Does a dropping road toll mean our roads are getting safer?
Tuesday, October 14th, 2008The first half of 2008 saw a drop in the road toll when compared with the same period in 2007. Between January and June this year, 704 people were killed on Australia’s roads. 805 people died during the same period in 2007.
Prior to this year, road deaths had decreased only slightly – by an average of 0.9 per cent per year between 2002 and 2007. However, in the first nine months of 2008, 1,078 fatalities have occurred on our roads – a nine per cent decrease compared with the same period in 2007.
The number of bicycle riders killed between July 07 and June 08 is also down compared with the previous year, dropping by 34 per cent.
The figures indicate Australia’s road laws, and the harsh penalties for breaking them, are working. Flashing lights marking school zones, reduced speed limits, double demerits over holiday weekends and more restrictions on P-platers all appear to be helping to save lives.
The statistics are saying our roads are getting safer, but are they? If the figure is the result of our road laws, do we make penalties for breaking them even tougher to bring this figure down further?