Road Safety Committee examines road safety for higher-risk road users and in regional areas

THE Joint Select Committee on Road Safety will hold further public hearings for its inquiry into Road Safety on October 12 and 14, 2021.

The hearing on October 12 will be an opportunity for the committee to hear from representative bodies and research institutions about road safety issues for specific cohorts of road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and members of the caravan industry, as well as about targeted measures that can be taken to reduce road trauma.

Committee Chair, Darren Chester MP said, "Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are at higher risk of death and serious injury when involved in a road traffic incident, and are overrepresented in road trauma statistics. Regrettably, these road users are often overlooked in road safety strategies in favour of improving safety for passenger vehicles.

"Further, road safety initiatives often group cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians together under the heading of 'vulnerable road users', notwithstanding that these groups of road users have very different wants and needs. Accordingly, the committee will hear about the particular concerns of road users other than passenger vehicles, and about targeted solutions to improve safety outcomes."

The hearing on October 14 will be an opportunity for the committee to hear from representative bodies and state and local governments about road safety in regional, rural, and remote areas. The committee will also consider road safety concerns facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and measures that can be taken at the state and local government level to address road trauma.

Mr Chester said, "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are overrepresented in road trauma statistics, highlighting the need for culturally appropriate countermeasures which prioritise self-determination and account for the social determinants of health. In addition, we continue to see higher rates of death and serious injury on regional, rural, and remote roads, with fatality rates associated with crashes on very remote roads more than 13 times higher than fatality rates in our major cities.

"Local governments, which are responsible for managing most of our road networks, will be critical to addressing road trauma outside of our major cities, and indeed at the national level. The work of state governments will also be crucial as we look to develop integrated, holistic, nationally consistent solutions. The committee looks forward to hearing from state and local government organisations about measures that can be taken to improve safety for all Australians."

Public hearing details

Date:               Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Time:              9.30am to 5pm

Witnesses:    

Amy Gillett Foundation
AusCycling
Streets Alive Yarra
Motorcycle Council of New South Wales
Australian Motorcycle Council
Riders Action Group Western Australia
WalkSydney
Pedestrian Council of Australia
Institute for Sensible Transport
Caravan Industry Association of Australia

Date:               Thursday, 14 October 2021
Time:              9.30am to 5pm

Witnesses:    

National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
National Rural Health Alliance
Australian Capital Territory Government
Tasmanian Government
Western Roads Federation
Western Australian Local Government Association
Northern Territory Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics
Municipal Association of Victoria

Programs for the hearings are available on the committee’s website.

Due to health and safety concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, hearings will be held remotely via videoconference and will not be open for public attendance. However, interested members of the public will be able to view proceedings via the live webcast at aph.gov.au/live.

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