$500m plan targets road toll

MINISTER for Road Safety Mark Bailey this week released the Queensland Government’s new Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan, a road map to improve safety, reduce injury and curb the state’s road toll.
The strategy sets a long-term target to reduce the road toll from the four-year average (2011/14) by more than a quarter to below 200 by 2020 and reduce the number of hospitalisations from road accidents.
The Action Plan includes 57 initiatives, and builds on the work of the Queensland Government’s Safer Roads, Safer Queensland Forum.
“The government’s action plan targets Queensland’s road toll and aims to drastically reduce the number of crash deaths and serious injuries on the state’s roads,” Mr Bailey said.
“The plan is the culmination of discussions and solutions put forward by the experts at the Safer Roads, Safer Queensland forum held in April this year.
“The government is investing more than $500 million over two years for important road safety programs to fund the implementation of the 57 initiatives in the action plan.”
Key initiatives in the 2015/17 plan include establishing a Citizen’s Taskforce to make recommendations to government about road safety issues, the implementation of a program to engage 16 to 21-year-olds on road safety, and the installation of flashing lights in 200 risk-assessed school zones.
The government also plans to introduce an app version of the 100-hour learner logbook, including periodic reminders for learners to focus on certain driving situations such as night time, wet weather and highway driving, as well as introduce double demerit points for two or more mobile phone offences committed within one year.
Bike riders are also considered with $10 million to be made available to improve infrastructure safety for bicycle riders and pedestrian and $27 million over two years for the Cycle Network Local Government Grants Program.
The Safer Roads, Safer Queensland Forum meeting last week at Queensland Parliament House also considered the introduction of double demerits for drivers caught speeding in school zones.
The announcement comes just days after the first Queensland Road Safety Week ended on Friday 21 August.
To view the new Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Road-safety/Strategy-and-action-plans.aspx