Halfway through the year, the road toll for 2024 is already higher than for all of last year: six people have been killed in motor accidents, compared to only four in 2023. Across Australia, more than 1,300 people were killed between May 2023 and May 2024.
“One death is one too many,” Tara Cheyne, ACT Minister for City Services, said. “The consequences for a person’s family or their friends and the broader community is tragic and enormously regrettable.
“We all have a responsibility – whether it’s the federal government, local and state governments, as well as people in the community – to be road users who are careful, considerate, and sensitive to the needs around us…
“We have a vision of zero deaths, and we do believe that that can be met, but we all have a rôle to play in ensuring that it can be achieved.”
To that end, Ms Cheyne and Carol Brown, federal minister for infrastructure and transport, in the company of Labor MP for Canberra Alicia Payne, yesterday announced a joint funding of $10 million to reduce deaths and injuries on Canberra roads under the national Road Safety program.
These “comprehensive road safety measures [are] put in place not just for drivers, but for pedestrians and for cyclists,” Senator Brown said.
The 18 projects include new cycleways and crossings on cycle routes to Kingston, Belconnen, Woden and the Inner North. The second stage of the Kingston Cycleway entails a separated cycleway from the Kingston Foreshore to Canberra Railway Station. The first stage, on Bowen Drive, opened earlier this year.
Infrastructure improvements – speed cushions, slower speed limits, and safe crossing facilities – will be installed near schools and shops in Kambah, Weston, Palmerston, and Jamison.
Road safety barriers will be installed on Brindabella Road and Molonglo Valley Road.
An ACT Policing spokesman said: “We welcome any investment to help improve road safety and reduce road trauma in the ACT, especially for improvements that help protect vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.”
2022 was a horror year for road fatalities in the ACT: 18 deaths, the highest in a dozen years, but 2023 saw fewer deaths.
An ACT Policing spokesperson attributed this decrease to significant targeting and arrests of dangerous driving offenders, particularly recidivist offenders targeted by Operation TORIC, as well as additional community engagement and campaign work by both ACT Policing and the ACT Government.
“This all contributed to a reduction in some of the more reckless driving incidents.”
The top five contributing factors to death or serious injury on ACT roads are speeding; alcohol or drug-impaired driving; driver distractions; failure to obey traffic lights and signs; and failure to wear a seat-belt.
“While the number of people who lose their lives on ACT roads is concerning, crashes that result in serious injuries are equally concerning,” the spokesman said.
“It is every driver’s responsibility to drive safely on our roads – for their own and every other road user’s safety. We want to see all Canberrans driving safely on our roads so they can get home to their family and friends.”
The Federal Government has increased funding for its Black Spot Program (improving crash locations) from $110 to $150 million each year; doubled Roads to Recovery (upkeep of local roads) funding from $500 million to $1 billion; and harmonised national data collection.
“Road safety is a critical issue for each and every one of us,” Senator Brown said. “It is an issue the Albanese government takes seriously, and this funding commitment is part of our commitment to enhance road safety and to bring down the road toll. Unfortunately, too many people are killed on our roads, and far too many have their lives changed forever. It’s this sort of funding investment that we will invest in comprehensive road safety measures that will … bring down the road toll.”
