South West road safety record going backwards

The South West has suffered its worst road toll in two years with 25 people dying on local roads throughout 2016, prompting calls from RAC for a renewed focus on delivering the State’s road safety strategy Towards Zero. 
 
RAC General Manager Corporate Affairs, Will Golsby, said the South West’s 2016 road toll was seven higher than in 2015. 

“Every life lost on WA roads is one too many and each has a lasting ripple effect in the community. Last year the impact of road trauma was devastating for the South West, and the wider Western Australian community,” Mr Golsby said. 

“It’s clear that leading in to the State election in March both the State Government and the Opposition need to act immediately and re-evaluate their approach to the Towards Zero road safety strategy if we are to reach the strategy’s target of 40 per cent fewer deaths by 2020.”  

Across the state, 194 people were killed on WA roads in 2016, which is 16 more than the five year average.  

The higher State road toll is largely attributable to both an increase in deaths on regional roads and motorcyclist fatalities.

“Road fatalities in regional WA remain unacceptably high. The South West, Great Southern and Wheatbelt all performed poorly, and the South West’s fatality rate is approximately double the State rate, which is 7.36,” Mr Golsby said. 

“On top of that, Western Australia’s fatality rate is once again higher than the national average, and we continue to lag behind leading States Victoria and New South Wales. 

“As a community we cannot continue to be complacent, we can and need to do more to stop fatalities and serious injuries on our roads.”

The latest Annual Report released by the Road Safety Commission identified that $95 million remained unspent in the Road Trauma Trust Account. This funding is available for road safety initiatives across Western Australia.

Figures at a glance:

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