Office of Road Safety, HVSI and Roads to Recovery amongst funding targets
A unanimous show of industry support has welcomed the federal government’s announcement of $2.2 billion funding aimed at road safety enhancements and heavy vehicle initiatives.
Projects under the package will include:
- $1.1 billion in funding for local governments under the Roads to Recovery program, which facilitates the enhancement of road safety infrastructure in regional Australia
- $550 million for the Black Spot Program, targeting high-risk locations and has been found to reduce serious crashes by 30 per cent on average
- $571.1 million to improve the safety and efficiency of heavy vehicle operations through the Bridges Renewal Program, Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program (HVSPP) and Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiatives (HVSI)
- $12 million Road Safety Innovation Fund to support research and development in priority areas such as regional road safety, driver distraction from mobile devices, protecting vulnerable road users and reducing drug driving
- Establishment of a federal Office of Road Safety (ORS).
The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) says it made 19 recommendations to the Inquiry of the National Road Safety Strategy, and that it was encouraged by the Government considering some of these in developing the budget.
“Today’s announcement from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg outlines a commitment to delivering practical solutions that will improve safety outcomes on our roads,” ATA chair Geoff Crouch says.
“In our submission, the ATA called for an independent national agency that would provide policy advice to strengthen the national focus on improving road safety. The establishment of this body is welcome news.
“We’re also pleased to see a commitment to improving heavy vehicle rest areas and research initiatives, issues the ATA has passionately advocated for and highlighted in the submission,” he said.
“Road safety is everyone’s responsibility and we all have an important role to play. This funding announcement shows a willingness to take proactive action.”
Read about the $3.92 million going towards the fourth round of HVSI, here
NHVR chair Duncan Gay says the commitment by the Federal Government to new funding for the Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI) was an important safety outcome for all road users.
HVSI has delivered a range of safety programs over the past three years including Chain of Responsibility information, a Safety Around Ports project, Forestry Logistics Safety program, Ag Vehicle safety, green reflectors to mark informal truck bays, Heavy Vehicle Confidential Reporting line and user-pays loading trials for livestock loading.
“The HVSI program has provided $11.61 million for 35 community and industry safety initiatives over the past three years,” Gay says.
“The NHVR doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, which is why it’s important we work with a variety of safety groups to harness their collective knowledge to develop implementable, value-for-money projects.
“There are 42 applications for the current round of funding, which closed in February, already vying for the current $3.91 million in funding.”
NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says the announcement would continue to provide a further boost for heavy vehicle safety.
“This additional investment, aimed to fix black spots and improve safety in regional roads, will help enhance the safety and efficiency of heavy vehicle operations and reduce fatalities on our roads,” Clark says.
“The establishment of a federal Office of Road Safety is a positive step for the transport industry and NatRoad looks forward to working closely with the authorities to make our roads safer for everyone.”
“These projects will deliver much-needed funding to improve the road safety on our roads, and heading into this Federal Election, we look forward to more life-saving investment.”
In recent days McCormack has also announced $70 million towards Western Australia’s Wheatbelt roads and $492.3 million for Northern Territory freight routes under the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative, along with $4 million to construct a series of truck washes and effluent dumping facilities in Tasmania.