The NSW Government is preparing a new road safety strategy, and we want to ensure your needs are included.
Total Road Fatality
The 2012-2021 Road Safety Plan for NSW set a “..State Priority Target to reduce road fatalities by 30% by 2021 (from 2008–10 levels).” So how did it perform?
The total average fatality rate for the three years 2008-2010 was 410. There were 353 fatalities in 2019, 57 fewer or a 13% reduction. This is less than half of the targeted reduction. However, bike rider fatalities calculated on the same averages rose by 25%. As injury totals have lowered significantly for drivers, the reduction for bike riders was much smaller.
Ways to Increase Road Safety For Riders
Reducing speeding, distracted driving and driver intoxication are all important, but the most dangerous road feature for bike riders according to the crash data is intersections. The new plan contains no enforcement strategy or infrastructure changes to address this. Unsafe passing continues to be a major issue for riders, but enforcement and driver education remains poor.
To reduce bike rider injuries and fatalities we need:
- Better enforcement of safe passing laws,
- More safe separated infrastructure for riders,
- Redesigned intersections and road features to improve bike rider safety,
- Driver education to improve knowledge of, and adherence to, the laws that keep riders safe,
- Changes in the laws and road design to improve rider safety.
“We need your help to show the NSW government that bike rider safety should be their priority,” said General Manager of Public Affairs, Bastien Wallace.
Bicycle NSW is calling on everyone to check out the plan and complete the survey.
“This is a numbers game, and the more bike riders speak up the harder it becomes to push our issues off the agenda,” said Bastien.
