NSW Government Ramps Up Road Safety
The State Government of NSW has just released their Road Safety Plan, including a range of measures aimed at reducing the road toll, following the tragic death of 392 people on NSW roads last year.
Courtney had more in this morning's local spotlight on the Brekkie Flow.
Daryl Maguire MP, Member for Wagga Wagga outlined the importance of the package in a statement, saying: “Every 41 minutes in NSW someone is either killed or seriously injured on our roads, leaving families and friends with the heartache.
“As a Government we know we can do more and that is why this Plan makes it clear if you break the law you will be caught and will pay the price.
“We also want to ensure that our public education campaigns are targeted in the right way.”
The measures announced include:
Expanding the mandatory alcohol interlock program to include all mid-range drink driving offenders. An interlock is a breath testing device fitted to a car’s ignition system. The driver must provide a negative sample for the vehicle to start;
Police will be given the power to issue on the spot fines and licence suspensions for low range drink driving. This ensures swift and certain penalties;
Amending legislation to allow camera technology to be used to enforce mobile phone offences;
11 additional heavy vehicle average speed camera locations, including in metropolitan Sydney, to address risks associated with greater truck movements;
An initial $125 million for a new Saving Lives on Country Roads program including safety barriers, tactile line markings, wide centre line, safety upgrades of high risk curves and $11 million for pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements including traffic calming measures, pedestrian refuges and crossings to keep cyclists and walkers safe.
These come in addition to last month’s crack down on drug drivers, which saw cocaine added to the list of drugs subject to roadside testing, and the number of roadside drugs tests doubled from 100,000 a year to 200,000 a year by 2020.
Mr Maguire said one of the biggest challenges remains on country roads, which accounted for almost 70 per cent of the State’s road toll last year.
“If you live in the country you are four times more likely to die in a road crash than if you live in metro NSW,” Mr Maguire said.
“This is why we will roll out 1600 kms of rumble strips and 300 km in targeted safety works, such as flexible, wire-rope barriers to help prevent run-off-road and head-on crashes on our road network, including the Princes Highway.”
The Road Safety Plan includes a number of key initiatives for immediate implementation as well as a number of other key measures that will be subject to review and consultation.