Tasmanian government seeks ideas to improve road safety

“In what way are we not getting the messages through?”The government has been left scratching their head amid a skyrocketing road toll which has showed no sign of slowing down this year.

THE state government would listen to anyone who had ideas which might bring down the state’s road toll. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael Ferguson says.

Speaking after a safety forum in Launceston on Monday, Mr Ferguson said Tasmania was nowhere where it needed to be in the fight to bring the road toll down.

There have been 39 people killed on Tasmania’s roads so far this year — the highest figure for a single year recorded in more than a decade — with four months of the year remaining

Mr Ferguson said communication was part of the problem.

“In what way are we not getting the messages through?,” he said.

“In what way are young people or older people, whether they’re new on the road or consider themselves experienced drivers, not finding it within themselves to make the very best decisions at all times on the road — like not speeding, like wearing a seatbelt, like not using drugs and alcohol, like staying attentive and focused on your driving instead of your mobile phone?

Fatal crash scene at South Arm Highway, Sandford.

“In what way are we not meeting the task of getting right through to the individual in the circumstance of driving a car and making the best decisions?”

“We know that in nearly all cases where we see deaths and serious injuries on our roads, nearly always it’s not the road, it’s not the vehicle, it’s the driver and the drivers’ decisions that they’re making.”

Road Safety Advisory Council chair Scott Tilyard said road safety was everyone’s job but not everyone was taking it as seriously as it should be.

Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson and Road Safety Advisory Council Chair Scott Tilyard in Launceston on Monday, August 29, 2022.

“Ultimately, it comes down to each and every one of us to take more responsibility for our own safety, the safety of people who are passengers in their vehicles, and most often that’s our loved ones, and for other road users as well.

“Unless people take more individual responsibility for everyone’s safety, or their using our roads, then we won’t get anywhere near the goals that we’ve set.

He said speed was a major contributor to the road toll and bringing average speed down was part of the solution.

The government has been working hard to reduce serious injuries and fatalities through the Towards Zero Action Plan 2020-24 by committing more than $75 million across 42 initiatives based on crash data and expert advice.

After Road Safety Advisory Council’s Regional Road Safety Forums in Hobart and Launceston, a final forum will be held in Burnie on Tuesday.

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