2012 ANNUAL REPORT

Key Performance Indicators

	2012 Target	2012 Actual	Result	Ref
% Effectiveness of road safety awareness campaigns	50	60		111
% of projects completed on time	90	87		111
% of contracts completed on budget	90	97		111

Introduction

This program is unique within the Main Roads' program structure and represents the activities of a single business unit. This program represents the Office of Road Safety which is the lead organisation for road safety in Western Australia and has responsibility for developing, coordinating, promoting and monitoring the State's road safety strategy, Towards Zero. We provide road safety policy, research, evaluation and community education. As the administrative body for the Road Safety Council (RSC) and Government, we are responsible for administering the Road Trauma Trust Account (RTTA) for road safety programs which from 1 July 2012 will receive 100% of the speed and red light camera fines revenue. Funds are provided to agencies and organisations to implement priority safety projects consistent with the Government's Towards Zero strategy. The Office monitors and reports on the implementation and the results being achieved. Together with the RSC, we promote the shared responsibility of road safety with the main objective of significantly reducing road trauma on our roads.

Towards Zero

Towards Zero is the State's Road Safety Strategy. The underlying philosophy of the strategy means we do not accept that any human being should die or be seriously injured on our roads. Realistically, we understand it is not practical to achieve zero fatalities on our roads by the year 2020, but we do not accept any death or serious injury as inevitable. Using a Safe System approach, Towards Zero advocates for safe drivers in safe vehicles, travelling at safe speeds on safe roads. If all cornerstones of the Towards Zero strategy are fully implemented, we have the potential to save 11,000 people from being killed or seriously injured between 2008 and 2020. That is a reduction of around 40% on present day levels. There is also a potential cost saving to the community of up to $2.4 billion. For more information visit our website.

Road Safety Council

The Road Safety Council is independently chaired by Professor D'Arcy Holman and includes representatives from the Departments of Transport, Planning, Education, Health, Main Roads, Western Australian Local Government Association, Office of Road Safety, Insurance Commission of Western Australia, Western Australia Police and the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, representing the State's road users. The Council identifies measures to improve road safety; identifies and recommends measures to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from road crashes; evaluates and monitors the effectiveness of these measures; and makes recommendations to Government to improve the safety of the State's roads.

Achievements

Leading Business Planning and Projects to Reduce Road Trauma in WA

We have led the most significant change to road safety budgeting and strategy in WA in partnership with other Road Safety Council agencies, to gain approved funding for projects in five priority areas that address major crash types on our roads. Additional funds from the 100% allocation of speed and red light camera fines to the RTTA will ensure achievement of maximum effective road safety benefits.

On behalf of the Council and Government, we have led the development of a results focused performance monitoring framework improving road safety by identifying major projects, preparing business cases for consideration and funding, encouraging government to maximise the effective use of additional funds into the RTTA to reduce road trauma.

Hosting the Australasian Road Safety, Policing and Education Conference

We hosted the Australasian Road Safety Research, Policy and Education Conference in November 2011 at the Perth Convention Centre. With over 100 concurrent presentations and six interactive workshops covering the safe system, research engineering and education, the conference theme was 'Driving Research, Policy and Action towards Zero Deaths and Serious Injuries'.

Aimed at deliberately addressing the crucial process of setting bold and ambitious targets and turning knowledge into action to reduce road trauma, former Minister for Road Safety, Police and Emergency Services, Rob Johnson MLA, outlined his commitment to WA's road safety in his opening speech.

The conference featured three keynote speakers: psychologist, social researcher and novelist, Hugh Mackay, Superintendent Paula Rose from New Zealand Police and Dharmesh Shah from the Traffic and Public Transport Authority, City of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Road Safety Council Extranet

Developed in house to help manage the administration and business activities of the RSC, the extranet was a prime example of leading organisational and online communication skills. Members can now download current papers and search for historic papers through a custom built, secure and functional extranet.

Research Programs

Novice Driver Research and Recommendations

An independent study by the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MARC) in collaboration with the Centre for Automotive Safety Research of the University of Adelaide, found that a power to weight ratio restriction had little road safety benefit. As a result, the State Government accepted the recommendation to not introduce power to weight ratio restrictions for novice or young drivers.

The Government is considering other recommendations from the RSC that will be more effective in further enhancing the safety of novice drivers.

Management of the Road Safety Council Research Program

We fund road safety research to understand the causes of road trauma, identify new and evaluate existing safety measures, and research ways to prevent road trauma. Since 2009, C-MARC developed programs of work in response to identified RSC needs. During the year, the Research Program produced the following reports:

• Designing Safer Roads to Accommodate Driver Error – assisted in identifying and prioritising road design counter measures to improve safety at metropolitan intersections.
• An Enhanced Road Safety Information System for WA – outlined a framework for a proposed information system, facilitating the systematic monitoring, reporting and management of road safety performance for WA.
• Identifying Measures to Promote Benefits of Safer Speeds – provided consideration for measures designed to promote greater acceptance of safer speeds for WA.
• The Relationship Between Vehicle Performance and Novice Driver Crash Involvement – provided contemporary recommendations regarding proposed vehicle restrictions for novice drivers in WA.

Mid West Road Safety Alliance Set Up

Based on the success of the industry alliances in the Pilbara and South West, there was strong interest in creating a new road safety alliance in the Mid West. The Mid West road network has seen a steady increase in tourism and heavy vehicle movements. A successful regional road safety forum run by the Office of Road Safety in Geraldton in September 2011 provided the impetus for the creation of this new alliance. The alliance model is a partnership initiative that promotes a cooperative approach towards improving road safety and reducing road trauma on road networks in regional WA. It includes representation from Police, Main Roads, Local Government and Office of Road Safety as well as local private industries and the mining sector.

Community Education

Speed and drink driving continue to be the two biggest killers on our roads. We undertake major community education campaigns to raise community awareness to ultimately lead to behavioural changes to reduce speed and drink driving related deaths in WA.

These are paired with our multi-award-winning speed behaviour campaign – Enjoy the Ride, and the 'Distractions' campaign – Behind Closed Doors, both of which have rated highly in recall among the target groups when evaluated.

For regional WA, a campaign titled Sashes was launched to address the prevalence of young males killed in crashes when not wearing a seat belt. We also partnered with WIN TV to broadcast 'Off the Boot', WA's only regional football television show. The show featured important road safety 'Belt Up' messages, again targeting young males in regional and rural WA. The show concluded in September 2011 with the end of the football season.

An Indigenous Drink-Driving and Licensing Education Kit was released to simplify obtaining a driving licence for the Indigenous community and spread the word about drink driving. The resource kit assists people working with Indigenous communities and was developed in consultation with stakeholders and Indigenous people across the State. Consisting of a range of interactive resources developed for Indigenous Western Australians, it will assist in the preparation of the application process and include an option for people with lower literacy levels.