The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) has called for an urgent review of the National Road Safety Strategy by the federal government in the wake of a rising road toll.
With 1,324 people losing their lives over the past 12 months, a six per cent increase, and road crashes increasing, NatRoad says the federal election this year must focus on road safety and rest areas to reduce unnecessary deaths.
A 27 per cent increase in the overall incident rate for heavy vehicles over 12 months could be curbed according to NatRoad, with the body suggesting that raising road standards by one star on the AusRAP rating system has been shown to reduce deaths by 50 per cent.
To do this, NatRoad wants the federal government to complete an urgent review of the National Road Safety Strategy and list immediate steps to improve road safety.
At the launch of its national reform agenda ‘Road to 2028’, NatRoad called for the elected government to deliver a “safer, more sustainable and productive road freight industry”. It is also focusing on fatigue, with data showing 20 to 30 per cent of all crashes across all vehicle types are caused by fatigue.
NatRoad is calling for a portion of earmarked government funding for road improvements to be redirected to rest areas, including heavy vehicle rest areas.
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NatRoad has urged the government to deliver on its commitment to lift 80 per cent of national highways to at least three-stars by 2030, while requesting an extended commitment towards achieving 100 per cent by 2035.
“Both federal and state governments needs to lift their game to save lives. In 2024, 1,324 lives were lost on Australian roads, and that number has been steadily rising for the last four years,” NatRoad CEO Warren Clark says.
“The budget has $120 billion allocated for infrastructure improvements over the next decade, and in 2013 the cost of lifting all highways to three-stars was estimated at just $4.7 billion. The money is there.”
The Road to 2028 is a national reform agenda launched by NatRoad, that aims to deliver a safer, more sustainable road freight industry for all Australians.
NatRoad has also flagged that Australia is short of at least 26,000 freight drivers, with the projected increase in road freight volumes by 77 per cent from 2020 to 2050 placing Australia’s growth at risk.
“The road freight industry is already at breaking point with a perfect storm of rising costs, escalating interest rates and increasing wages. We can’t afford to put drivers and other road users at risk with the continued underinvestment in highway infrastructure,” Clark says.
“With the upcoming elections, NatRoad is calling on the government to step up to their commitment to road safety.”
The Road to 2028 covers five key outcomes to address the most pressing concerns of the road transport industry.
“There are serious challenges facing trucking operators right now, and we’ve been calling these out for some time. We can’t and won’t wait for change. We must make it happen,” Clark says.
“That’s why I spent considerable time in Canberra, meeting with Labor, Coalition and Independent members during the first sitting week of Parliament in February, taking them through the Road to 2028 priorities.
“The future of our industry is at stake here.”
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