Attention: News Editor/Chief of Staff
March 19, 2009
NEW ROAD SAFETY STRATEGY TRAVELS THROUGH PARLIAMENT
Western Australia’s MP’s have today set a bold new direction for road safety for our state said Grant
Dorrington, Independent Chair of the Road Safety Council.
“Parliament today formally received the Towards Zero strategy, setting a clear aspiration and direction
for WA road safety – that we do not accept death and serious injury as an inevitable by-product of our
road system,” Mr Dorrington said.
“It challenges us to strive for zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads and our MP’s have today
taken the lead and have accepted that challenge.
“This is a significant moment in road safety in this state – very few jurisdictions here in Australia and
around the world have escalated road safety to such a level where MP’s from all sides of politics have
united in a bold long-term aspiration for road safety.
“Towards Zero gives us all the direction we need to move forward with initiatives that will save lives.
“Over the last three years over two hundred people per year were killed in crashes and around 3000
people per year were seriously injured.
“This is not good enough and as a community that cares we will not sit back and accept this trauma as a
by-product of using our roads.
“Today our MP’s have taken the lead and it is now up to all of us, each government agency, road
designers and engineers, business, corporations and each individual road user, to share the
responsibility, move beyond our current standards and practice to each do our bit to make our roads
safer.
“Towards Zero clearly defines the areas we need to focus on and most importantly through the safe
system approach to road safety it takes a holistic look at the entire road system, focussing on all the
areas of safe road users, safe roads and roadsides, safe vehicles and safe speed,” Mr Dorrington said.
The strategy recommendations, which if implemented fully would potentially save 11,000 people from
being killed or seriously injured on Western Australian roads over twelve years.
The recommendations focus on metropolitan, regional and remote Western Australia.
“Importantly, Towards Zero recognises that while some people deliberately violate the road rules –and
we will continue to strongly target these people - there are many more who simply make mistakes and
they shouldn’t have to die or be seriously injured for it,” he said.
“We need to continually strive for a forgiving road system.
“A clear strength of Towards Zero is that it was developed with bipartisan involvement through the
Parliamentary Reference Group and included Australia’s largest ever community consultation on road
safety in metropolitan, regional and remote Western Australia.
Continues…
ROAD SAFETY COUNCIL
MEDIA RELEASE
…continued
“We began with a community forum in Narrogin in 2006 and what followed was a monumental
consultation involving over 4,000 Western Australians.
“It involved MP’s from all sides, all the government agencies and important stakeholder groups right from
the initial development stages.
“This is a strategy based on sound evidence and created in partnership with the community. We are
more involved and united than ever before in our desire to take the next step forward in road safety.
“Importantly, during this comprehensive and thorough process, vital road safety functions have been
continuing, including enforcement, infrastructure programs and behavioural campaigns. We are also
continuing with community education, training in schools, policy development and research.
“New initiatives and developments that are currently progressing, such as the review of speed
enforcement, the promotion of safer vehicles, road improvement projects and changes to improve novice
driver safety, are consistent with the direction of the new road safety strategy for WA,” he said.
The Road Safety Council will continue to work alongside the community and government to share
knowledge about the options, evaluate road safety performance and monitor implementation.
“We can all look at our own road use and influence others. We can all take ownership of this powerful
strategy and make the measures happen. Community ownership, support and action are pivotal to the
success of Towards Zero. Our individual and shared actions will enable us to achieve exceptional
results,” Mr Dorrington said.
“We have united to develop a long-term plan to achieve dramatic results in road safety. Now is the time
to implement that plan – together, for the benefit of today’s communities and for those communities of
tomorrow.”
*** ENDS ***
Media contact –
Rachel Edwards, 0417 939 743 or Rachel.edwards@dpc.wa.gov.au
Note - A copy of the recommended road safety strategy, Towards Zero, can be viewed on the Office of
Road Safety website www.ors.wa.gov.au. This document is currently being finalised following today’s
Parliamentary statement and will be available on the website in due course.
NEWS 
