The Federal Government has made a significant decision that will impact the distribution of road funding to Australian states and territories.
In an announcement on Monday, it was declared that starting from July 1, states will need to make their road trauma data publicly available to access federal road funding.
The decision comes as part of the government’s next five-year road funding deal, set on improving transparency and boosting road safety measures across the country.
The RAA has expressed strong support for this decision, and believes the move will aid in preventing road-related fatalities and injuries.
The RAA’s latest statistics indicate that SA is falling behind in meeting its road safety targets, which aim for a 50% reduction in fatalities and a 30% reduction in serious injuries by 2031.
Data from SA Police, covering to the end of March, shows that 99 people lost their lives and 807 were severely injured on the state’s roads, marking an 18% increase in deaths and a 23% rise in serious injuries.
“This is a great step to help save lives on our roads,” CEO of the RAA Nick Reade said.
“Along with our federal counterpart in the AAA, we’ve been calling for more data transparency around the causes of crashes for years.
“Without comprehensive data that reveals the contributing factors for all serious and fatal crashes – we don’t have the full picture to understand what is really causing them.
“By making this type of data public, we will have the information needed to form more effective road safety strategies – and help save lives and reduce injuries on our roads.
“At RAA, our traffic engineers spend countless hours poring over the crash data that is currently available to understand crash causes and what could reduce their occurrence.
“The increased data will help us become more effective in identifying targeted actions.
“We look forward to the SA Government working with the Federal Government to deliver this outcome for all South Australian road users.”
The decision follows the Australian Automobile Association’s recent campaign, ‘Data Saves Lives’, which rallied support from 17 national medical and transport safety-focused organisations, and motivated thousands of Australians to advocate for crash data transparency.
The RAA now urges the South Australian Government to follow in the footsteps of the Queensland Government, as it would not only advance road safety, but also ensure continued federal road funding.
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