RAC General Manager Corporate Affairs, Will Golsby, said the region’s road toll had doubled from 14 in 2015 to 28 fatalities last year, despite the Towards Zero strategy being signed in 2009.
“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 Wheatbelt, 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.”
The dramatic rise in Wheatbelt road deaths is echoed in the State’s road toll, with 194 people killed on WA roads in 2016 – 33 more than WA’s 2015 total.
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 Wheatbelt, Great Southern and South West all performed poorly, and the Wheatbelt’s fatality rate remains almost seven times higher than 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:
2016 State road toll: 194
2015 State road toll: 161
Wheatbelt fatalities:
2016 - 28
2015 - 14
Regional fatalities:
2016 - 119
2015 - 86
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