Page 5336 - Week 14 - Thursday, 19 November 2009
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An essential element of the road safety system approach is the design of roads and vehicles to reduce the risk of crashes and to reduce the harm to people if a crash does happen—and speed management to limit impact energy. These principles are particularly important for vulnerable road users—pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists—who, unlike car occupants, are not protected by being within a vehicle.
The current ACT strategy and action plan are already based on the safe system approach. However, there is scope to do much more in relation to these principles. The need for a culture change in how we view road crashes in the ACT has been identified, and I am pursuing the vision zero concept as a goal.
As mentioned previously, Alan Evans and I co-hosted two roundtables: in May this year with a follow-up roundtable in October. Key stakeholders present at the roundtables included NRMA Motoring and Services, NRMA Insurance, NRMA ACT, the Road Safety Trust, ACT Policing, Pedal Power, the Australian Driver Trainers Association of the ACT, the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT, the Canberra Pedestrian Forum, the Australasian College of Road Safety, the Australian Hotels Association, ClubsACT, the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and ACT and federal government departments. All participants in these two roundtables expressed their general support for the vision zero concept and expressed a determination to continue to work together to advance road safety and to advance the possibility of genuinely engaging with and adopting vision zero.
Vision zero’s aim is that eventually no-one will be killed or seriously injured within the road transport system. Zero is not a target to be achieved by a certain date. It is, however, a change from an emphasis on current problems, and possible ways of reducing these, to being guided by what the optimum state of the road transport system should be.
The vision is based on ethics—every human being is unique and irreplaceable—and science—human physical and mental capabilities are known and should form the basis for road design. Knowledge of our limited ability and tolerance in a crash should be premises for chosen solutions and measures.
Vision zero also changes the emphasis in responsibility for road safety from the road user only to a shared responsibility by all those who have an effect on, or participate in, the road traffic system—politicians, designers, planners, road managers, transport companies, vehicle manufacturers, the police and road users. Sweden has backed up the vision zero concept with strong political support and considerable investment in infrastructure and enforcement.
The two approaches, vision zero and safe system, complement each other. Whereas vision zero can be seen to be the public face of the goal, the safe system approach provides the technical support and methodology to move towards the goal.
A discussion paper is currently being prepared by the government, coming out of the roundtables, which will respond to issues that were raised at those roundtables. This discussion paper will assist with the development of the next ACT road safety strategy, which will cover the period from 2011. Work on the new strategy will
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