Page 1465 - Week 05 - Thursday, 7 May 2015
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undoubtedly the biggest impact of road trauma on all communities, including the ACT. It is unsatisfactory to accept that road deaths are an inevitable part of our transport system. The ACT government has adopted the vision zero philosophy, and consistent with this our policies must prioritise human life and health. This philosophy guides outcomes in some areas that are very visible to the public.
Slow speed environments such as the 40-kilometre an hour zones introduced to our town centres in the past few years and currently being implemented at group centres bring clear safety benefits for people and have the effect of improving the amenity of the streets and attracting more people. When they are successful in attracting more people they can create a positive feedback loop, as places that have more active people are also safer. Slower speed environments are part of an overall approach to planning that should integrate safety as a key goal.
Our neighbourhoods are not thoroughfares for vehicles; they are places where people live and play and they should be designed in a way that facilitates people living and playing. Road safety is not just about individual intersections or other features. It intersects at a higher level with our approach to urban planning.
This year I intend to release the next ACT road safety action plan for the period 2015-18. I will also release a government road safety camera strategy. The focus of this strategy will be on safety, on using the best information, data and strategies to ensure that road safety cameras are performing their key task of preventing road deaths and road trauma in the ACT. I will also release a new road safety education strategy focused on achieving a lifetime learning approach to road safety in the ACT. This is a project that will look at the spectrum of road safety learning across a person’s life, from school to old age.
We need to remember that there are many families in our community just like Peter Frazer’s who have suddenly lost a family member and will be dealing with that loss for the rest of their lives. We should always remember that this is not inevitable; many of the deaths are preventable and it is incumbent on us as a government to always find ways to improve safety and to strive for vision zero. We can all be more responsible and aware of safety when using the road. We can slow down and obey speed limits, be unimpaired by drugs and alcohol, wear a seatbelt and look out for each other on the road. These are simple steps that we can all take to make our roads safer.
One of SARAH’s campaign slogans is “drive so others survive” or “drive SOS”. Drive SOS is about sharing the road responsibly, actively committing to safeguarding the lives and health of all road users and protecting vulnerable road users, including those who work on our roads to assist us and protect us. This message is particularly promoted on the final day of Road Safety Week, Mother’s Day. We all need to drive so others survive and so that everyone arrives safely at their mother’s or at other family and friends’ on Mother’s Day and every other day of the year.
National Road Safety Week is growing into a big event on the nation’s road safety calendar. I am a supporter of activities that we can all do as a community to reinforce road safety awareness on our roads. National Road Safety Week is a very worthwhile
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