Problem

The varied quality of Australia’s regional road network is resulting in a high number of crashes and fatalities. Between 2008 and 2016, 55% of road fatalities in Australia occurred in regional areas. Relative to population size, the number of fatalities in regional areas was over four times greater than for major cities over the same period.

While behavioural factors are a significant cause of road crashes, infrastructure deficiencies such as the curvature of roads are also a cause of accidents. Infrastructure can play an important role in mitigating the consequences of road accidents through features such as safety barriers and the appropriate placement of embankments, poles and other roadside objects.

There is a risk that the growing road freight task may exacerbate these road safety issues as more heavy vehicles travel on roads in regional areas.

Proposed initiative

This program initiative recognises the need to continue identifying, assessing and prioritising high-risk sections of regional roads across Australia. These sections could be addressed through targeted infrastructure improvements, such as alignment corrections and safety barriers, as well as modern road safety infrastructure technology to improve road safety outcomes.

A New South Wales regional road safety program is separately included on the Infrastructure Priority List as a High Priority Initiative, as the New South Wales Government has provided a detailed and integrated submission for these issues in regional New South Wales.

Next steps

Proponent(s) to be identified.