February 27, 2009
RACQ seeks bigger road safety investment
The RACQ wants the next Queensland Government to invest the lion’s share of traffic fine revenue in
making the state’s roads safer.
The road safety initiative is one of 20 action pledges supporting safe, affordable and sustainable mobility
that the state’s peak motoring body is seeking from parties and candidates contesting the March 21 poll.
Announcing the RACQ’s policy agenda, Motoring Matters in Queensland, president Richard Pietsch
reminded the Government and Opposition that almost 1.2 million Queenslanders were members of the
motoring club and most of them would be voting in the election.
“With at least one car in almost every Queensland home, the private motor vehicle is essential to the
lifestyles of our families, the connectivity of our communities and the vitality of our economy,” Mr Pietsch
said.
“But our members are also acutely aware of the ever-present dangers of road use, with road safety being the
major top-of-my mind concern among some 1200 respondents to a recent RACQ survey on motoring issues.
“Of those nominating road safety, 94 percent specifically identified unsafe road conditions as a major issue.”
Mr Pietsch said the next Government should respond to those concerns – and effectively reduce the road toll
– by earmarking the net proceeds of the estimated $200 million a year raised in traffic fines for funding
additional improvements to the state’s most dangerous sections of road.
“The occurrence and severity of the three most common types of crashes – run off road, head-on and
intersection collisions – can be reduced by road and roadside improvements,” he said.
“Speed and red light camera revenue is already saving lives through funding such improvements under
Queensland’s $50 million Safer Roads Sooner program.
“With road crashes costing the state’s economy about $4 billion annually, we want to see a genuine whole-
of-government approach to the problem, which recognises, for example, the benefits to our over-stretched
public health system of reducing the extent and seriousness of road trauma.”
Australia’s National Road Safety Strategy had identified safer, more forgiving road environments as the key
to achieving half of the targeted 40 percent reduction in the rate of road fatalities, Mr Pietsch said.
“With Queensland’s fatality rate standing at 7.64 per 100,000 population last year, urgent, meaningful action
is required to meet the state’s target of 5.6 deaths per 100,000 population by the end of 2011.
“That’s why RACQ is calling not only for a bigger investment in eliminating crash black spots but also a
specific commitment to upgrade all state-controlled roads with a bad crash history to a minimum three-star
safety rating, as evaluated by the Australian Roads Assessment Program, by 2016.”
High Quality footage is available online to preview and download in broadcast quality.
road safety investment… 2
Other road safety initiatives sought by the RACQ include:
Deployment of additional police patrols at high-risk times, such as weekends, to deter and detect
driving offences.
Establishment of a more visible and active random roadside vehicle inspection program (with a
minimum annual target of 10 percent of Queensland’s motor vehicles) to improve the
roadworthiness of the state’s fleet.
Accurate and timely collection, updating and publication of crash data, causes and consequences to
allow better scrutiny of Government’s road safety performance.
The RACQ’s full submission to the parties and candidates contesting the state election can be found on the
RACQ website, racq.com
ends
Media inquiries:
Gary Fites, General Manager External Relations, ph 3872 8908 or 0418 743 094
Jim Kershaw, Media Relations Manager, ph 3872 8641 or 0417 001 697
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