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The committee supports the findings of the NRSS Inquiry Report which recommended that the Australian Government commit more funding to road safety.
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The Australian Government supports an increase of funding by all governments towards improving road safety, as recommended by the Inquiry into the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-20 (NRSS Inquiry). Government has since made significant funding commitments that will deliver road safety outcomes in major cities and regional areas.
Improving road safety to help Australia move towards zero fatalities and serious injuries on our roads by 2050 is a top priority of the government and a key objective of the 10-year $110 billion land transport infrastructure program. In the 2020-21 Budget, Government committed significant funding to improve road safety, including:
a $2 billion Road Safety Program to reduce regional road crashes and protect vulnerable road users in urban areas, with an additional $1 billion in the 2021–22 Budget; and
$5.5 million for a National Road Safety Data Hub.
The government also funds a total of $77. 7 million over four years of non-infrastructure road safety projects. Iin June 2020, the Government announced the $500 million Targeted Road Safety Works Program to deliver smaller but critical projects to improve road safety and bolster the resilience of local road networks in every state and territory.
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The committee recommends the Australian Government work with the States and Territories to develop a plan and timeline for the harmonisation of data, including definitions, relating to casualty crashes, road safety ratings, and speeding across the network. Such data should be published regularly.
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The government and jurisdictions are pursuing a national project linking hospital and crash data to develop a national source of serious injury data to allow measurement of progress against agreed serious injury targets in the new NRSS 2021–30. Government is investing $5.5 million over four years to establish a National Road Safety Data Hub.
State and Territory governments have also agreed, as part of the National Partnership Agreement on Land Transport Infrastructure Projects (NPA), on a greater focus on data sharing between jurisdictions for project data including on-road safety. State and Territory governments when seeking Commonwealth funding are expected to outline safety benefits in project proposal reporting templates, including average annual numbers of avoided crashes, avoided serious injuries, and avoided fatalities.
State and Territory governments are also required to report key data to the Government as a condition of funding under the $3 billion Road Safety Program.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government review its Black Spot Program funding conditions and site eligibility, with a view to making it more effective in proactively detecting and treating deficiencies in road infrastructure.
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The Black Spot Program is already able to fund projects that treat road lengths in addition to 'spot' locations, and up to 30 per cent of program funds are available for investment in proactive projects with an assessed risk that fatal and serious crashes are likely to occur.
The program allows the Minister to consider proactive proposals above the 30 per cent threshold if recommended by the Black Spot Consultative Panel in the relevant State or Territory. Types of risk assessments for proactive nomination are reflected in the Notes on Administration for Land Transport Infrastructure Projects, as amended in August 2019.
In addition, State and Territory governments are required to report key data to the government as a condition of funding through the $3 billion Road Safety Program.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government increase funding to the Black Spot Program and increase the percentage allocated to regional and remote areas.
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The Government has committed $110 billion for land transport infrastructure investment over the next ten years. This funding included an additional $50 million per year for the Black Spot Program, bringing the funding for the Program to $110 million per year. A greater proportion of funding for regional and remote areas may be approved should such funding levels be recommended by the Black Spot Consultative Panels.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government works with States and Territories and local government to ensure that all existing road safety programs are designed to implement Safe System principles across all government policy areas, including health and education.
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The NPA enshrines road safety as a key, shared objective of the Government and of State governments. The NPA ensures new road infrastructure projects give regard to the Safe System principles, which also underpin the Strategy.
Using a social model approach, ORS is engaging Australian Government portfolios beyond the areas that have traditionally coordinated road safety outcomes to become key enablers of change and advocates for road safety, facilitated through the Commonwealth Inter-Departmental Committee on Road Safety.
The Department of Health and ORS are also working closely together in the preparation of the NRSS 2021–30, the National Injury Prevention Strategy, and other initiatives to further align targets and cross-Government work on road safety issues.
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The committee recommends that the Commonwealth works with States and Territories to ensure that funding avenues are identified that specifically support local councils to attract and retain the relevant skills and expertise required for development of all aspects of road safety policy, infrastructure, and maintenance.
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As local governments have no status within the Constitution, funding from the Government is often provided through grants such as the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program (LRCI) or directed through State and Territory governments who often provide assistance through their road safety manager responsibilities.
Currently over 600 major government funded road infrastructure projects are in planning, underway, or under construction, many of which will deliver road safety benefits. Work is being undertaken by all levels of government to deliver these projects. There are also several funding programs in place to support local governments and improvements to local roads, including:
The $500 million Targeted Road Safety Works package,
The $500 million Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, with a further $1 billion committed in 2020–21.
The $3 billion Road Safety Program
$2.55 million for the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) to assist local government to better understand, and deliver on, their road asset and maintenance requirements.
$8 million over two years to the Strategic Local Government Asset Assessment Project (SLGAAP), to assist local government road managers to undertake capacity assessments of bridges and culverts. An additional $12.1 million for the SLGAAP was also announced in the 2021–22 Budget.
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The committee recommends the establishment of a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Road Safety
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The committee recommends the Australian Government ensure all Commonwealth funded road projects incorporate Network Design for Road Safety principles
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The NPA promotes road safety as a key, shared objective of the Commonwealth and State governments. Government is committed to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads and has put forward strengthened safety arrangements for all road funding projects in the NPA. This ensures new infrastructure projects give regard to the Safe System principles. Austroads guidelines provide advice and tools for road authorities, with the Network Design for Road Safety User Guide outlining a simple process for assessing levels of risk and forecasting the number of casualty crashes.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government work with State, Territory, and local governments to collect accurate data on the current condition and rate of change of Australian roads
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The Road Safety Program requires States and Territories to provide their current analysis of road safety risk and the expected change in risk rating with the application of their proposed road safety treatments. The National Road Safety Data Hub, along with the National Freight Data Hub, will work with State and Territory governments to improve the quality of data and develop a national status report of the Australian road network.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government identify priority roads for dedicated and targeted road funding partnerships with the relevant jurisdictions to improve the star rating performance of road infrastructure for all road users.
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In November 2019, Council agreed to invest in road safety infrastructure, safe system and mobility partnerships across all governments that accelerate the elimination of high-risk roads. The Government has commenced the $3 billion Road Safety Program as part of its ongoing commitment to improving road safety for all Australians.
In addition, the $500 million Targeted Road Safety Works Program is providing upgrades across states and territories to improve road safety for all road users. Projects include the rollout of rumble strips, shoulder widening and installation of safety barriers on high-speed undivided roads.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government support and fund research into the effectiveness of varying road treatments in a wide range of circumstances, with a view to improving the road safety outcomes of infrastructure investment.
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ORS will continue to collaborate with State and Territory governments on research on a range of road safety topics, particularly through implementation of the new Strategy and Action Plan. Further, State and Territory governments are required to report key data to the Government as a condition of funding through the $3 billion Road Safety Program.
It is anticipated that as the Road Safety Data Hub matures it will become a widely used resource of datasets and series for the purposes of research into the effectiveness of various road safety treatments.
The Government also funds several road safety and supports road safety research through its participation in Austroads' taskforces.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a national consultative committee on motorcycle safety.
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Robust stakeholder consultation mechanisms are in place allowing direct liaison with key stakeholders or collectively with associations. ORS adopts a flexible and efficient approach to stakeholder engagement, allowing the Government and the transport portfolio to engage with road user groups including motorcycling groups. ORS will also work with stakeholders to establish a regular process to ensure the concerns of the motorcycling community are factored into the NRSS 2021–30 and Action Plans.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government, State and Territory, and local governments review their procurement practices to ensure that the safety of vehicles is a key criterion in purchasing decisions.
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It is already a requirement of the Whole of Australian Government Vehicle Leasing and Fleet Management arrangement Fleet Vehicle Selection Policy that entities must select vehicles with five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety ratings.
In August 2019, Council also agreed that road safety will become a genuine part of business-as-usual across all levels of government, outlining it will be a key feature of the next Strategy. ORS will work with all government jurisdictions to review their procurement practices for vehicle fleets to ensure safety in their processes.
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The committee recommends the Australian Government review current timeframes for the mandatory introduction of safety features likely to have the greatest impact on reducing road trauma in Australia.
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As Australian sales of new vehicles represent less than one per cent of the global market, harmonising with UN regulations provides more Australians with access to the safest vehicles at the lowest prices. The Government also commits to adoption of international standards at the earliest possible opportunity through:
Investing in UN working groups developing new regulations.
Research into the effectiveness of voluntary adoption of new technologies.
Research to identify technologies to address the most significant areas of road trauma.
Support for ANCAP to make information on vehicle technology available to consumers.
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The committee recommends that the Office of Road Safety assist in the facilitation of research to identify the incidence, frequency, and type of driver distraction in crash data.
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The Government's $12 million Road Safety Innovation Fund will support road safety research and the development of new, innovative road safety technologies and products to support the Safe System approach and make road safety 'business as usual' for all road users. The outcome areas for the fund include reducing driver distraction.
The Government supports further road safety research on driver distraction through its support of and participation in road safety enabling bodies and has worked with the Queensland Government to produce a National Roadmap for Driver Distraction (Roadmap). Council has endorsed the Roadmap and agreed a working party structure would determine and manage activities under the Roadmap.
Through the Roadmap, the National Transport Commission (NTC) has developed a proposal to amend road rules to regulate driver interactions with technology through a technology-neutral approach.
VicRoads and the Australian Automobile Association are also leading work to develop an ongoing driver distraction rating system in new vehicles as they come into market, with the goal of incorporating this system into the ANCAP. This would further support adoption of safety systems that prevent crashes.
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The committee recommends that the Office of Road Safety work with States and Territories to expand crash data collection and reporting on the incidence, frequency, and type of driver distraction.
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The National Road Safety Data Hub will identify opportunities to improve the collection of data on crashes, and work towards an increased understanding of the presence of and type of distraction when a fatal or serious injury crash occurs. ORS will work with jurisdictions to establish consistent definitions for crash data collection and ensure timely data collection.
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The committee recommends that the Office of Road Safety works with States and Territories to fund community awareness campaigns on the impact of driver distractions on road safety.
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The Government will continue to work closely with state and territory governments and road safety organisations to address the impact of driver distraction. The $4 million Road Safety Awareness and Enablers Fund also provides funding for 20 projects aiming to improve road user awareness of a range of road safety issues, including driver distraction.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to work with State and Territory governments and police agencies to increase the number of point-to-point speed cameras and mobile phone detection cameras.
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State and Territory governments have responsibility for traffic regulation and the setting and enforcement of speed limits, including decisions on speed and mobile phone detection.
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The committee recommends the Office of Road Safety liaise with the Transport and Infrastructure Council with a view to conducting further research into the potential benefits to be gained from various emerging driver assistance technologies.
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The $12 million Road Safety Innovation Fund supports road safety research and the development of new, innovative road safety technologies and products to support the Safe System approach and make road safety 'business as usual' for all road users. Outcome areas for the fund include road safety in regional and remote areas; distraction and drug driving; vulnerable road users; and research and initiatives specific to the Australian context.
Government believes the quickest way to implement standards for emerging driver assistance technologies is by ensuring the regulatory environment is sufficiently open; encouraging use of the technologies through market arrangements such as ANCAP testing; and actively engaging in UN workshops currently developing regulations.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government support future driver education campaigns with an emphasis on the development and demonstration of safe driving attitudes that address the following topics:
road sharing and pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle, and heavy vehicle awareness;
safe driving in different environments, with an emphasis on regional and rural roads; and
the dangers of distracted driving and the need to remain alert to the driving task.
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The $4 million Road Safety Awareness and Enablers Fund is designed to contribute to the reduction of road trauma in Australia by increasing awareness, education, and collaboration in the Australian community. Funded projects include Sharing Roads Safely (increasing safe interactions between heavy vehicles and vulnerable road users); Keeping Safe in NSW (safety for younger drivers); and Rural Road Safety Month (awareness of risky behaviour on rural roads).
The Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative program also funds initiatives that will deliver tangible improvements in road user, road, and heavy vehicle safety. It has provided $22.8 million for 89 grants over the past five years with a total of $33 million in grant funding to 2022-23.
Further emphasis on campaigns will be considered through the new NRSS 2021–30 and associated Action Plans.
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The committee recommends the Australian Government review funding for programs that reduce barriers to disadvantaged groups obtaining and retaining driver licences.
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State and Territory governments have direct responsibility for driver licensing arrangements. Options for improving access and reducing barriers to licensing in remote communities is currently being considered through the NRSS 2021–30 and associated Action Plans.
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The committee recommends that the Australian Government work with State and Territory governments to introduce compulsory first aid training as a condition of receiving a learner's permit or renewing a driver’s licence.
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The Government considers this to be a matter for State and Territory governments, which have responsibility for driver licensing arrangements. Moreover, the recommendation may result in an additional requirement for learners and significantly increase the cost of licensing, becoming a further barrier to those already disadvantaged in obtaining a licence.
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