Improved Safety On NSW Roads Leads To Reduced Death Toll

The following is a report from the RTA website:Young people are more mobile than at any time in the past. More young people own and / or drive motor vehicles than ever before.This has brought opportunities and increased freedom, but also risks.There have been huge improvements in road safety over the past 25 years.The annual road toll in NSW has fallen from a high of 1384 in 1978 to 510 in 2004. The reduction in road deaths has occurred despite significant growth in population, vehicle numbers and kilometres travelled.Initiatives such as random breath testing and compulsory seatbelts were break through reforms that resulted in dramatic reductions in road deaths and injuries. Other Government initiatives, safer vehicles, better roads and ongoing community education about road safety have also contributed to improvements.Young drivers have not been ignored in road safety measures.The Graduated Licensing Scheme was introduced in July 2000 specifically to improve training and licensing arrangements for new drivers.In November 2004, the discussion paper Improving Safety for Young Drivers was released for community consultation.Recent initiatives for young drivers include the introduction of a ban on P plate licence holders driving high performance vehicles and a passenger restriction for P1 and P2 drivers who lose their licence due to disqualification for a serious driving offence.Yet young people continue to be over-represented in road crash statistics.There is general agreement among road safety and driver licensing authorities and the broader community, including young people themselves, that more needs to be done to reduce injuries and loss of life among young people on our roads.For more information, download the full report from http://163.189.7.150/roadsafety/downloads/crashes_involving_young_drivers.pdfdeath toll, nsw roads road safety