety; and
h. other measures to support the Australian Parliament’s ongoing resolve to reduce
incidents on our roads, with a focus on the recommendations from the Inquiry into the
effectiveness of the National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020.
3Executive Summary
The NSW Government acknowledges the leadership from the Australian Government in
highlighting road safety as an area of national significance, through both the establishment of
the Office for Road Safety and the appointment of an Assistant Minister for Road Safety.
Road Safety is a priority for the NSW Government. Initiatives to reduce road trauma include
partnering with the private sector to deliver new road safety technologies, collecting and
publicising up-to-date road safety data, and testing and introducing new technologies to improve
safety (e.g. mobile phone detection cameras). NSW works collaboratively with other jurisdictions
to ensure a consistent approach to road safety and operations across state borders.
In 2018, the NSW Government released the Road Safety Plan 2021 (RSP 2021) to support
delivery of the target of a 30 per cent reduction in road fatalities by 2021. Through RSP 2021,
we are now delivering new and proven initiatives that will help to reduce key trauma risks across
our road network. Delivery of road safety initiatives in NSW relies on close partnerships across
other Government departments, external agencies and industries. The NSW Government is also
investing a record $1.9 billion over five years under RSP 2021 for lifesaving road safety initiatives
across the state. RSP 2021 supports Future Transport 2056, the longer-term transport planning
strategy. In NSW, around 350 lives are lost and 11,000 people are seriously injured from road
crashes each year, with an estimated cost to the community of around $8 billion per year. Future
Transport 2056 acknowledges that this is unacceptable and includes safety as one of six state-
wide outcomes. Most importantly, through Future Transport 2056, NSW is now the only
jurisdiction in Australia with a specific transport planning vision for zero trauma.
The next National Road Safety Strategy must specify a zero road trauma target by a specified
date and include ambitious interim trauma reduction targets by 2030 and beyond, which will
contribute to achieving the ultimate target of zero. As advocated by NSW, through recent
jurisdictional consultation for the National Inquiry, enhanced accountability for driving national
trauma reductions should be reflected in the structure and functions of the national Office of
Road Safety. Two key roles of the Office should be: (1) ensuring all types of vehicles entering
the country maximise safety, and (2) providing funding support for safety infrastructure features
on the road network.
To show national leadership, the Australian Government should ensure funding for new roads
and major road improvements is contingent on delivery of specific Safe System infrastructure
treatments such as median and roadside safety barriers. This is an outcome that was agreed
by the Transport and Infrastructure Council (TIC) in August last year. Embedding Safe System
principles into all new projects is a cost-effective approach to achieving safety benefits, given
the substantially greater investment required to retrofit safety improvements in the future.
Vehicle safety is another critical area of road safety and the Australian Government has lead
responsibility for implementing legislative changes to vehicle safety standards in Australia.
Encouragingly, in August last year, the TIC agreed that the Australian Government will
streamline these processes to improve the uptake of new safety technology in the Australian
new vehicle fleet. While this announcement is welcomed, more tangible and swifter action at the
Australian Government level is required to accelerate safety standards for all vehicles and
ensure the benefits of life-saving technology for future generations of Australians.
Like other jurisdictions, in NSW we are constantly examining ways to accelerate delivery of high-
benefit road safety measures, in order to meet our road safety targets. A critical stage will be
our collective response to recommendations from the Inquiry in the National Road Safety
4Strategy 2011-2020, and the NSW Government notes the work done thus far by the Australian
Government to respond to the National Inquiry.
The NSW Government recognises road safety is a non-partisan priority for all levels of
government. It is unacceptable that Australia still has a national road toll of more than 1,200
people each year. The Australian Government is uniquely placed to lead a response to this
issue, working with state and territory governments to coordinate a cohesive national response
that will lead to zero road trauma in Australia.
51 Context
1.1 Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy
On 8 September 2017 the Australian Government announced an independent Inquiry into the
effectiveness of the National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020 (the National Inquiry).
The final report of the National Inquiry (2018) was released in September 2018.
Delivery of key recommendations from the National Inquiry is being led by the Department of
Regional Development and Communities (DIRD-C) in the Australian Government, and guided
by a cross-jurisdictional working group comprising all Australian jurisdictions.
1.2 Future Transport 2056
Future Transport 2056 (Transport for NSW, 2018a) is an update of NSW’s Long Term Transport
Master Plan. It is a suite of strategies and plans (including RSP 2021) for transport, developed
in concert with the Greater Sydney Commission’s Sydney Region Plan, Infrastructure NSW’s
State Infrastructure Strategy, and Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s regional
plans, to provide an integrated vision for the state.
Future Transport 2056 sets the 40 year vision, directions and outcomes framework for customer
mobility in NSW, which will guide transport investment over the longer term. Future Transport
2056 has set an aspirational target of zero trauma on the transport network by 2056.
1.3 Road Safety Plan 2021
Road trauma is estimated to cost the NSW community approximately $8 billion per year.
The NSW Government has a target to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in deaths from 2008-
2010 three-year average levels by 2021 (to 287 or fewer deaths in 2021 and beyond).
The NSW Government is committed to improving road safety in NSW, and in February 2018
released the Road Safety Plan 2021 (RSP 2021) to support Future Transport 2016 and delivery
of the 2021 road trauma reduction target.
RSP 2021 features targeted and proven initiatives to address key trends, trauma risks and types
of crashes on NSW roads. It demonstrates the collaborative effort across delivery partners and
customers, with more than 20,000 people engaged in the development of RSP 2021, including
around 4,000 people who participated in forums, meetings and online surveys.
Under RSP 2021, the NSW Government (2018) is investing a record $1.9 billion over five years
for lifesaving road safety initiatives across NSW. This includes $600 million in additional funding
over five years announced by the NSW Government in June 2018. Funding priorities include:
• $640 million to save lives on country roads through targeted infrastructure safety
investment for high risk curves, and reducing head-on and run-off road crashes including
through safety barriers and audio tactile line markings.
• $250 million for enhanced enforcement, including additional on-road police enforcement
in regional areas, which comprises 50 additional highway patrol officers and training for
up to 1,000 general duties officers in speed enforcement, roadside alcohol testing, a
doubling of mobile drug testing to 200,000 tests by 2020, and the expansion of the Heavy
Vehicle Average Speed Camera Program.
6• $180 million to increase liveability and safety in urban communities through infrastructure
safety upgrades for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.
1.4 Safe Systems approach to road safety
The NSW Government has adopted the Safe Systems approach which is embodied in RSP
2021 and Future Transport 2056. The Safe System approach guides the development of
countermeasures to reduce death and injury on NSW roads. The core principles are:
• Fatal and Serious Injuries should not be accepted. Roads, roadsides, travel speeds
and vehicles need to be designed to help avoid a crash or reduce the impact of a crash
if it happens. When one or more pillars of the system fail, the rest of the system should
pick-up the load to ensure no one is killed or seriously injured.
• People make mistakes, but this shouldn’t cost anyone their life. Human error in the
system is inevitable, no matter how educated and compliant we are in obeying road
rules, and thus crashes are inevitable. Therefore, mistakes should be planned for and
accommodated in the transport system.
• Humans are vulnerable. The human body has physical limits to withstanding the impact
of a crash. The impact forces in any major crash type are well known and, if they are
exceeded, can result in death or serious injury.
• Road safety is a shared responsibility. We all need to make decisions with safety in
mind, from the planning and design of our roads and vehicles, investments, laws and
education, to each road user acting safely every day.
Safe System principles focus attention on the design and management of safe road
infrastructure, safe vehicles and safe travel speeds, as well as safe road user behaviours
recognising that road trauma levels are largely determined by the interaction of these key
elements.
The elements are supported by a range of strategies to encourage safe and compliant road user
behaviour such as education, regulation, enforcement and penalties.
7Diagram: Safe System approach to road safety
Source: http://roadsafety.gov.au/nrss/safe-system.aspx
82 Effectiveness of programs and opportunities to
integrate with other departments and sectors
Transport for NSW delivers road safety programs across NSW that provide benefits throughout
the community. NSW road safety programs are designed based on national and international
road safety evidence, and an ongoing evaluation program, consistent with NSW Government
Program Evaluation Guidelines. These programs rely on close collaboration and partnerships
across Government departments, external agencies and industries. Key partners are involved
throughout the development and delivery of road safety initiatives.
The delivery of road safety measures and outcomes is reliant on multiple government
departments in addition to Transport for NSW. For example, specific road safety funding is
provided by the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), which is a statutory body and
NSW Government agency. SIRA regulates the State’s workers compensation, motor accidents
compulsory third party (CTP), and home building compensation insurance schemes and has
specific functions within the Lifetime Care and Support Scheme.
Collaborative processes are led by Transport for NSW on several levels, ranging from high-level
land use and transport planning collaborations to program implementation and delivery level.
The following section presents some examples of effective road safety programs delivered by
the NSW Government, focusing on those involving close partnerships with other agencies and
integration of Safe System principles with other departments and sectors.
2.1 Safer Roads Program and Towards Zero Infrastructure Program
The Safer Roads Program (the SRP) delivers targeted safety infrastructure across the state to
reduce the risk of a crash, and reduce casualties and severity of injuries if a crash occurs.
Projects are funded through the Community Road Safety Fund (all revenue from camera
enforcement initiatives e.g. red light cameras is required by law to go into the Community Road
Safety Fund) and delivered by Transport for NSW in partnership with local councils. Safety
treatments delivered under the SRP are based on the latest available research evidence and
reflect best-practice infrastructure countermeasures for delivery that is most likely to result in
road trauma reductions.
During the 2018-19 financial year, the SRP delivered route based projects under a targeted road
safety infrastructure program. This included the installation of wide centreline on the New
England Highway between Uralla and Armidale and commencing the installation of median
barrier on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange. The SRP improvements on
country roads in 2018-19 financial year included installing 113 kilometres of safety barriers,
3,000 kilometres of rumble strips, and 22 kilometres of motorcycle underrun to prevent run off
road and head on crashes.
The SRP was approved as a targeted ten-year $334 million road safety infrastructure program.
Based on findings from previous similar programs in other Australian jurisdictions, a target of 70
FSIs saved per $100 million invested per annum has been applied for the SRP. Given the
cumulative investment, it is estimated that the SRP will save 990 serious casualties (fatalities
and serious injuries) at treated sites over the ten years of the SRP, including an estimated 204
serious casualties from SRP commencement up to and including delivery during the 2018-19
financial year.
9More recently, the Towards Zero Infrastructure Program (the TZIP) was approved as a key
component of the RSP 2021 by targeting systemic and high risk parts of the NSW road network
to deliver medium and longer term sustainable reductions in trauma. The TZIP is strongly
focused on infrastructure upgrades in regional and rural NSW, reflecting the trauma profile that
fatalities are four times more likely to occur on a country road than a metropolitan road. The
TZIP was approved as a five-year $500 million road safety infrastructure program. A robust
economic appraisal has been completed and identified a BCR of 5.6, with the TZIP estimated
to save 347 fatalities and 2,657 serious injuries for the life of program.
Infrastructure Australia has included the TZIP on its list of Priority Projects, which is an
acknowledgement from the Australian Government of the strategic importance of delivering
high-benefit Safe System infrastructure treatments on regional roads across Australia.
2.2 Enhanced Enforcement Program
The Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP) provides funding to the NSW Police Force to deliver
high visibility police road safety enforcement activities in addition to normal operations, to deter
unsafe road use. Every year Transport for NSW invests around $13 million into the EEP to help
deter drivers and other road users from unsafe behaviours. An important example of EEP is the
National Route/Mercury program which includes enhanced patrols of eight major routes, with
seven conducted in regional NSW and one undertaken within the metropolitan orbital network.
The state-wide operations were generally conducted over long weekends and holiday periods,
often complimenting double demerit point periods. Additional operations are evidence based,
drawing on both crash and Police operational data to target areas and times of known risk taking
behaviour.
The NSW Government is spending $250 million over five years from July 2018 for enhanced
enforcement, including 50 additional highway patrol officers, training for up to 1,000 general
duties officers in speed enforcement, increased roadside alcohol testing, and a doubling of
mobile drug testing to 200,000 tests by 2020.
In the 2018-19 financial year, almost 214,750 additional on-road enforcement hours were
committed through the EEP, more than 138,300 roadside mobile drug tests were conducted in
addition to more than 6 million Random Breath Tests.
2.3 NSW Speed Camera Program
Speed cameras have been proven to make roads safer through improved driver behaviour by
reducing speeding and in turn the number and severity of crashes. Speed cameras support
police enforcement by broadening the benefits of speed enforcement across the network. They
can also operate at locations that are difficult for police to enforce.
In NSW, speed camera enforcement includes fixed digital speed cameras, red light speed
cameras, mobile speed cameras and heavy vehicle average speed cameras. Speed compliance
data is collected with speed surveys conducted at 175 sites. The data is used to inform targeted
NSW Police Force enforcement operations and to assess the impact of the mobile speed
camera program.
Annual reviews of the NSW speed camera program are undertaken by the Centre for Road
Safety. The reviews provide a systematic process for monitoring the effectiveness of speed
cameras in NSW to ensure they are having a positive road safety effect. Where it is determined
a camera has not been effective, alternative road safety countermeasures are considered.
10The 2018 annual speed camera review (Transport for NSW, 2019) showed speed cameras
continue to save lives and reduce injuries on NSW roads. When comparing the five year period
(up to the end of 2017) to an equivalent pre-installation period, at:
• Fixed speed camera locations, fatalities dropped by 80 per cent and injuries decreased
by 37 per cent.
• Red-light speed camera locations, fatalities dropped by 74 per cent and serious injuries
decreased by 40 per cent.
• Heavy vehicle average speed camera locations, fatalities from crashes involving heavy
vehicles dropped by 44 per cent and serious injuries from crashes involving heavy
vehicles have decreased by 4 per cent.
• The overall trend in road fatalities and speed survey data demonstrates that since the
program’s re-introduction in 2010, the mobile speed camera program has also delivered
road safety benefits.
2.4 NSW Road Safety Education Program
Since 1986, the NSW Road Safety Education Program has provided educational resources and
professional development to teachers and childhood educators throughout NSW. The Program
is a partnership with the Association of Independent Schools, Catholic Education Commission,
Department of Education, and Kids and Traffic, the Early Childhood Road Safety Education
Program at Macquarie University.
Road safety is taught in NSW schools as part of the Personal Development, Health and Physical
Education (PDHPE) curriculum. This is a mandatory subject for students from Kindergarten to
Year 10. In the senior school years, government schools address Safe Travel content within the
mandatory Crossroads Course, while Catholic and Independent Schools deliver road safety
education through their pastoral care and student wellbeing programs.
The Program aims to empower all children and young people to be safer road users now and into
the future. This is achieved by delivering an effective state-wide road safety education service for
NSW schools, Kindergarten to Year 12 which provides:
• tailored professional learning to address local road safety needs
• quality teaching and learning about road safety as part of the PDHPE K-10 syllabus
• students with knowledge, skills and understanding of being a responsible road user
• expert policy advice to principals and teachers to address school road safety issues
• assistance to schools to liaise with local council Road Safety Officers, NSW Police and
Transport for NSW services to support road safety outside of the school boundary
• localised strategies for encouraging positive parent and carer road safety behaviours in
and around schools.
2.5 NSW road safety public education campaign program
Road safety advertising campaigns are proven to play a role in educating the public on key road
safety issues and changing behaviour to reduce trauma on our roads. These campaigns are
developed through the incorporation of attitudinal studies as well as behavioural trends through
11crash statistics. In addition, previous campaign content and approaches are taken into
consideration to build upon existing public knowledge.
During the 2018-19 financial year, the NSW Government invested over $22 million in road safety
public education campaigns, with 78 per cent of NSW motorists recognising a road safety
campaign across all channels. Transport for NSW delivered a range of highly-recognised and
effective behavioural communication campaigns to promote safe behaviours on the roads, which
included:
• Umbrella road safety campaign – ‘Towards Zero’.
• Speeding (behavioural) – ‘Mistakes’.
• Speeding (enforcement) – speed cameras, Don’t Rush and school zones.
• Non-restraint use (child) and driveway safety (child) – ‘They’re counting on you’.
• Non-restraint use (adult) – ‘Clip every trip’.
• Fatigue – ‘Don’t Trust Your Tired Self’.
• Enforcement – double demerits and ‘You’re in our sights’.
• Drink driving – ‘Plan B’.
• Drug driving – ‘Mobile Drug Testing (MDT)’.
• Distraction – ‘Get Your Hand Off It’.
• Motorcycle safety – ‘Ride to Live’.
• Pedestrian – ‘Look Out Before You Step Out’
It should be noted that the NSW Police Force generally and the Traffic and Highway Patrol
Command deliver significant community engagement designed to encourage safe interaction
with road users in the broader community and open discussions which can be used to deliver
road safety messaging and encourage safer road user behaviours.
2.6 NSW Government fleet procurement policy
As a priority action under RSP 2021, the NSW Government has updated its fleet procurement
policy to ensure vehicles have the latest proven safety technologies including auto emergency
braking and other driver assist technologies. Such technologies help control the risks associated
with road crashes. One of the goals of RSP 2021 is that enhancing the NSW Government vehicle
fleet policy will increase the number of vehicles on our roads that become part of the used car
market with lifesaving technologies.
The NSW Government is the single largest light fleet operator in NSW with over 20,000 light
vehicles either owned or leased, and supplies a significant number of vehicles to the used car
market every year, with about 6,500 replaced annually. Increasing the number of used vehicles
with the highest safety specifications will have considerable road safety benefits. Ensuring
vehicles entering the Government fleet have the highest levels of safety complements other
road safety strategies and demonstrates that the NSW Government is committed to reducing
road trauma.
The Motor Vehicle Pre-Qualification Scheme already required that only vehicles with a five-star
safety rating obtained from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) be
procured, with exceptions for some vehicle classes where five-star rated vehicles are not
12available. The Scheme is administered by the NSW Procurement Fleet Category Management
Working Group, which is convened by the (then) Department of Finance, Service and Innovation
(DFSI) (now Department of Customer Service) and comprises fleet managers from many NSW
Government Agencies.
However, driver assist technologies are constantly evolving, with the most recent technologies
only available on the most recent vehicle models. The rate of technological advancement means
that there can be a gap between five-star rated vehicles and the safest ones now available, so
the Scheme needs to be constantly reviewed. Transport for NSW consulted extensively with
DFSI and other relevant agencies to identify the most effective approach for updating the NSW
Government fleet procurement policy for a staged implementation for different vehicle
categories. This commenced in late 2018, and vehicles eligible for the scheme must have
autonomous emergency braking, a lane keep assist system and a reversing safety system,
subject to availability in the vehicle class and suitability for purpose.
133 Impact of road trauma on the nation
Each year, across Australia more than 1,200 people are killed and at least 36,000 are
hospitalised on our roads (Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE),
2019). This amounts to five deaths and 155 hospitalisations for every 100,000 people in our
communities. As outlined in the final report for the National Inquiry: “The ripple effect associated
with each road crash extends well beyond those directly affected. There are very few Australians
who have not been affected either directly or indirectly as a result of road trauma. Tragically the
reduction in road trauma over past decades has stalled” (National Inquiry, 2018, p.12).
In NSW, the provisional road toll for 2019 (the annual figure as at 1 January 2020) was 352
fatalities, which is five more fatalities than the total for 2018. The estimated NSW road fatality
rate for the 12 months ending December 2019 is 4.35 fatalities per 100,000 people.
3.1 Importance of achieving zero serious road trauma
In NSW, approximately 350 lives are lost and 12,000 people are seriously injured from road
crashes each year, which results in an estimated cost to the community of over $8 billion per
year. The cost of personal insurance claims in NSW is estimated to be more than $2 billion per
year. These costs include ambulance and hospital fees, which are paid for by motorists as a
levy on their green slip.
As identified in the final report of the National Inquiry, there is a lack of focus nationally on a
harm elimination agenda: “This means that sub-optimal outcomes are unintentionally achieved
because some improvement in safety is often regarded as sufficient or is assumed. We accept
making the roads, vehicles and users safer, but frequently miss the opportunity to make them
SAFE…In this way the system can be regarded as inherently unsafe, and crashes will continue
to occur until the system is made inherently safe” (National Inquiry, 2018, p.15).
Future Transport 2056 acknowledges that this is unacceptable and includes safety as one of six
state-wide outcomes that will guide future investment, policy and reform and service provision
(Transport for NSW, 2018a). The Future Transport 2056 target of zero trauma on the transport
network by 2056 makes NSW is the only jurisdiction in Australia with a specific transport
planning vision for zero road trauma.
Embracing a target of zero trauma allows us to start planning our road networks with a view to
eliminating harm for all road users so that we achieve long-term and sustainable outcomes for
our customers. Setting short-term, interim targets that provide an ambitious pathway to zero
road trauma is critical to bringing forward trauma savings and the achievement of the long-term
vision. RSP 2021 includes a commitment to establishing evidence-based targets to move to a
safe, not just safer, road system (Transport for NSW, 2018b).
Transforming the road transport system to ultimately be as safe as rail and air travel will involve
commitment and action by transport planners, road designers, vehicle manufacturers,
enforcement agencies, freight industry leaders, community leaders, transport providers, and
road users working together towards this common goal.
3.2 Importance of achieving safety outcomes in regional NSW
The greatest challenge in NSW, as it is for the rest of the nation, is reducing road trauma on
country roads. There is a significant disparity in trauma rates and safety features when
comparing metropolitan NSW and the rest of the state.
14Around two-thirds of all fatalities in NSW occur on country roads, so focused effort is required
to reduce fatalities in regional areas. Provisional data for 2019 indicates that 74 per cent of
fatalities on country roads are country residents, who make up only one-third of the NSW
population.
The fatality rate in metropolitan NSW is currently 2.2 fatalities per 100,000 people. However, in
regional NSW, the fatality rate was nearly four times higher over the same period at 8.5 fatalities
per 100,000 people.
The proportion of NSW registered passenger fleet that is Five Star ANCAP rated is 45 per cent
in metropolitan areas and 38 per cent in regional areas. The proportion of NSW State roads with
an AusRAP safety rating of 3 stars and above is 70 per cent in metropolitan areas and 42 per
cent in regional areas.
The longer distances involved and the limited access to public transport are key reasons for a
different focus in regional road safety strategies. Residents travel far greater distances on roads
with a lower standard of safety infrastructure, included unsealed and winding roads, and face
road hazards not generally experienced in metropolitan areas (such as wildlife, flooding and
bushfires).
These unique challenges, and the disproportionate representation of regional communities in
road trauma statistics, necessitates a tailored approach to improve road safety outcomes in
regional NSW.
3.3 Delivery of road safety measures in regional NSW
Efforts to reduce the country road toll occur across all aspects of the transport network and
include infrastructure upgrades, safe speeds, and educating the community on safe road use
and selection of safe vehicles.
Safer Roads Program
During the 2018-19 financial year, the Safer Roads Program delivered route based projects
under a targeted road safety infrastructure program. This included the installation of wide
centreline on the New England Highway between Uralla and Armidale and commencing the
installation of median barrier on the Mitchell Highway between Bathurst and Orange. The Safer
Roads Program improvements on country roads in 2018-19 included installing 113 kilometres
of safety barriers, 3000 kilometres of rumble strips, and 22 kilometres of motorcycle underrun to
prevent run off road and head on crashes.
Funding to boost safety on country roads – Saving Lives on Country Roads Program
The NSW Government is investing $640 million in Saving Lives on Country Roads infrastructure
safety upgrades to focus on reducing fatalities and serious injuries on country roads, and $182
million to Liveable and Safe Urban Communities infrastructure safety upgrades, to better protect
vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists over the five years from July 2018.
During the 2018-19 financial year, 199 projects were under construction with 123 completed
under the Saving Lives on Country Roads Program.
Saving Lives on Country Roads public education campaign
The Saving Lives on Country Roads education campaign, launched in November 2017,
continues to raise awareness of road trauma in NSW country areas. It encourages country
drivers to re-think the common excuses used to justify unsafe behaviour on the road and make
safe, positive choices to reduce their risk on the road. The campaign has been received well,
15with regional drivers who had seen it indicating that they were personally committed to following
the road rules and driving safely.
Local partnerships
Partnerships with local councils, community groups, stakeholders and industry help support
delivery of road safety initiatives in country areas. For example, the NSW Police Force uses
Transport for NSW branded content, along with sporting partners, such as the Knock-On Effect
online content with NSW Rugby League, Cricket NSW and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Police Enhanced Enforcement on country roads
The EEP provides funding for additional high visibility enforcement to target behaviours known
to contribute to road trauma, with 68 operations undertaken in regional NSW during 2018-19
financial year to address unsafe behaviours and crashes on country roads.
Speed Management Program in country areas
Speed zones are regularly reviewed to ensure speeds listed are appropriate to the road design
and use, and in NSW the public can make suggestions about speed limits, speed limit signs and
the locations of speed cameras via the Safer Roads website – saferroadsnsw.com.au.
164 Functions of a future parliamentary Standing
Committee on Road Safety
The Australian Government has a key role to play in driving a reduction in road trauma nationally,
and a clear outline of the key functions within the recently-announced Australian Government
Office of Road Safety would ensure national leadership and responsibility for these outcomes.
Parliamentary Standing Committees can genuinely assist the Parliament in the performance of
its functions. Such Committees increase public awareness and debate on issues under
consideration by Parliament. They benefit the community by reviewing proposed laws,
facilitating more informed policy-making and ensuring greater government accountability.
In NSW, the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety (Staysafe Committee),
was re-established in 2019 to monitor, investigate and report on road safety issues in NSW. As
part of its role, the Staysafe Committee examines ways to reduce deaths and injuries, as well
as the social and economic costs to the community of road crashes.
The Staysafe Committee calls for written submissions, conducts hearings where witnesses give
evidence and seeks advice from experts. It provides a forum for the public to have their say on
issues before the Parliament and reports findings and recommendations for government action
to the Parliament. This process gives visibility of road safety to all levels of Government in NSW.
Critically, in NSW the Staysafe Committee regularly seeks advice from key Government
departments and stakeholders on the current key road safety issues impacting the state, in order
to guide the Committee on what issues they should enquire into currently or for the future. This
consultative process provides visibility to road safety issues that are relevant and evidence-
based, and allows for subsequent road safety recommendations and related actions that are
most needed in terms of reducing road trauma for the community.
The close collaboration between the NSW Government and the Staysafe Committee
demonstrates the non-partisan approach that NSW has taken to road safety. A future national
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Road Safety would similarly signal that road safety is a
non-partisan issue at a federal level.
175 Measures to ensure road infrastructure investment
incorporates Safe System principles
Greater leadership and action from the Australian Government is needed to assist state, territory
and local governments in delivering road infrastructure that incorporates Safe System principles
across their road network. All Australian jurisdictions experience an over-representation of
fatalities, particularly in country areas and on local roads, yet current national programs do not
focus enough on these safety risks.
The NSW Government invests around $165 million per year on delivery of specific Safe System
road infrastructure treatments, while the Australian Government currently commits around $60
million per year of new projects under the Australian Government Black Spot Program (which
includes an estimate of additional program funding announced in March 2019).
The following sections highlight opportunities for road infrastructure investment and delivery to
better incorporate Safe System principles and therefore produce lasting trauma reductions for
the community.
5.1 Improved practitioner guidance and delivery requirements
Although the Safe System approach has been adopted across Australia for many years, there
can be a lack of clarity amongst practitioners on how best to integrate the approach into
infrastructure delivery. Current guidance and business-as-usual practice for infrastructure
delivery has not always resulted in adequate levels of safety under the Safe System approach.
With regard to road infrastructure, the application of treatments to a ‘road cross-section’ can be
made under one or more of its sub-components (median and centreline measures, roadside
measures, lane configuration, and speed management). The effect of isolated treatments (or a
combination of measures) on the level of infrastructure road safety risk will be quantifiably
different.
Transport for NSW is currently developing Safe System Planning & Design Principles that will
be applied in the planning and design of key NSW corridor upgrades where appropriate. These
are intended to reflect default requirements to manage safety risk unless justification is
documented in a design exception or planning report.
This implementation of design principles will drive consistency, rigour and alignment of
processes across the Transport cluster. Applying consistent design principles will assure that
the core safety feature requirements will be enhanced in road design in line with the road
network corridor commitments as part of RSP 2021.
5.2 Mainstreaming road safety requirements for federally-funded
infrastructure programs
Substantial road safety benefits will be achieved in future when road safety outcomes are
integrated into the planning and design of all new major transport projects. This requires
mandating of core road safety requirements for road design and network corridor planning.
The Australian Government invests in large infrastructure projects, but the measure for ongoing
public safety performance of the infrastructure is not always specified. Ensuring that investment
delivers the maximum road safety performance is an immediate priority.
18To show national leadership, the Australian Government should ensure funding for new roads
and major road improvements is contingent on delivery of specific Safe System infrastructure
treatments. This is an outcome that was agreed by the TIC in August last year (TIC
Communique, 2019). Embedding Safe System principles into all new transport projects is a cost-
effective approach to achieving safety benefits, given the substantially greater investment that
would be needed to retrofit safety improvements in the future.
The Australian Government has ensured that road safety is more strongly referenced in the
National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport Infrastructure Projects, an agreement
between the Australian Government and jurisdictions that govern federal funding of transport
infrastructure, by inserting specific wording requiring that road infrastructure design incorporate
Safe System principles. While this is an encouraging step, unless access to funding for transport
infrastructure projects is made conditional upon setting and quantifying road safety benefits,
many projects will continue to be built to a standard that does not support harm elimination for
all road users.
Building safety outcomes into the development of all new infrastructure projects from the
beginning demonstrates to the community a clear long-term commitment to provision of safe
and reliable transport. It also allows governments to achieve multiple mutually beneficial
outcomes due to overlap between road safety priorities and wider objectives, such as
development of liveable cities and encouraging more active transport.
In March 2019, the Australian Government announced an additional $2.2 billion for safety-
enhancing projects across Australia for the following programs:
• $1.1 billion for the Roads to Recovery Program – this program enables investment in
road infrastructure for local councils and is focused on asset maintenance.
• $275 million for the Bridges Renewal Program – this program is designed to upgrade
and replace bridges, and facilitate higher productivity vehicle access.
• $274 million for Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program – this program is
focussed on providing greater heavy vehicle access.
• $550 million for the Black Spot Program – this program is designed to deliver safety
infrastructure at locations where road crashes are occurring.
This additional funding has been announced as an investment to deliver safety benefits, despite
only the Black Spot Program being specifically linked to trauma outcomes. Additional funding
announced for other programs – which are focused on asset maintenance and access – must
be linked specifically to delivery of specific safety treatments such as safety barriers and audio
tactile line marking if road trauma reductions are to be achieved.
5.3 Revision of the national Black Spot program
Revision of the national Black Spot Program funding and criteria is needed to better enable risk
reduction addressing known hazards. This would result in a greater focus on proactive risk
reduction rather than reactive treatment of crash history only.
At present, NSW receives around 19 per cent of national Black Spot Program funding, yet
accounts for around 30 per cent of the national road toll.
Existing tools such as the Australian National Risk Assessment Model (ANRAM) and the
Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) allow Australian road agencies to implement
19nationally-consistent risk-based road assessments that identify road sections with the highest
risk of future fatal and serious injury crashes.
Funding models should be reviewed to provide a more representative distribution based on
national road trauma.
5.4 Improved coordination and delivery of safety treatments on local
and regional roads
Local roads are defined by the Road Classification – Administrative variable, which specifically
categorises Local roads and Regional roads. Local roads are the responsibility of local
government although Regional roads are classified roads for which local government is jointly
responsible with Transport for NSW. For the five-year period between 2013-14 and 2018-19,
Local and Regional roads accounted for more than half (52 per cent) of all casualty crashes and
55 per cent of all serious injury crashes on NSW roads. Around two-thirds of casualty crashes
on Local and Regional roads occurred on Local roads and the remainder occurred on Regional
roads.
Local roads also have a more diverse range of road environments than State roads, from high-
speed rural roads to local streets with residential, shopping and school functions. They often
have a greater mix of road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists. Road safety interventions
may therefore often differ from those on State roads.
Local governments have responsibilities for funding, planning, designing and operating the road
networks in their local areas, and supporting safe system road safety actions. Transport for NSW
partners with local government to deliver road safety through Safer Roads Program funding,
and through the NSW Local Government Road Safety Program (for which Transport for NSW
funds up to 50 per cent of the costs for a local council in NSW to have a Road Safety Officer).
Joint planning and coordination governance is in place to support program delivery and reporting
for these funded programs.
Coordination across local government and between local governments and other levels of
government is challenging, and continued work is needed to enable effective, systematic
delivery of optimal Safe System treatments onto local roads more directly. Ongoing coordination
is needed to maintain the safety focus of funding allocations, resources and Safe Systems
understanding, which will improve consistency in how road safety is managed across local
governments.
Ensuring safety on local roads was a key theme in recommendations in the final report of the
National Inquiry. In particular, the National Inquiry (2018) recommended:
• Investing in road safety focused infrastructure, safe system and mobility partnerships
with state, territory and local governments that accelerate the elimination of high-risk
roads; and
• Making road safety a genuine part of business as usual within the federal, state, territory
and local government.
206 Data collection and coordination across Australia
To reduce the burden of road trauma, there is a need to fully understand the nature of the
problem. This can only be achieved with accurate, timely and high-quality data on the injuries
sustained by those involved in a motor vehicle crash and the various environmental, personal
and vehicle factors leading to the crash.
Both the World Health Organisation (2015) and the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020
(Australian Transport Council, 2011) acknowledge that the availability of comprehensive data
on road crashes and related injuries is key. The use of data is essential so that more in-depth
studies of risk profiles can be conducted as well as enable effective monitoring and evaluation
of road safety interventions and programs (Watson, Valmuur & Watson, 2015).
At a national level, the BITRE maintains the Australian Road Death Database, which provides
basic details of road transport crash fatalities in Australia as reported by the police each month
to the state and territory road safety authorities (BITRE, 2019). The primary outcome measure
nationally for road safety is the number of deaths, with a baseline for serious injuries to be set
in the future.
At a state and territory level, state and territory governments collect relevant data to evaluate
road safety policies, programs and projects. For example, data on crashes is used to understand
the contribution of roads to reductions in fatalities and serious injuries, and informs which
interventions are used.
Transport for NSW has one of the most detailed and sophisticated road safety information
systems in the world. This is particularly evident in work done to gain a rich serious injury dataset
and establish an ongoing linkage process, as well as continued investment to advance this work
and promote the information available for greater use among different audiences/stakeholders.
In NSW, while road fatality data have been routinely collated and reported consistently for many
years, there has been an absence of reliable serious injury data until recently. However, after a
series of data linkage studies to identify serious injuries using reliable and relevant
methodologies, work began in 2013 to establish regular linkage between crash data and hospital
records. This included determining the appropriateness of available data, convincing data
custodians of the value of data linkage for road safety and injury prevention and securing
approval from the relevant ethics committees. This was followed by an iterative process to refine
the methodology and improve data quality.
By linking data from NSW Health, SIRA, Insurance & Care NSW, NSW Ambulance and the
NSW Police Force, the NSW Government has established the first regular data linkage process
for the routine collection of road crashes serious injury information in Australia. This has enabled
the NSW Government to tailor road safety measures under RSP 2021 to address both fatality
and serious injury trends.
The need for a suitable national data series on serious injuries has been repeatedly
acknowledged by the Australian Government and all jurisdictions. The current National Road
Safety Strategy (Australian Transport Council, 2011) explicitly notes the need for greater
attention to serious injury and the setting of a national serious injury target. Work should continue
at a national level to identify a national serious injury dataset coupled with enabling jurisdictions
to undertake their own data linkage projects. Development of a simplistic national linkage system
for serious injury data in isolation may not account for nuances in data collection processes and
systems among different jurisdictions, and will duplicate efforts for jurisdictions such as NSW
21that have already invested heavily in better understanding the nature of their serious road
injuries.
227 Strategies, performance measures and targets for the
next National Road Safety Strategy
7.1 Strategies and trauma reduction targets
The National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020 outlines the commitment of federal, state and
territory governments to an agreed set of national goals, objectives and action priorities.
The National Road Safety Strategy is also supported by interim strategies, action plans and road
safety targets. The National Road Safety Action Plan 2018–2020 details priority actions to be
delivered by governments over the final three years of the National Road Safety Strategy. The
primary measure of success for the current ten-year strategy is a reduction in the number of
deaths and serious injuries from road crashes.
Individual jurisdictions have developed separate road safety action plans that complement and
align with the overarching national strategy and its key directions. Some jurisdictions, such as
NSW, have included a ‘Towards Zero’ vision, focusing on reaching zero deaths and serious
injuries, which is a key element of the Safe System approach.
The World Bank Guidelines (World Bank, 2009) identify the importance of having a far-reaching
strategic road safety vision. More specifically, a vision to eliminate all fatalities and serious
injuries enables proactive decisions on road safety, as opposed to reactive decisions in
response to deaths or injury on the road. For this reason, the next national road safety strategy
should specify a zero road trauma target by a specified date as well as ambitious interim trauma
reduction targets by 2030 and beyond that will contribute to achieving the ultimate target of zero
road trauma.
7.2 Performance indicators and management systems
A robust monitoring and performance management system that includes indicators of success,
associated targets and evaluation of progress is critical to ensuring accountability for key actions
and their impacts on road trauma reductions. However, road safety performance information is
not clearly defined at a national level.
The current National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020 does not include a commitment to collect
and monitor intermediate performance measures, which could be addressed in the next national
strategy. This proposed future work may learn from the approach adopted by world-leading
countries, such as Sweden, who apply a system of ‘Management by Objectives’ to manage
effective road safety performance. This involves agreeing an overall target for road trauma
reduction by a specified date and, based on this target, developing a set of targets for various
road safety performance indicators that reliably measure system performance. The targets set
for these indicators are used to identify road safety actions designed to realise each target.
In Sweden, the ‘Management by Objectives’ approach operationalised the Towards Zero
philosophy, which first emerged in Sweden when ‘Vision Zero’ was passed in 1997 as an Act of
Parliament calling for an end to deaths and serious injuries on Swedish roads. The approach
provides a clear practical blueprint accepted by Sweden as a way to measure system
performance and deliver road safety benefits. The approach also enables better transport
planning, as it involves envisioning what our transport system needs to look like in the future for
zero harm.
23The Swedish Transport Agency leads data collection and analysis for the annual results
conference, attended by multiple agencies and organisations where interim targets are
assessed and reviewed. Planning and strategy development are based on the findings of this
data analysis and communication at the results conferences. The Swedish Transport Agency
leads Vision Zero and is responsible for achieving national targets which are underpinned by a
performance agreement with the Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications.
Similar to the approach in Sweden, Transport for NSW is currently applying detailed case-by-
case analysis of current NSW road trauma to estimate future trauma and system performance
that will provide a roadmap for future road safety system changes and target setting for NSW.
This will align with concurrent work in NSW to identify a set of high-level safety performance
indicators, which is based on a review of research evidence, analysis of road trauma trends,
and an environmental scan to identify international best-practice approaches to development of
road safety performance indicators and target setting. This will allow NSW to implement a more
robust system of road safety performance management that aligns with the Future Transport
2056 vision for zero road trauma.
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