Drop in road deaths should not spark complacency

A NOTABLE decline in 2018 nationwide road deaths with 78 fewer fatalities has been welcomed, but the drop should not be seen as a green light to trigger complacency, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said.

The most recent statistical evidence shows that there were 1,146 deaths for the 12-month period ended December 2018.

This represents a 6.4 per cent drop from 1,224 in the previous 12 months and is the lowest 12-month total since August 2014.

Victoria experienced a 17.4 per cent drop in road deaths (from 259 in 2017 to 214 in 2018).

Mr McCormack welcomed the statistics, saying they showed encouraging improvement, but warned against adopting a false sense of security, saying nobody should rest on their laurels and complacency remained the real and ever-present enemy of road safety.

“A 6.4 per cent decline in road deaths last year should trigger a reason to ask how that performance can be improved in 2019 and what more can we do to make a difference.

“One road death or accident is one too many and the release of these recent national road death figures should serve as a reminder to all road users and stakeholders, including all governments, to be ever-vigilant and work harder to achieve improvements.”

He said the ultimate safety outcome everyone was striving for was a target of zero road deaths and serious injuries in Australia.

“The government takes road safety seriously and this is reflected in the ongoing work we are doing to prevent tragedies and make a real difference to ensure Australians can get home sooner and safer.”

He said state and federal governments shared the ‘vision zero’ target and are working with multiple agencies and through various jurisdictions to improve road safety standards and deliver a more secure transport system for all Australians and their families.

“We should never forget road accidents also have a broader impact on the families of the victims and also the emergency service workers who respond at such times of need, such as police, ambulance and emergency road crews,” Mr McCormack said.

“While we have seen some improvement on the number of road deaths in 2018, we can do even better by ensuring basic safety steps are followed, such as wearing seat-belts and obeying speed limits and road rules.

“Driver fatigue and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol are other major factors in contributing to road deaths and accidents.”