The Road Safety Commission has announced a strategy aimed at reducing road fatalities and severe injuries to zero by 2050.
The target is included in the Driving Change – Road Safety Strategy, launched at the beginning of National Road Safety Week 2020, this week.
Minister for Road Safety, Michelle Roberts said Driving Change was the framework to guide WA’s road safety journey over the next decade, reducing the number of people fatally, severely or seriously injured by 50-to-70 per cent by 2030.
Developed after extensive community and stakeholder consultation by the Road Safety Commission, Driving Change replaces the State’s current road safety strategy, Towards Zero 2008 – 2020.
Ms Roberts marked the start of National Road Safety Week in front of an image of a road safety sign first used on Barracks Arch in 1933, calling for drivers to Take it Easy – Speed Kills.
“To launch our State’s new road safety vision in front of this image of the 1933 Speed Kills sign — that is still relevant 87 years later — proves we need bold leadership to reduce and eliminate road trauma in our State,” Ms Roberts said.
“As road users, we all have a role to play in making every journey a safe one to reach the ambitious goal we have set for Western Australia over the next three decades.”
She said road trauma figures had decreased by around 30 per cent over the past 10 years, but still around 160 people were killed on the State’s roads each year and a further 1,500 were seriously injured.
“We can reach our ambitious target of a 50-to-70 per cent reduction by 2030 by doing more of what works, embracing new technologies and engaging with stakeholders and community,” Ms Roberts said.
“We will work with State Government Agencies, the Federal Government, Local Government, first responders, heath care providers, vehicle manufacturers, motoring and community organisations and most importantly you — WA road users — to drive change and save lives.”
The 39-page Driving Change strategy can be accessed at this PS News link.
