❓ The Minister for Road Safety addresses concerns about a recent increase in run-off-road crashes in regional WA, outlining the government's 'Towards Zero' strategy and specific funding allocations for road safety improvements like shoulder sealing, audible edging, and safety barriers, funded by speed and red-light camera fines.
AnsweredQoN 559Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVES
559. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER to the Minister for Road Safety:
With the terrible
spate of run-off-road crashes that occurred last week, can the minister please
update the house on what the government is doing to improve road safety in
regional and remote Western Australia?
559. Mr J.J.M. BOWLER to the Minister for Road Safety:
With the terrible
spate of run-off-road crashes that occurred last week, can the minister please
update the house on what the government is doing to improve road safety in
regional and remote Western Australia?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for Kalgoorlie for his question and, indeed, his interest in road safety,
particularly in regional areas. Last Friday was a terrible start to the weekend
for families and friends of three Western Australians who tragically lost their
lives in regional Western Australia in three separate single-vehicle
run-off-road crashes. These tragedies have brought the road toll this year to
128, which is one more than at the same time last year. It is a regrettable
state of affairs, and we have three networks of family and friends who are now
suffering grief and trauma as they try to cope with the loss of those loved
ones.
Every death and
serious injury on our roads is alarming, which is why in 2009 the Liberal–National
government endorsed the Towards Zero strategy that is aimed and designed to
reduce road crash trauma and fatalities by 40 per cent by the year 2020. It is
a challenge. We have 18 000 kilometres of state roads and 140 000 kilometres of
local road network. Probably the most significant problem that we have in
regional and remote areas is in single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes. That is
why we have put in the 2012–13 budget $20.1 million for road safety
treatments that will address this problem of run-off-road crashes. The problem
we have is that we need to retrofit these safe system treatments. Some of the
treatments include sealing the shoulders of roads, which we expect can reduce
road crash trauma by around 40 per cent; audible edging, which we expect can
reduce road crash trauma by around 20 per cent; and then there are safety
barriers, which can reduce road crash trauma by up to 90 per cent. This would
not have been possible had we not hypothecated 100 per cent of the speed and
red-light camera infringement fines into the road trauma trust fund. This has
given us the ability to have an unprecedented $87 million to spend on road
safety initiatives, of which $21.6 million, metropolitan members will be happy
to know, will go to metropolitan intersection crashes, which are a big problem
that we have in the metropolitan area with road crash fatalities and road crash
trauma admissions.
In conclusion, I
thought it would be timely to update members that we are coming into a long
weekend. Effective midnight on Thursday, we will be in double demerit point
mode for the long weekend. I encourage all members to be mindful of the way
that they drive and to make sure that they can assist us in preventing road
crash trauma and fatalities. Members will potentially face losing their licence
under the double demerit point regime should they choose to exceed the speed
limit. In addition, if that is what members choose, I will welcome their
voluntary contribution to the road trauma trust fund. Members'
voluntary contributions will be well spent in trying to prevent these road
crash deaths and trauma admissions.
for Kalgoorlie for his question and, indeed, his interest in road safety,
particularly in regional areas. Last Friday was a terrible start to the weekend
for families and friends of three Western Australians who tragically lost their
lives in regional Western Australia in three separate single-vehicle
run-off-road crashes. These tragedies have brought the road toll this year to
128, which is one more than at the same time last year. It is a regrettable
state of affairs, and we have three networks of family and friends who are now
suffering grief and trauma as they try to cope with the loss of those loved
ones.
Every death and
serious injury on our roads is alarming, which is why in 2009 the Liberal–National
government endorsed the Towards Zero strategy that is aimed and designed to
reduce road crash trauma and fatalities by 40 per cent by the year 2020. It is
a challenge. We have 18 000 kilometres of state roads and 140 000 kilometres of
local road network. Probably the most significant problem that we have in
regional and remote areas is in single-vehicle, run-off-road crashes. That is
why we have put in the 2012–13 budget $20.1 million for road safety
treatments that will address this problem of run-off-road crashes. The problem
we have is that we need to retrofit these safe system treatments. Some of the
treatments include sealing the shoulders of roads, which we expect can reduce
road crash trauma by around 40 per cent; audible edging, which we expect can
reduce road crash trauma by around 20 per cent; and then there are safety
barriers, which can reduce road crash trauma by up to 90 per cent. This would
not have been possible had we not hypothecated 100 per cent of the speed and
red-light camera infringement fines into the road trauma trust fund. This has
given us the ability to have an unprecedented $87 million to spend on road
safety initiatives, of which $21.6 million, metropolitan members will be happy
to know, will go to metropolitan intersection crashes, which are a big problem
that we have in the metropolitan area with road crash fatalities and road crash
trauma admissions.
In conclusion, I
thought it would be timely to update members that we are coming into a long
weekend. Effective midnight on Thursday, we will be in double demerit point
mode for the long weekend. I encourage all members to be mindful of the way
that they drive and to make sure that they can assist us in preventing road
crash trauma and fatalities. Members will potentially face losing their licence
under the double demerit point regime should they choose to exceed the speed
limit. In addition, if that is what members choose, I will welcome their
voluntary contribution to the road trauma trust fund. Members'
voluntary contributions will be well spent in trying to prevent these road
crash deaths and trauma admissions.
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