Safer roads program - Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about the Victorian Government's arrive alive Safer Roads Program to tackle the road toll.
What is the Safer Roads Program?
The arrive alive Safer Roads Program is a Victorian Government initiative to tackle the road toll.
Why has the program been introduced?
Run-off-road crashes – where a motorist loses control of their vehicle and runs off the road into trees and other objects on the roadside – represent a substantial proportion of the road toll, particularly in rural areas.
The Safer Roads Program aims to reduce these crashes and their severity through targeted safety improvements to the road environment in rural and outer metropolitan areas.
Where will the program be implemented?
The arrive alive Safer Roads Program will target locations across Victoria with an emphasis on rural and outer metropolitan areas where there is a disproportionately higher rate of serious injury and fatality crashes.
The program will focus on long stretches of high speed country roads as well as intersections with a high crash risk.
What measures will be used to reduce crashes?
A combination of measures will be used to improve safety including roadside safety barriers, removal of roadside hazards and the sealing of road shoulders – all of which have a proven record in reducing the incidence and severity of run off the road crashes. Better road signage and line marking will be used to make drivers more aware of the road conditions and environment.
Intersection crashes will be addressed through improvements to achieve safer and more efficient traffic control including the installation of roundabouts, traffic lights, better lane marking and separation of traffic turning and travelling through intersections.
Will the same improvements be adopted at every location?
As a targeted program, improvements will be tailored to address road conditions where crashes have occurred and at other high risk locations.
The rural component of the program, with its emphasis on run-off-road crashes, generally focuses on improvements such as safety barriers and shoulder sealing over longer stretches of high speed roads.
Outer metropolitan improvements will include roundabouts, traffic signals and other intersection upgrades to create safer traffic flows at locations that have a high rate of crashes.
How much will the Safer Roads Program reduce the road toll?
With its focus on run off the road crashes, the Safer Roads Program is expected to help significantly reduce deaths and road trauma. Serious injuries alone are expected to be reduced by between 160 and 260 each year.
How have sites been selected for funding?
Sites across the state have been identified and prioritised for improvement on the basis of their crash risks and history of fatality and serious injury crashes.
Have local councils been consulted?
Local councils are being consulted as part of environmental requirements and any other appropriate issues.
When will the program be fully implemented?
This is a ten year program which commenced in July 2007.
Why is this a TAC funded program?
The Transport Accident Commission has a direct role in promoting road safety in Victoria and reducing the road toll. Funding used by the TAC to perform this and other functions comes from payments made by Victorian motorists when they register their vehicles each year, ensuring that revenue is directed to road related concerns.
Is this part of the arrive alive road safety strategy?
The Safer Roads Program is one key element of the arrive alive road safety strategy which aims to reduce the road toll by 30 per cent by 2017.
The arrive alive road safety strategy is placing Victoria at the leading edge of road safety throughout the world. It relies on a number of approaches ranging from changing driver behaviour to better road design and improvements.
Is the Safer Roads Program separate to the $240 million Statewide Blackspot Program?
The Safer Roads Program is a new program that builds upon the success of current and former blackspot initiatives, with carefully targeted safety improvements for high risk locations throughout Victoria.
The $240 million Statewide Blackspot Program, which began in 2000 and finished in 2004, was a four year initiative that has had all funding fully allocated to more than 1100 safety improvement projects across the state. A further $240 million was invested in this Safer Roads Program between 2004 and 2007.
Can members of the community nominate an accident blackspot as part of this program?
The program uses extensive research and crash data to identify high risk road sections. Assessments of risks within these lengths have been prioritised to ensure that road funding is directed to where it is most needed. For this reason, the Safer Roads Program does not require community nominations to identify high risk locations.
