Every single death on Australian roads is a tragedy.
The Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and TransportCarol Brown today encourages Australians to pause and remember the impact road trauma has on individuals, our communities and our nation.
Today is World Day of Remembering Traffic Victims (WDoR). Every year, the objective of WDoR is to provide a platform for road traffic victims and their families.
Every year across the world, far too many people find themselves as yet another number on the road toll. Since the conception of the road toll 125 years ago, over 50 million people have been killed and hundreds of millions injured on roads across the world.
In Australia, the road toll has risen by 6 per cent in comparison to the 12 months prior.
1,196 people have been killed on Australian roads from November 2021 to October 2022.
That is why the Albanese Labor Government is acting, through the National Road Safety Strategy and importantly through the Road Safety Action Plan which will be considered by state and territory ministers at the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting in December.
Under the former Government, the Action Plan failed to be implemented after criticism from stakeholders who felt there was too little consultation.
The Albanese Labor Government is getting the Action Plan back on track.
Unlike previous Action Plans, the new Action Plan will be designed to have measurable criteria and clear lines of accountability for action divided between states and territories and the Australian Government.
The Principles of both the Strategy and the Action Plan include long-term goals of achieving Vision Zero, transparency and clear governance arrangements to ensure there is a clear understanding of who is responsible for actions and more.
Achieving Vision Zero is the goal which underpins the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.
Road safety is a shared responsibility between all road users, communities and governments. A responsibility we should all understand is life or death.
