Our fatal collision course

Serious road crashes mar death-free start to year

DESPITE a fatality-free start to 2023 on Tasmanian roads, the number of serious crashes so far this year is alarming the government and peak road safety body.

Former deputy Police Commissioner and chair of the Road Safety Advisory Council, Scott Tilyard, warned Tasmania would not reduce road trauma unless drivers stopped being complacent.

He said while there had been no fatalities this year there had been nine serious crashes and the state was “nowhere near on track” to cut the number of serious crashes from 300 a year.

“It is very worrying and we seem to be struggling to bring the number of serious crashes down from 300,” Mr Tilyard said.

“Our target is 200 serious crashes a year by 2026 and we’re nowhere near on track to achieve it.

“The statistics for this year are not looking all that [much] better. We haven’t had a fatality on our roads this year so far which is great, but we’ve had about the same number of serious casualty crashes on our roads, as we had last year.”

Mr Tilyard and Local Government Association of Tasmania president Christina Holmdahl welcomed the announcement of almost $5m for two state government grant programs for road infrastructure and to better protect vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists.

Acting Premier Michael Ferguson said 2022 was a “horrible” year on Tasmanian roads and nationally “it’s the worst year in five years as well”.

“Like so many Tasmanian families, I’m quite heartbroken at the needless loss of life on our roads in Tasmania in 2022,” he said.

“We’ve seen really substantial number of crashes that have led not just to deaths, but also very serious injuries.

“Let’s remember, for every one of those deaths, and for every one of those serious injuries the human trauma, and the distress to families is very real and palpable.”

Mr Ferguson said local government roads accounted for about 80 per cent or 14,500 km of the state’s roads and 60 per cent of fatalities were in rural areas.

Ms Holmdahl said funding had been used in her own municipality of West Tamar to widen the road, install flashing lights and a fence near a primary school making it safer.

“I think that each council will look at these grants and apply for areas where they see it is most critical,” she said.

“It’s not going to solve all the problems but it’s a really good start.”

The 2022-23 rounds of the Vulnerable Road User Program and Safer Rural Roads Program open on January 16.