An estimated 360 road deaths in the Australian state of Victoria have been prevented under its arrive alive!road safety strategy, a major conference heard today.
Nial Finegan, Manager of Road Safety Strategy in Victoria, presented a case study on the success of the arrive alive!programme to the Integrated Approach to Road Safetyconference in Dublin, organised by the National Roads Authority.
The conference is featuring international experts from Sweden, the UK, the US, Denmark and Australia.
Roads deaths in Victoria have fallen from a high of 1,100 a year in the 1970s to a low of 330 a year under arive alive!,Mr Finegan told the conference. Australia's second largest State has the best road safety performance in the country. In 2005, it recorded 6.9 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 8.4 for the rest of Australia.
The arrive alive!strategy involved getting key agencies such as the police, Department of Justice and the body responsible for road infrastructure and traffic managment working together to reduce deaths on the State's roads. Previously, each agency was reponsible only for matters under its immediate control and there was minimal co-ordination of planning or implementation.
Under arrive alive!,a zero blood alcohol requirement for drivers in the first three years after licensing was introduced and the probationery license period was increased from two to three years. Helmets were made compulsory for bicyclists and more speed cameras were introduced.
Random breath testing for the detection of drink drivers was increased by a factor of at least five, to a point where one in three Victorian drivers could be expected to be tested in any given year. An intense long-term program of public education was also put in place to support safety initiatives and to keep traffic safety in the public arena.
Mr Finegan stressed the importance of clear political leadership in implementing any road safety programme.
The conference will hear from Jan Moberg of the Swedish Roads Administration this afternoon on the success of 2+1 roads in reducing the number of road fatalities in Sweden. 2+1 roads are two lane highways with a central overtaking lane and median cable barriers.
A wide range of organisations is represented at the conference along with governmental decision makers from the Departments of Finance, Health, Environment, Education, Transport, and Justice.
The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, is scheduled to give an address tomorrow.