Target 22: Road safety

Reduce road fatalities and serious injuries by at least 30% by 2020

(the department is lead agency for this target)

There were 102 fatalities on South Australian roads in 2015, reduced from 108 in 2014. This is 22 fatalities more than South Australia’s road safety target of less than 80 fatalities per year by 2020. In the last four years (2012-2015) the number of serious injuries has kept below South Australia’s road safety target of less than 800 serious injuries by 2020. In 2015, there were 759 serious injuries on South Australian roads increased from 711 in 2014.

Actions implemented from the Road Safety Action Plan 2013-16 include:

upgrade and improved safety at the intersection of North East Road and Sudholz Road
works commenced on the construction of a main access road between the Stuart Highway and Pukatja
Stobie poles being progressively removed along South Road, between the Southern Expressway and Port River Expressway
pedestrian countdown timers introduced at numerous locations in the Metro area and CBD
20 kilometres of motorcycle safety rail installed on 14 roads in the Adelaide Hills with a high incidence of motorcycle crashes
the Returning Rider Course developed to provide motorcyclists with an opportunity to refresh their knowledge and riding skills
driving lessons and supervised driving established for people in communities across the APY and MT Lands
point to point average speed safety cameras having commenced speed enforcement on the Northern Expressway, South Eastern Freeway and Sturt Highway.
delivery of the Safer Driving tips Campaign.
showcase of the development of new vehicle safety technologies, such as intelligent speed adaptation, at the International Driverless Vehicles conference.

Other departmental efforts to increase road safety are the:

On the Right Track Remote, a driver licensing program for Aboriginal people in the APY and MT Lands
transition to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, which has safety benefits through a consistent, national approach
increased student participation in the Way2Go Bike Ed program
Residents Win grant program to improve community road safety
introduction of new motorcycle helmet standards
development of road rules information for visitors to South Australia,including a series of four videos in a range of languages including English, French, German, Chinese, Arabic and Dari
development and promotion of the Rail Crossing Safety Quiz
Code of Practice for Motor Driving Instructors and renewed rules for driving testers to improve driver training services to the community
road safety infrastructure projects in Adelaide and regional South Australia funded under the Black Spot program and other road safety infrastructure funding programs.

Further road safety statistics:

South Australia’s fatality rate for 2015 is 6.0 per 100,000 population and is below the 6.4 recorded at the end of 2014
the decrease in fatalities from 2014 to 2015 was mainly due to a decrease in passenger fatalities. Driver, motorcycle rider, cyclist and pedestrian fatalities remained steady in 2015 from 2014
28 per cent of driver and passenger fatalities in 2015 were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash
Speeding was considered a contributing factor in 30 per cent of fatal crashes in 2015
22 per cent of drivers/riders killed in fatal crashes in 2015 had an illegal blood alcohol concentration
24 per cent of drivers/riders killed in 2015 tested positive for the presence of cannabis, methamphetamine or ecstasy or a combination of these drugs.