Road Safety Plan 2021

Between 2008 to 2016, a staggering 1,238 people lost their lives because someone was driving too fast - that's 41% of all fatalities. In a similar period, there were 11,954 serious injuries, representing 23% of all serious injuries.

Even a small change in vehicle speed can make the difference between life and death. Human bodies are vulnerable and can ultimately only tolerate so much force in a crash. The higher the speed, the stronger the force on impact. The diagram here shows different types of crashes and speeds. At the speeds indicated, the risk of dying is approximately 10%. Above these speeds the risk of dying dramatically increases.

There are a range of measures in place to help reduce speed related deaths and serious injuries on our roads. Some of these are fixed, red light and mobile speed cameras, setting safe speed limits, high visibility police enforcement and education campaigns. We also invest in both large and small scale projects to improve road safety like our black spots program.

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well across the state to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think is important for making travel safer for everyone?

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

A total of 253 of the 384 lives lost on NSW roads last year were on country roads, this represents two-thirds or 66% of all road fatalities in NSW. In 2016 the fatality rate per head of population for country residents of NSW was more than four times that for metropolitan residents. Many people think that it’s out of towners who are responsible for this high road toll, but our figures show that 70 per cent of fatal crashes on country roads involved local or country residents.

That’s why we have partnered with new organisations to cut through into local communities like our rugby league ‘Knock On Effect’ partnership with the NRL, NSWRL and Country RL to tackle the problem of deaths and serious injuries on country roads. Our partnership with local government, local police and local community organisations are also critical to addressing the trauma on country roads.

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Last year, 59 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes and between 2015 and 2016, 985 people were injured. Fatalities from crashes involving drivers with an illicit drug in their system have risen from 13 per cent in 2010 to 19 per cent in 2016.

Education combined with enforcement and appropriate penalties for offenders are the most effective ways to tackle this kind of road safety problem. The NSW Police Force conducted four and half million breath tests in 2016, resulting in almost 17,000 charges and over 80,000 Mobile Drug Tests (MDT). A total of 97 per cent of positive roadside drug tests are confirmed as positive at the laboratory. NSW has also introduced alcohol interlocks for high range and repeat drink driving offenders, and continues to have fines and licence disqualification periods to deter drink and drug driving.

Questions

1. What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?
2. What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Fatigue is the second biggest killer on our roads, contributing to 22 per cent of fatal crashes. Last year, 83 people died on NSW roads because they were driving tired, compared to 55 in 2015.

It’s a scary thought, but being awake for 17 hours has a similar effect on your performance and reaction time behind the wheel as a blood alcohol content above the legal limit. Fatigue is also an important issue amongst heavy vehicle and light truck drivers who are often more likely to drive for long periods of time.

Investing in infrastructure is a key part of our strategy. As part of the Safer Roads program we install rumble strips, wire rope barriers and clear zones to help reduce fatigue related crashes on our roads. We also use public education and look at new technology to make our vehicles safer.  

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

The vehicle you drive can affect whether you have a crash, and what the outcome of the crash is if you have one. Road trauma data clearly shows that overall the older the car the more severe the injury, because older vehicles have fewer safety features. If every vehicle could be upgraded to the safest in its class road trauma could be significantly reduced

Many people – especially those in country NSW, younger drivers, older drivers and those driving light trucks, have vehicles that do not have all the safety features currently available.

To address this we encourage people to buy the safest new and used vehicles with the highest star rating they can afford, and to choose all the safety features available.

Questions

1. What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2. What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Between 2011 and 2015, there were 230 crashes on NSW roads involving hand-held mobile phones. Although it’s worth mentioning that numbers are probably higher because crashes are underreported - it’s hard to obtain evidence of mobile phone use at crash scenes.

Even though our research tells us around two thirds of drivers agree that using a phone while driving is dangerous, we know many people still do it. Being distracted can slow down your reaction times and you could miss traffic lights, stop signs or people on the road like pedestrians and cyclists.

Enforcement coupled with public campaigns are currently our most effective way of combating this road safety issue. Breaking mobile phone laws now carries heavy penalties. Importantly, new directions in policy and research are also helping. We are undertaking Australia’s largest ever in-vehicle driving study. It uses sophisticated sensors and cameras to record how drivers react to critical situations and road environments.

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Between 2015 and 2016, the number of young drivers (17-25) killed on NSW roads increased from 30 to 40 and the number of fatalities from crashes involving young drivers increased from 82 to 108.In the five year period from 2011 to 2015, 4,795 young drivers were hospitalised as a result of a crash in NSW.

To tackle this, we have the Graduated Licensing Scheme for learner, P1 and P2 licence holders, zero blood alcohol, the Safer Driver Program and now, young drivers are not allowed to use mobile phones whilst driving. Of course, behaviours have to be addressed too and there are a range of education campaigns aimed at young drivers like Plan B and Slow Down.

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Sadly, there has been a 28 per cent increase in crashes involving older drivers, with those aged 60 to 74 years increasing by 40 per cent. This number is high because of the growing number of older drivers and the fact that frailty makes older drivers more likely to be injured if a crash occurs. Over a similar period, serious injury crashes increased by 37 per cent with those aged 60 to 74 years increasing by 40 per cent.

To ensure the safety of all road users whilst maintaining the mobility of older drivers, NSW offers a modified licence scheme - the only state in Australia to do so. Older drivers are required to have an annual medical assessment from age 75 and undertake an on-road driving assessment every two years from age 85 to maintain an unrestricted licence.

Questions

1.  What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2.  What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Pedestrians are some of our most vulnerable road users. There were increases in pedestrian deaths in 2016, tragically 74 pedestrians were killed, 13 more than in 2015. During this time, there were also 1,095 people seriously injured.

To tackle this alarming trend, NSW is rolling out pedestrian safety improvements at signalised crossings to address ‘green on green’ crashes, where both drivers and pedestrians get a green light at the same time. On top of this, we launched our ‘Look Out Before You Step Out’ campaign in October 2016 which was developed to raise awareness about pedestrian safety issues.

Questions

1. What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2. What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed. 

Bicycles have little protection compared to motor vehicles, making bicycle riders more vulnerable in a crash. In 2016, bicycle rider fatalities dropped to five, from seven in 2015 and in 2015 there were a total of 1,981 bicycle riders seriously injured. This represents 16 per cent of all hospitalisations from road traffic crashes.

To address this, we’ve ramped up our public education campaigns, and community consultation, and increased the penalties for high-risk behaviours for bicycle riders, bringing them into line with penalties for motorists. The NSW government has also committed to more walking and cycling infrastructure.

Questions

1. What do you think we are doing well to combat this issue?

2. What do you think we could improve on? 

NOTE: All comments will be reviewed and moderated. Any offensive or inappropriate content will be removed.