Shocking new data has found that for the first time, no Australian state is on track to achieve the required road death reductions.
The findings come from an investigation by Australian Automobile Association (AAA) into the National Road Safety Strategy. The AAA’s quarterly report: Benchmarking the Performance of the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) evaluates the nation’s progress against the Strategy’s target of reducing road deaths by at least 30 per cent between 2011 and 2020.
For the first time in the history of this benchmarking, all six states are above the proposed strategy targets. The report found 1,225 Australians died in road crashes in 2017, which exceeded the Strategy’s notional 2017 target by 99 deaths.
AAA Chief Executive Michael Bradley said the numbers should act as a reminder that more action needed to be taken
“These figures should serve as a wake-up call to state and federal governments, as they clearly show our Road Safety Strategy to be a failure,” he said.
“The time has come for a clear-eyed assessment of the factors responsible for this failure and the changes required at a state and federal level.”
In the red – AAA analysis of the National Road Safety Strategy shows that, for the first time, no Australian state is on track to achieve the required road death reductions. #auspol pic.twitter.com/5ZBu6hy367
— Aus Automobile Assoc (@AAAcomms) January 22, 2018
December 2017 saw the nation record its worst month of road fatalities in six years, with the 129 road deaths being the highest monthly recording since November 2011, when 134 people died.
There were 339 road deaths recorded in the December quarter, compared to 324 in the September quarter, representing an increase of 4.6 per cent.
The AAA has urged the Government to adopt the recommendations made in its National Road Safety Platform to get the strategy back on track.
