Road improvements reducing road trauma

Sunday, 18 December 2016
 
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• Road safety treatments have decreased run-off-road crashes by more than 35%
• $237 million invested in road safety treatments over the past five years
• Road treatments include shoulder widening, sealing, audible edge lines and wire rope barriers 

Fewer West Australian drivers are losing control and running off regional roads due to the Liberal National Government's multi-million dollar road safety treatment program, according to new research by the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre.

Deputy Premier and Road Safety Minister Liza Harvey said that the centre's 'The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Rural Run Off-Road Crash program in WA' found the program, which included audible line edging, wire rope barriers and shoulder widening, to be effective overall in reducing both the frequency and severity of run-off-road crashes.

The evaluation found that roads worked on under the program led to an average 35.5 per cent reduction in run-off-road crashes, an 18.4 per cent reduction in run-off-road casualty crashes and a 25.6 per cent reduction in run-off-road killed and serious injury crashes.

"The State Government recognises the importance of the road safety treatments, that is why we've invested more than $237 million to widen road shoulders, create audible edge lines and install wire barriers in regional Western Australia over the past five years," Ms Harvey said.

"Audible edge lines create noise and vibration when they come into contact with tyres, alerting lone drivers who may be tired or distracted while covering long distances.

"The shoulder widening and sealing provides drivers with a greater opportunity to recover safely before their vehicle hits the soft edge of the roads, reducing the potential for them to lose control." 

The Deputy Premier said the $237 million of safety treatments in regional Western Australia over the last five years had made hundreds of kilometres of roads safer with shoulder widening, sealing, audible edge lines and wire rope barriers.

The research recommended that the run-off-road crash program be continued.

"This financial year, the Liberal National Government allocated a record $155 million from the Road Trauma Trust Account towards proven road safety initiatives, including $65 million for the regional run-off-road program," Ms Harvey said.

Fact File

• The Curtin-Monash research looked at the years of 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15
• Run-off-road crashes accounted for nearly 60% of road deaths from 2008-12
• Single vehicle run-off-road crashes equate to about 1,000 deaths and serious injuries in WA each year