Draft National Road Safety Strategy 2021-30 released for consultation

HVIA welcomes the release of the Draft National Road Safety Strategy for comment. It echoes many of the safety reforms HVIA has been calling for.

The strategy recognises that safer vehicles are one of the three key planks for improving road safety along with safer roads and safer road use.

In addition, Heavy Vehicle Safety has been recognised as one of the nine priority areas for action.

The strategy suggests four actions to support heavy vehicle safety:

• Regulate for and promote heavy vehicle safety technologies
• Strengthen national heavy vehicle operational regulation
• Promote and reduce barriers to the uptake of safe new heavy vehicles
• Protect all road users from conflicts with construction vehicles through state/territory government construction contract requirements such as requiring inclusion of safety technologies.

More generally the report acknowledges the role of ADRs in the uptake of vehicle safety features but also stresses the importance of encouraging voluntary uptake of safer vehicles particularly through fleet purchasing decisions.

The report identifies the reduction in the age of the vehicle fleet as an important issue and recommends research and development on strategies to encourage new safer vehicles into the fleet to replace older less safe vehicles.

The Strategy will be supported by a five year National Road Safety Action Plan which will be released later this year.

The consultation period will close on 23 March 2021. The draft Strategy, along with a series of supporting fact sheets can be viewed at www.officeofroadsafety.gov.au/nrss.