Tasmania’s Road Safety Strategy Discussion Paper sets out a bold new direction built on Vision Zero, the Safe System approach and the Movement and Place framework. TACC supports these principles and welcomes the chance to help shape the Strategy.
But we see a significant policy gap.
Road safety rests on three core elements: roads, people and vehicles. The Discussion Paper covers the first two in detail, from infrastructure and speed management to enforcement, education and behaviour change. Vehicles, however, get comparatively little attention, particularly maintenance, servicing, inspections and roadworthiness.
That matters because Tasmania has Australia’s oldest vehicle fleet. Vehicle defects contribute to around 10 per cent of serious injury and fatal crashes, and the fatal accident rate for vehicles aged 15 years and older is roughly four times higher than for vehicles four years old or less.
Vehicle safety is already a key priority under the National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, and Tasmania’s next Strategy should follow suit. It should also take a broader view than simply encouraging new vehicle technologies, recognising maintenance, servicing, roadworthiness and inspection frameworks as vital contributors to safer roads.
Doing so would align Tasmania with national priorities and address the particular challenges of our ageing fleet.
Read the full submission here.
