The Liberal and Nationals Government has a plan to help make Australians safer on our roads. Our plan to deliver a strong economy is ensuring we can guarantee the essential services Australians rely on with increased funding for schools, hospitals, medicines and roads.
Our record $100 billion investment in transport infrastructure will reduce congestion, keep our roads safe, connect people to jobs and get our produce to market. As part of our commitment to road safety, the Morrison McCormack Government is making record investments in Australia’s road network, including:
- $4 billion from 2019-20 under the Urban Congestion Fund to improve traffic safety and flow and increase network efficiency for commuter and freight movements in major urban areas
- $4.5 billion under the Roads of Strategic Importance (ROSI) initiative to support the upgrade of key regional road corridors
- Improving local roads, including:
o an additional $1.1 billion for the Roads to Recovery Program
o an additional $550 million for the Black Spot Program
o an additional $275 million for the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and
o an additional $275 million for the Bridges Renewal Program.
The quality of our roads has a big impact on safety. So too do risky driving behaviours such as speeding, driving under the influence, driver fatigue and, increasingly, driver distraction such as mobile phone use.
To help with safer driving options and to combat driver fatigue, a re-elected Morrison McCormack Government will:
- Work with state and territory governments, local councils, industry and other road safety stakeholders to develop a nationally consistent approach to new and improved pullover bays with a focus on single lane highways, popular tourist routes and off-network roads.
- Invest an additional $8 million in capped grants to help upgrade the 175 existing Driver Reviver locations nation-wide to improve amenity and to support the establishment of new sites.
- Invest $4 million in a Road Safety Awareness and Enablers Fund. Initial priorities will include:
o $1.2 million over four years to support the Driver Reviver program to improve awareness of sites and for engagement of volunteers.
o $1 million over four years to partner with industry to develop and promote programs to better educate caravan, campervan and motorhome drivers on safety awareness.
- Invest $16 million to extend the Keys2drive program for a further two years to 2022-23, an initiative that provides a free theory and practical lesson to learner drivers and their supervisors.
- Invest up to $1.8 million to support a one-year pilot of the Australian Safety Foundation’s Digital Road Safety Passport for Schools for Year 9 students. The pilot will cover the foundations of road safety – including getting to and from school safely.
