Improved Safety On NSW Roads Leads To Reduced Death Toll
The following is a report from the RTA website:
Young people are more mobile than at any time in the
past. More young people own and / or drive motor
vehicles than ever before.This has brought opportunities
and increased freedom, but also risks.
There have been huge improvements in road safety
over the past 25 years.The annual road toll in NSW
has fallen from a high of 1384 in 1978 to 510 in 2004.
The reduction in road deaths has occurred despite
significant growth in population, vehicle numbers and
kilometres travelled.
Initiatives such as random breath testing and compulsory
seatbelts were break through reforms that resulted in
dramatic reductions in road deaths and injuries. Other
Government initiatives, safer vehicles, better roads and
ongoing community education about road safety have
also contributed to improvements.
Young drivers have not been ignored in road safety
measures.The Graduated Licensing Scheme was
introduced in July 2000 specifically to improve training
and licensing arrangements for new drivers.
In November 2004, the discussion paper Improving Safety
for Young Drivers was released for community consultation.
Recent initiatives for young drivers include the
introduction of a ban on P plate licence holders driving
high performance vehicles and a passenger restriction for
P1 and P2 drivers who lose their licence due to
disqualification for a serious driving offence.
Yet young people continue to be over-represented in
road crash statistics.
There is general agreement among road safety and driver
licensing authorities and the broader community, including
young people themselves, that more needs to be done to
reduce injuries and loss of life among young people on
our roads.
For more information, download the full report from http://163.189.7.150/roadsafety/downloads/crashes_involving_young_drivers.pdf
death toll, nsw roads road safety
