Plea for change after ‘shocking’ road deaths
Written by admin on July 23, 2024
Australia has just recorded its deadliest 12 months on the road in more than a decade.
Data from the Australian Automotive Association shows an 11.7 per cent surge in deaths from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, with the total road toll reaching 1310 fatalities.
The road toll for the prior year was 1173.
It is the worst 12-month period of the country’s roads since 2012, which also recorded 1310 fatalities.
NSW was the worst hit, with a 23 per cent increase in deaths to 358 for the year.
The Northern Territory recorded a shocking 108 per cent jump in deaths, rising from 26 in 2022-23 to 54 in 2023-24.
Only the ACT and Tasmania booked declines in their road toll for the year.
AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said the stark figures showed Australia’s current approach to road trauma management was failing.
“We need a data-driven response to a problem killing more than 100 people every month,” he said.
“States and territories must report data they hold about the causes of crashes, the quality of roads, and the effectiveness of policing, so it can be used to produce more effective road safety interventions.
“To its credit, the federal government has agreed to insert data transparency clauses into the next five-year intergovernmental road funding agreement.
“This agreement was due to begin this month but has not yet been finalised and the delay is impeding the introduction of more effective road safety measures.
“Data sharing will reveal which state’s road safety measures are the most effective and the safety interventions that are most needed.
“That will not only save lives but also end the politicisation of road funding by revealing whether governments are investing in the roads that most need safety upgrades, rather than investing in road projects in marginal electorates to win votes.
“The Queensland government has publicly agreed to provide road safety data, but other states have been silent on this important reform proposal.”
St John Ambulance NSW CEO Dominic Teakle said crucial decisions from drivers and bystanders in the first three-to-five minute period after a traffic crash could reduce the toll.
“The first three-to-five minutes after a traffic accident are critical, with bystander first aid having the potential to drastically reduce hospital deaths and severe injury in the time it takes for emergency services to arrive at the scene,” he said.
“It takes as little as three minutes for a person to die from a blocked airway, which is responsible for around 85 per cent of pre-hospital traffic deaths.
“And yet, just the simple act of lifting an unconscious person’s chin is often enough to unblock their airways.”
Mr Teakle called for the NSW government make first aid a mandatory part of learner driver training.
