RAC calls for a decade of investment in road safety

04 January 2010

Almost 2,000 people have lost their lives on Western Australian roads this decade and more than 30,000 have been seriously injured, sparking the RAC to call on government for a decade of investment in road safety.

Over the 10 years since 2000, Western Australia has lost an average of one person every two days, almost four people a week, on the roads.

RAC Spokesperson Adrian Firth said Western Australia had an appalling road toll which was well above other states and territories as well as the national average.

“We’re at the end of the first decade of the new millennium, but in WA it has been a decade of road trauma. It’s now time for the government to commit to a decade of road safety,” Mr Firth said.

“As a starting point, the RAC strongly believes funding should be committed to the Towards Zero road safety strategy as a whole, and funding needs to be allocated for work to begin fixing our substandard road network.

“There is no overnight fix to reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads.

“It’s likely to take more than 10 years to lift the standard of Western Australia’s roads so we need to start now.”

The 2009 road toll stands at 193*, which Mr Firth said was lower than the previous three years but still unacceptably high and an increase on the decade’s average of 191.

Western Australia’s road toll sits at 9.1 deaths per 100,000 population compared to the national average of 7.1*.

“All other states and territories are steadily reducing their road toll, but Western Australia is going in the opposite direction. Road safety should be moving forward, not backwards.

“Road trauma costs the State $1.87bn each year, not to mention the emotional impact on families, friends and colleagues.”

Mr Firth said one of the biggest concerns for the RAC was the appalling number of people killed and seriously injured on WA’s regional road network where nearly two thirds of all fatalities occur.

“Regional roads are the gateways to our tourism districts but at the moment they are also death traps. An RAC report identified 1,000km of substandard highways in our regional areas which is unacceptable,” he said.

“A good example was set with the building of the Forrest Highway which is one of the safest roads in Western Australia, but more work needs to be done to bring other roads to that standard.

Three ways to reduce WA’s road toll in 2010:

Buy safer cars: Vehicles made today are generally safer than ever. The RAC recommends people purchase a car with at least a four star safety rating according to ANCAP. If you are in the market for a second hand vehicle the Used Car Safety Ratings are available on rac.com.au.

Be a safer driver: Speed, fatigue, alcohol and drugs, distraction and not wearing a seatbelt are all killers on our roads. Making sure you obey the road rules will help to reduce the road toll.

Investment in our roads: Improving intersections in metropolitan and regional areas and the safety of roads in regional areas should be a priority. The RAC and the Auditor General have condemned the lack of investment in WA’s road infrastructure over the past decade. Now is the time to start creating a safer road network – the Forrest Highway is an example of how a road can be built to a high safety standard.

Download the release (pdf)