The Motor Accident Commission has warned of a less effective road safety message when it winds up this week

A series of leaked documents have revealed experts fear the state’s road safety message has suffered from the demise of the Motor Accident Commission.

• Local firms depend on MAC for contract work
• MAC closed from July 2019

Experts fear the state’s road safety message has suffered from the demise of the Motor Accident Commission, leaked documents reveal.

From next week, the police and Transport Department will take over as the state’s leaders in the annual $14 million road safety campaign after the MAC ceases to exist.

But nine MAC briefing notes to Treasurer Rob Lucas, pictured, on the handover since the closure was announced in October last year show as recently as April, it appealed for its award-winning advertising and promotion role to continue. In one briefing leaked to the Opposition, MAC chief executive Trudy Minett warned the effectiveness of the state’s road safety message would suffer, stating: “In broad terms, splitting partnerships (the Transport Department’s role) from other communication channels (police role) will have a material and negative effect on the effectiveness of road safety communication and engagement and create inefficiencies in road safety activities between DPTI and SAPOL’’.

In one April briefing, Ms Minett reveals a Cabinet submission had been prepared seeking

“approval for MAC to have an ongoing role that is focused on road safety’’.

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In another, she is critical of delays in the planning of the 2018 summer road safety campaign: “It should be noted that delays incurred in obtaining Ministerial approval to return pre-existing campaigns to market during September 2018 resulted in MAC having a lower than anticipated mass media presence’’. Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said there were now serious concerns about the state’s road safety strategy. “We and others have been warning them for months about getting rid of MAC and now it is their own officials saying the same thing,’’ he said.

Ms Minett also reveals the MAC media unit ceased contact with the SA media from December 1, there were significant co-ordination problems and delays with transport and police, new campaigns had not been developed and MAC branding was removed from advertising campaigns despite its strong consumer recognition. This year’s road toll stands at 59 compared with 36 at the same time last year.

Mr Lucas acknowledged some within MAC had an alternative view on the effectiveness of the breakup, but he denied there had been any reduction in the effectiveness of the road safety message. He produced other briefings which showed all the planned road safety initiatives had been carried out this year.