Have your say on road strategy

It’s 64-pages of platitudes and wishful thinking.

The road toll will likely fall by 2020 because it is becoming quite difficult to kill yourself in a new, five star crash safety rated car, one stuffed with airbags, electronic stability and stopping programs.

In the same week as I sorely abused the office supply of A4 printing the draft NRSS, I drove a new Volvo that, via its inner robots, is capable of braking to a halt when it senses the driver is not going to avoid an imminent low speed impact. It goes a step further toward making motoring foolproof against all but humans.

Cars are becoming smarter but we, on the whole, are inept, frightened pilots sitting at the controls of machines we don’t understand and cannot control because we never learn to drive. Not really.

Not to the extent of acquiring the most rudimentary life preserving techniques.

Here’s a for instance. Every new car comes with ABS (anti-lock braking system) brakes. In terms of it importance to active safety measures, these are the equivalent to the seatbelt, enabling you to plant the stop pedal while retaining full steering.

Yet more than one driving instructor has told me the common reaction to the shuddering sensation that comes with penetrating the pedal’s ABS threshold causes the unknowing driver to back off precisely at the moment maximum pressure could pull them up short of disaster

If you’ve learned to drive with a relative or friend, the chances are you haven’t learned to stop.

Disturbingly, a certain once oft-quoted “safety guru” appeared mystified when this conundrum was put to him.

“No, I said ‘ABS’, not ‘ABN’ …”

The report says: “There is community support for driver education programs; however, the research evidence on the effectiveness of such programs in reducing serious crashes remains disappointing.” It offers no evidence.

How can learning to brake be a bad thing?

The consultation period closes on 11 February 2011.

Following this consultation period, the draft strategy will be reviewed and finalised for consideration by the Australian Transport Council (ATC). The Council includes all Australian, state and territory government Ministers with responsibility for transport.

• Draft National Road Safety Strategy [PDF: 2623 KB]
• Draft summary version [PDF: 1530 KB]

How to comment on the draft strategy

You can provide your feedback until 11 February 2011 by:

• Using the online feedback form
• Emailing your submission to: roadsafetystrategy@infrastructure.gov.au, or
• Posting your submission to: National Road Safety Strategy, GPO Box 594, CANBERRA ACT 2601