Road Safety
The Department contributes to the development of informed road safety policies by collecting and disseminating national road crash statistics, producing research and public information materials, and providing evidence-based advice on a range of road safety issues. It also coordinates a number of national stakeholder bodies and events, including the biennial Indigenous Road Safety Forum.
The annual economic cost of road crashes in Australia is enormous - conservatively estimated at $18 billion per annum - and the social impacts are devastating. Besides lives cut tragically short, debilitating injuries often result in pain, grief and suffering that have lifelong impacts on victims, families and communities.
Since record keeping commenced in 1925, there have been over 177,000 deaths on Australia's roads. However, road trauma levels have declined dramatically over the last four decades, despite substantial population growth and a threefold increase in registered motor vehicles. Between 1970 and 2007, the nation's annual road fatality rate declined from 30.4 to 7.6 deaths per 100,000 people.
This page provides links to information addressing road safety. Please follow the links below for details on the topic of interest.
keys2drive Help for Learner Drivers and Parents
The Government's 2008-09 Budget will deliver $17 million over five years to fund an important and innovative road safety initiative - keys2drive - which will provide more than 20,000 free driving lessons to learner drivers and their parents. Ministers media release
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The Prime Minister announced on the 19 September 2007 that the Australian Government will provide $40 million over the next four years for a new safety initiative for school buses.
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Follow this link to view all road safety education material, research and analysis reports, statistical information and brochures.
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The department produces a range of statistical information relating to Australian road fatalities. Links to these reports can be found on this page.
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The Strategy provides a framework which complements the road safety strategies of individual state, territory and local governments. The target of the strategy is to reduce the annual number of road fatalities.
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The department encourages collaborative efforts around Australia to improve road safety for Indigenous Australians.
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The department commissions and conducts research and analysis on a wide a range of road safety topics. The results are published and disseminated widely as research and analysis reports.
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The department has worked with organisations within Australia and around the world to conduct research on ways to improve the safety of novice drivers.
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This link takes you to a list of Bulletins, Reports and detailed Vehicle Safety information.