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INTERNATIONAL road experts from countries with some of the most advanced road trauma plans say a zero road toll is achievable if we focus on the key factors that are driving our fatalities.
Road authorities across the globe are facing similar challenges as they attempt to drive down the road toll while growing numbers of motorists hit the road.
The UK, Sweden and other Scandinavian countries including Denmark are considered world leaders when it comes to creating road networks that will provide drivers with the greatest safety net if they crash.
Fewer people were killed on south-west roads in 2016 compared to the year before but statewide, the number of fatal crashes spiked.
The south-west road toll stood at 14 for 2016, down from 18 deaths in 2015. Across the state, 291 people lost their lives on the road – an increase from 257 in 2015.
Danish Road Safety Council’s head of documentation Jesper Solund believes Denmark can achieve its target of 120 fatalities by 2020 if it focuses on delivering infrastructure and car safety that can account for human error.
Mr Solund, who is planning a lecture tour of regional Victoria this year, hopes to share the Danish experience.
The country has halved its road toll in seven years and nearing the target of 120 fatalities by 220. But it also experienced a spike in deaths in 2016. The road safety commission wants no more than 120 deaths, 1000 serious injuries and 1000 minor injuries by 2020. The TAC aims to reduce fatalities to below 200 by 2020 and cut serious injuries by 15 per cent.
Mr Solund said the safety committee recognised the following as challenges for road safety: speeding, alcohol and drugs, inattention, failure to wear seat belts and helmets, pedestrians, cyclists, young drivers up to 24 years, single vehicle accidents and accidents at rural junctions.
TAC’s Samantha Cockfield said the authority was constantly turning to high-achieving countries such as Sweden and the UK, consistently in the top 10 of safety performers, to determine which road safety methods can be applied to Victoria.
In an interview with 3AW, traffic safety advisor from the Swedish Transport Administration Johan Strandroth said reaching a zero road toll would be a “big challenge”.
He said Swedish research showed roadside dividers were necessary on all roads with a speed limit of more than 80 km/h an hour to achieve zero fatalities.
“All roads above 80km/h should have a medium divider,” he said.
“If we are serious in getting close to zero and we want to keep roads 100 km/h and we want to have zero fatalities then we need dividers.
“We really need to try and divide the roads on high speeds limits – if there is not enough money or willingness to divide the roads then the limit has to go down.”
