❓ Road safety—Pedestrian fatalities 936. Hon Simon Ehrenfeld to the minister representing the Minister for Road Safety: I refer to the article in The West Australian of 19 October titled "Near doubling
AnsweredQoN 936Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Road safety—Pedestrian fatalities
936. Hon Simon Ehrenfeld to the minister representing
the Minister for Road Safety:
I refer to the
article in The West Australian of 19
October titled "Near doubling in WA deaths sparks calls for road
crackdowns".
(1) Has the government undertaken any analysis to
identify the major contributing factors behind the nearly 94% increase in
pedestrian fatalities over the past year?
(2) If so, what are they?
(3) What action has the government taken to
address these major contributing factors?
936. Hon Simon Ehrenfeld to the minister representing
the Minister for Road Safety:
I refer to the
article in The West Australian of 19
October titled "Near doubling in WA deaths sparks calls for road
crackdowns".
(1) Has the government undertaken any analysis to
identify the major contributing factors behind the nearly 94% increase in
pedestrian fatalities over the past year?
(2) If so, what are they?
(3) What action has the government taken to
address these major contributing factors?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me
by the Minister for Road Safety.
(1) The Road Safety Commissioner monitors the
crashes occurring, looking at where crashes are happening, who was involved in
the crash and any contributing factors identified by WA police. The term
"pedestrian" encompasses people walking, using an e-rideable device,
an animal, a motorised wheelchair or a skateboard to travel.
(2) Crashes occurring in 2025 involving
pedestrians have been varied, with multiple scenarios, locations and vehicles
involved. Inattention has been identified as playing a role in crashes
involving more than a third of pedestrian fatalities so far this year—11
out of 31. This could be from the driver or pedestrian involved. Out of the 31
pedestrian deaths, 26 involved people being struck by a vehicle, with all but
one occurring on roads with speed limits of 50 kilometres an hour or above,
highlighting the role speed plays in survivability for vulnerable road users.
(3) Tragically, we have seen serious crashes
involving e-riders and people on foot. That is one of the reasons that a
bipartisan parliamentary inquiry has been called and is due to report to
Parliament in December. The Road Safety Commission
is currently rolling multichannel campaigns such as "No one plans a
crash" and "Let's roll together safely" to educate the
public.
for some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me
by the Minister for Road Safety.
(1) The Road Safety Commissioner monitors the
crashes occurring, looking at where crashes are happening, who was involved in
the crash and any contributing factors identified by WA police. The term
"pedestrian" encompasses people walking, using an e-rideable device,
an animal, a motorised wheelchair or a skateboard to travel.
(2) Crashes occurring in 2025 involving
pedestrians have been varied, with multiple scenarios, locations and vehicles
involved. Inattention has been identified as playing a role in crashes
involving more than a third of pedestrian fatalities so far this year—11
out of 31. This could be from the driver or pedestrian involved. Out of the 31
pedestrian deaths, 26 involved people being struck by a vehicle, with all but
one occurring on roads with speed limits of 50 kilometres an hour or above,
highlighting the role speed plays in survivability for vulnerable road users.
(3) Tragically, we have seen serious crashes
involving e-riders and people on foot. That is one of the reasons that a
bipartisan parliamentary inquiry has been called and is due to report to
Parliament in December. The Road Safety Commission
is currently rolling multichannel campaigns such as "No one plans a
crash" and "Let's roll together safely" to educate the
public.
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