Western Australia is rolling out a major WA road safety reform package designed to sharpen enforcement against dangerous driving while recognising motorists who generally follow the rules.
The Cook Government says the $80 million investment reflects a more targeted approach to reducing road trauma.
A key component is a $2.5 million review of penalties and infringement policies.
The review will examine more flexible options, including caution notices for low-risk drivers, alongside tougher penalties for repeat and high-harm offenders.
“We want to change the behaviour of bad drivers with tougher penalties while also recognising drivers with a good history to make Western Australian roads safer,” Road Safety Minister Reece Whitby says.
He says most drivers do the right thing and should not be treated the same as high-frequency offenders.
The reform package also commits $20 million to expanding safety camera technology across the State. This includes six new safety camera trailers, four pairs of fixed point-to-point cameras, 32 near-miss cameras and 100 smiley face cameras focused on school zones.
“The research is clear; safety cameras are an effective way of changing behaviour and lowering risk on our roads,” Whitby says.
He says early signs show drivers are already adjusting their behaviour, but some continue to ignore the law.
Another $27 million will be directed to road safety advertising, education and public awareness campaigns. The Government says these campaigns will work alongside enforcement to support long-term behaviour change.
“This $80 million investment is about using the best technology, smarter enforcement and stronger education to save lives,” Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport Jessica Stojkovski says.
She says the focus is on protecting communities by targeting dangerous behaviour from school zones to major highways.
A further $25 million will continue road safety upgrade programs, including the Regional Road Safety Program and the Safer Roads and Bridges Program.
An additional $5 million will increase infringement processing capability to manage higher enforcement volumes.
“This significant investment is part of our government’s commitment to saving lives on WA roads by delivering improvements across our road network,” Transport Minister Rita Saffioti says.
She says road upgrades play a critical role in reducing run-off-road crashes, particularly on regional routes.
All revenue raised from the expanded camera network will be directed to the Road Trauma Trust Account. More than $1 billion from the account has been invested in road safety initiatives across WA over the past decade.