Page 3263 - Week 10 - Thursday, 25 September 2014
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The report of the inquiry was presented on 5 June this year. It contains 28 recommendations. The inquiry into vulnerable road users was an important opportunity to recognise the particular risks for this group of road users, consider how the ACT can improve road safety outcomes and, in doing so, encourage greater use of sustainable transport modes. Increasing participation in cycling and walking can also improve public health and environmental outcomes.
The government is committed to protecting people in our community who are more vulnerable than others. This principle applies to all aspects of life in Canberra, including the use of our roads. Improving the safety of ACT roads is critical to achieving the government’s road safety and sustainable transport objectives.
On the road our most vulnerable people are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. These road users are vulnerable because they do not benefit from the level of crash protection which is provided by other vehicles. Research has shown that safety concerns are a significant barrier to people cycling and walking. This is also an issue for motorcyclists, with recent research published by the NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust showing that the rate of death for motorcyclists is 20 times more than the rate for car drivers.
In 2013, there were 7,863 on-road traffic crashes in the ACT, involving 15,399 vehicles and resulting in 7,792 casualties, including seven fatalities and 140 hospital admissions. Three fatalities and 236 injuries involved vulnerable road users. This is 43 per cent of all fatalities and 30 per cent of injuries recorded in 2013. Provisional drivers represented just under 16 per cent of drivers involved in casualty crashes despite being only six per cent of all licence holders.
There is no doubt that these issues require a targeted response. The government is prepared to accept the challenge of improving road safety for vulnerable road users and pursue action which will make our roads safer for the many Canberrans who choose the two wheels of a motorcycle or a bicycle or their own two feet for walking.
Having carefully considered the committee’s report, the government response agrees to 18 recommendations, agrees in principle to five and notes five.
The government has already announced its agreement to implement one of the recommendations, and will conduct a two-year trial of motorcycle lane filtering. This will commence on 1 February next year and will include a number of conditions aimed at making the practice safe for motorcyclists and all other road users, including a requirement that motorcycles not filter at a speed greater than 30 kilometres per hour, on the kerbside next to a footpath, in a bicycle lane or in a breakdown lane. To ensure that safety is not compromised for younger pedestrians, motorcyclists will not be allowed to lane filter in school zones.
Of the committee’s other recommendations, there are three I will address in particular today, in recognition of the interest the community has expressed in these proposals. These are the recommendations relating to lower speed limits, allowing cyclists to ride across road crossings and minimum passing distance rules for overtaking cyclists.
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