Page 624 - Week 02 - Thursday, 16 February 2017
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immediately see cars for what they are, over a tonne of metal which can kill in an instant.
We have achieved a lot but it is really hard to reflect on our road safety initiatives and achievements knowing that people still die on our roads. As I touched on earlier, the report card also covers the ACT’s statistical measures of progress, including ACT reporting against the national road safety performance indicators. This section, which commences from page 7 of the report card, shows that the ACT continues to perform quite well when compared to other jurisdictions.
For example, in 2015 the ACT continued to maintain a lower number of road fatalities per capita than the national average, with 3.8 fatalities per 100,000 population compared with 5.1 road fatalities per 100,000 people nationally. The annual number of road deaths per 100,000 population is a measure used nationally to monitor road safety performance.
However, there has been an increase in the ACT’s rate of deaths since 2013. During that time the ACT’s rate of deaths increased from 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population in 2013 to 3.8 deaths in 2015. Nationally, road crashes are increasing, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria. It is deeply concerning and it has become a key focus area for road safety ministers across the country. A range of additional road safety responses is being considered to address this upward trend and a new national action plan is being developed.
In the ACT we have seen a significant increase in road trauma among vulnerable road users, and cyclists and motorcyclists in particular. This reinforces the need for us to continue our efforts to implement the ACT action plan, which has a very strong focus on the Vision Zero philosophy, and improving road safety for vulnerable users.
There is much we need to do, and we will need to work closely as a community if we are going to achieve our road safety goals. As a community, I think we are becoming complacent about road safety, and it is a real concern. There is a real issue of optimism bias. We have got people who will not step in the ocean because they are afraid of being attacked by a shark but who never question their safety when using the roads. But the fact is you have got more chance of being killed in a road crash than you do of being taken by a shark.
For young people, road crashes are still a leading cause of death. We do not stop and reflect on fatal road crashes like we do for other tragedies. Life just seems to go on, despite someone having died in what is generally a set of preventable circumstances.
I have had these conversations with many people in the road safety community. There are so many “what ifs”. What if we had a roundabout or a lower speed limit at that intersection? What if the car had a five star ANCAP safety rating? What if the driver grabbed a lift home instead of driving drunk? Would that family’s child have died? Those are the questions that continue to drive me and help to focus me and my team on making a difference. We will not stop in our quest to do things better. It must be Vision Zero. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to table the ACT Road Safety Report Card for 2017 in the Assembly.
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