The National Road Safety Strategy
About the Strategy
The National Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010 was adopted by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) in November 2000. The Council comprises Australia, state and territory government ministers with responsibility for transport, and includes an observer from local government.
The Strategy provides a framework which complements the road safety strategies of individual state, territory and local governments. The target of the strategy is to reduce the annual number of road fatalities per 100 000 population by 40 per cent, from 9.3 (the 1999 benchmark rate) to no more than 5.6 in 2010.
National Road Safety Action Plan
The Australian Transport Council (ATC) agreed that a series of two-year Action Plans should be developed, setting out specific measures available to achieve the objectives of the National Road Safety Strategy 2001–2010.
The National Road Safety Action Plan for 2007 and 2008 is the fourth in the series. It identifies the main issues expected to influence road trauma levels in the foreseeable future, and sets out the priority areas for action in calendar years 2007 and 2008.
The Action Plan notes that approaches to improving road safety in Australia will continue to be guided by ‘safe system’ principles, which fundamentally involve two objectives: making the road transport system more forgiving of human error, while acting to minimise the contribution of unsafe road user behaviour to road crashes.
Vigorous action is required in 2007 and 2008 by all jurisdictions to achieve a major step-down in road deaths, and to provide a basis for continuing progress beyond 2010. This will involve concurrent short and longer term actions in several areas:
- education and enforcement measures addressing road user behaviour, with speed management as an important priority
- improving the safety of roads and roadsides
- accelerating the introduction of vehicles with improved safety systems.
The Action Plan also identifies the need for:
- communication strategies to engage the community in road safety
- improved performance monitoring and progress measurement
- more effective partnerships between road safety agencies, the public health sector and other agencies involved in road safety.
The Action Plan was developed jointly by all Australian jurisdictions, with input from the National Road Safety Strategy Panel, which represents a broad range of organisations with a stake in road safety. It has been endorsed by the ATC.
For more information and to download copies of the National Road Safety Strategy and Action Plans, visit the ATC's National Road Safety Strategy page.
National Road Safety Strategy Panel
The National Road Safety Strategy Panel provides advice on road safety matters to the Australian Transport Council. The Panel includes representatives from all state and territory roads authorities, as well as a range of stakeholders including the transport industry, motoring associations, the vehicle industry and road user groups.