Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Economy and Infrastructure Committee

Inquiry into the Impact of Road Safety Behaviours on Vulnerable Road Users

Pauline RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (10:40): I am pleased to have the opportunity to contribute on the report of the inquiry into the impact of road safety behaviours on vulnerable road users. As is always appropriate, I pay credit to the Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee, which is very ably chaired by the member for Bellarine with the member for Shepparton as deputy chair. I pay credit to the many people involved in this report: as always to the secretariat but in the context of this place to the members for Kew, Pascoe Vale, Narracan, Tarneit and Glen Waverley, who were involved in this incredibly important inquiry.

It is appropriate also for me to recognise, having spent some time reading this report, the numbers of people who made submissions. There are some people I know relatively well who have made some submissions and appeared as witnesses, and there are a vast number of people whose names I do not know. I reflect on that expression that people are touched by the road toll. Perhaps many of the people who made a submission have indeed been touched by the road toll, so this was an important report. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to reflect on some of those findings. This is an opportunity as well to thank our emergency services, who are often also traumatised by their experience of bearing the brunt of the work that they do but I know are focused with a laser-like approach on making sure we can stay safe.

The incredibly important issue of road safety and road use is timely in the context of some of the tragedies especially over the last few weeks. But this particularly looked at the road-related fatalities and injuries amongst cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists, groups that are disproportionately affected by road trauma. The committee has some critical insights into how we can enhance road safety for those groups and outlines some specific risks that they face. One of the key findings of the report is that, while vulnerable road users make up a relatively small percentage of total road traffic, they are over-represented in injury and fatality statistics. This was something that was, if I am frank and honest with myself, a bit of a surprise to me, the starkness of the statistics. For example, pedestrians and cyclists account for 30 per cent of road fatalities in Victoria, but they only represent 12 per cent of road users. This disparity is a stark reminder that these individuals are at heightened risk, and I have known people who have been impacted in a tragic way.

I do want to pay credit to Dr Ben Rossiter from Victoria Walks. Victoria Walks has extraordinarily wholesome social media if you do get a chance to have a look at it. It does motivate me often to go out and find some places to enjoy time with my Irish setters and family. But the other work that Dr Rossiter and Victoria Walks have done, which has been really important, is in elevating the need for us to be safe when walking and how actually having more people walking does bring us all so much more together as a community but does ensure that we are much safer.

I also want to thank Glenn Weir, the assistant commissioner road policing command at Victoria Police, who was one of the experts who gave evidence at the inquiry. He noted the growing trend of vulnerable road users, requiring a paradigm shift in how we think about road safety. It is no longer sufficient to simply focus on the actions of drivers alone. We must also recognise the interaction between all road users and the unique risks faced by pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Assistant Commissioner Weir’s statement underscores a critical point that the focus of road safety initiatives must expand beyond traditional measures, and I think that that was really important to hear.

There are some recommendations that are important, and one of them is improved infrastructure. I know the Minister for Transport Infrastructure at the table has been out to my electorate recently, where we have made some significant and huge improvements to road safety as part of the Big Build. We often talk about the Big Build and the importance of the projects, but the corner of Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road and Sladen Stret is now a very safe intersection. It replaced a big and dangerous roundabout. We have public education campaigns and of course targeted campaigns to raise awareness of the risks faced by vulnerable users and stronger enforcement – again, an opportunity to thank the police. I see a lot of police in my area who are making sure that people are doing the right thing, and I am really grateful. Some are in uniform and many are not, and they are certainly not so much behind the counter as in their cars out in the community. And of course there is vehicle design. Again, I am grateful to the committee, and I am grateful to the many people who made representations on behalf of their organisations.