This report, the Committee's fifth and last in the current Parliament, marks the end of a comprehensive program of review of major road user groups and continues the work of Staysafe over successive Parliaments to improve safety on the roads of NSW. The current inquiry into Vulnerable Road Users, focussing on motorcyclists and pedal cyclists, complements an earlier inquiry conducted last year into Pedestrian Safety. The Committee suggests that the reports be read together to provide an overall picture of recommended strategies to improve safety risks for these less protected groups of road users. Major areas for suggested reform, some of which have been consistently stressed in all previous reports, include: improved data collection and management; improvements in roads engineering; better targeted education and public awareness programs and campaigns; and improved planning processes, including enhanced collaboration between the NSW Government and local councils. A key message stressed throughout the Report is that roads serve as access points and vital arteries for the whole community. The diverse range of people using the road network creates policy and planning challenges for all agencies involved in managing the transport system and securing public safety. Road agencies everywhere are constantly engaged in monitoring safety and devising countermeasures to mitigate risks. Staysafe makes its own contribution to this process by actively consulting and providing a public forum for discussion and debate about proposed strategies and interventions. The recommendations made in this and other Staysafe reports seek to promote full community participation in the policy process, which is one of the hallmarks of participatory democracy. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting