Urgent action needed to break horror trend on Tassie roads

When it comes to road safety, we are witnessing a failure in public policy, says Mark Mugnaioni

WITH 2020 now well and truly in the rear- vision mirror, it’s time to confront an uncomfortable reality when it comes to road safety: from a Tasmanian perspective, the National Road Safety Strategy 2011- 2020 was a failure.

The Strategy had two key targets. First, it was aimed at reducing the annual number of road fatalities by at least 30 per cent over the 10 years. Second, it aimed to reduce the annual number of serious road crash injuries by at least 30 per cent over the same period.

On both measures the strategy was sadly anything but successful in Tasmania.

In 2011, 24 people lost their lives on our roads, while there were 272 serious crashes. In 2020, 36 people died and 283 were seriously injured. Serious crashes remain stubbornly high, while fatalities have increased by a shocking 50 per cent when comparing those two years alone.

In eight of the 10 years covered by the strategy, there were more than 30 fatalities on our roads.

On average from 2011 to 2020, 32 people died each year on our roads and while there have been peaks and troughs each year, there has been anything but a reduction.

These are such confronting statistics, because these crashes are more than just numbers. Each of the 321 fatalities represents a family torn apart, a community devastated, an empty chair at the table on Christmas Day and a lifetime of heartache for those left behind.

What makes these figures even more concerning is the advances that we have seemingly made over the past 10 years.

The design of motor vehicles has improved significantly over the 10 years. Modern cars are much safer, comparatively, and boast measures such as computerassisted technology to help detect and avoid crashes.

The local, state and federal levels of government have all contributed significant funding for infrastructure upgrades. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent improving our road network. You only need to think back to the appalling condition of the Midland Highway 10 years ago to appreciate the progress that has been made ( however, there is still a long way to go when it comes to the Midland Highway and many other roads in Tasmania).

The Tasmanian government, with the RACT’s support, has improved the education, training and licencing process over the past 10 years. We now have a graduated licencing system, where learner drivers are required to gain knowledge and, importantly, experience driving in a broad range of conditions to equip them with the knowledge and skills to drive safely in any conditions.

In terms of enforcement, measures like increasing the

number of fixed speed cameras, reducing speed limits, rolling out enhanced drug- driving tests and fines for inattention and mobile phone use have all been introduced.

At the same time millions of dollars have been spent on public awareness campaigns across media in Tasmania.

Yet, at the same time all of these measures have not contributed to a reduction in serious crashes or fatalities.

What the last 10 years have shown us is that it’s not always about shiny new cars on brand new roads. We need fresh thinking and new ideas if we are going to create the change our community deserves.

It gives me no pleasure in saying this, but when it comes to road safety in Tasmania, we are witnessing a failure in public policy. We must do better. Lives depend on it.

That’s not to say it is entirely the government’s fault. The community needs to accept it plays a major part in keeping our roads safe. Taking risks and poor behaviour by some is a recipe for disaster, which makes it incredibly difficult for governments.

It’s clear the community needs to own any future strategy to ensure it is more successful than the last one.

I am not looking to apportion blame, but rather outline that the RACT wants to find a better way, with fresh thinking to tackle the road toll.

The challenge this year for local government and the Tasmanian and federal governments, and indeed for organisations such as the RACT, is to try to better understand what is contributing to the high levels of serious and fatal crashes and what changes are needed to have an impact.

We simply can’t continue to implement the same strategies and the same way of thinking that has underpinned the strategy over the past 10 years and expect to get better results over the next 10 years. We need to fundamentally rethink our approach to road safety and try to break the paradigm that has seen Tasmania stuck with an unacceptably high road toll.