‘Dramatic Change’ Needed to Meet AU Road Safety Goals

An Australian Automobile Association (AAA) report calls for “dramatic change” to meet the country’s National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 goal: to cut road deaths by half within the next decade.

The AAA report — the first tracking the Strategy — reveals road deaths increased by 5.1% in 2022, totaling 1,187 people who lost their lives on Australian roads.

Governments of all Australian states and territories agree to the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 in December 2021. The strategy targets a 50% national road death reduction by 2030.

According to the report, Tasmania (42.9%), the Australian Capital Territory (63.6%), the Northern Territory (34.3%), and Queensland (7.9%) experienced the largest increases in road death numbers in a 12-month period.

The report also discloses three of the Strategy’s five 2030 targets are either undefined or unmeasurable. The targets include:

• Serious injuries reduced by 30%
• Zero deaths in city central business district areas
• Zero deaths on all national highways and on high-speed roads covering 80% of travel across the network

“This is yet another report that shows our national approach to road trauma management continues to lack clarity and coordination,” said AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley. “The strong targets agreed by government are welcome, but strong targets do not by themselves deliver better results.”

He sees improving the reporting and sharing of road crash information a critical priority.

“It is unacceptable that governments continue to commit to reducing trauma metrics that they do not measure or report,” said Bradley. “Until road trauma data is openly reported and used by governments, the most significant causes of Australian road trauma, the most appropriate interventions, and the effectiveness of the plans currently in place, will remain unknown.”