Focus area 6: Move to a safe transport network free from death and serious injury

There have been substantial reductions in road-related deaths and serious injury for most of the past 30 years, despite a growing population and an increase in total travel.

However, since 2012, these trends have reversed. This suggests previous initiatives are no longer as effective.

To reduce deaths and serious injuries, a new approach to safety and solutions that make a real difference are needed. 

While eliminating all deaths and serious injuries may be challenging, the starting point must always be that they are unacceptable.

Moving to a truly safe transport network will require the trade-off between safety and other transport outcomes to be weighted more heavily toward safety when we consider new investments and make decisions around infrastructure design and regulations, for example, when setting speed limits.       

How this can be done

Efforts to achieve a safer transport network must:

• ensure that safety and accessibility for people of all ages or ability is central to the design of transport infrastructure, as described on the Universal Design website

• introduce appropriate speed limits in high-risk locations, particularly residential streets, rural roads and areas with high numbers of pedestrians and cyclists
• upgrade rural roads, especially where urbanisation is likely to result in increased demand.