TAS BOOST FOR ROAD SAFETY FUNDING

http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=33212


BOOST FOR ROAD SAFETY FUNDING

The Tasmanian Government is boosting its investment in road safety, using the highly-successful Road Safety Levy.

The Minister for Infrastructure, David O’Byrne, said the Government will raise and spend an extra $2.6-million a year through the levy, to help keep Tasmanians safer on the roads.

“Every tragic accident on our roads is one too many,” Mr O’Byrne said.

“While the number of deaths and serious injuries on Tasmanian roads are trending downwards, there’s still plenty of work to do.

“Tasmanian drivers can be assured that every cent we raise from the Road Safety Levy goes towards strong and proven initiatives to keep them and their loved ones safer,” he said.

After running successfully for almost four years, the Road Safety Levy is being extended by five years, to 30 November 2017.

From November 1st 2011, the levy amount will rise from $20 per vehicle ($12 concession), to $25 per vehicle ($15 concession) - raising an extra $2.6 million each year.

The levy currently raises about $9.5-million each year, and can only be used for road safety purposes.

All projects are evidence-based, to help prevent as many deaths and serious injuries as possible.

Crashes involving a deaths or serious injury have reduced by almost 33 per cent in five years – with initiatives funded by the levy making a significant contribution.

“This improvement is the best evidence that our approach to protecting Tasmanian road users is the right one,” Mr O’Byrne said.

Initiatives funded by the Road Safety Levy so far include:

Dollar-for-dollar funding for Councils to conduct traffic calming treatments in shared urban spaces;
Rolling-out electronic speed-limit signs at schools;
Reform of the novice driver licensing system;
Trialling of innovative technologies; and
Installing flexible safety barrier on Tasmania’s major highways and arterial roads.
Under the second action plan, further initiatives to be funded include:

Implementing targeted infrastructure projects to address run-off-road and head-on crashes (which account for 39% of crash types);
Investigating further changes to the Graduated Driver Licensing System;
Point-to-point speed enforcement;
Introducing alcohol interlocks; and
Safer travel speeds.