House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Rural Road Safety RURAL ROAD SAFETY Mr PICCOLO House of Assembly Light RURAL ROAD SAFETY Mr PICCOLO (Light) (14:18): My question is to the Minister for Road Safety. Can the minister advise the house what investment the government is making into rural road safety? The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN House of Assembly Napier Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education Minister for Road Safety Minister for Science and Information Economy RURAL ROAD SAFETY The Hon. M.F. O'BRIEN (Napier—Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:18): Over the five year period 2003 to 2007, approximately 65 per cent of all fatal and serious crashes on rural roads have involved people losing control of their vehicle prior to the vehicle leaving the road and, in most cases, either hitting a fixed object or rolling over. Hit fixed object crashes are the most common type of fatal and serious injury crash in South Australia. There were 1,125 fatal and serious hit fixed object crashes between 2003 and 2007. Loss of life or serious injury should not be the accepted outcome for a driver who makes a mistake on the road. It is possible to mitigate the consequences of driver mistakes on rural roads through a variety of cost-effective infrastructure treatments. Two of the most cost-effective of these safety treatments are sealing the road shoulder to give drivers more room for control and recovery, and shielding those vehicles that do leave the road from severe collision hazards such as trees, culverts and Stobie poles, or removing these collision hazards, if this is at all feasible. The member for Schubert would be aware of the difficulty with the last of those propositions. The continuation of the shoulder-sealing program, together with the Rural Road Safety Program, will provide significant safety outcomes by reducing the number and severity of road crashes. Road improvements made under the rural road safety program include audio tactile line marking (often referred to as rumble strips), and this is a particular initiative of the Victorian government, which is seen to be a trendsetter in the area of road safety. Other road improvements include safety barrier installations, removal of roadside trees in hazardous locations and improved delineation. An additional $23 million over the next four years has been allocated in this year's state budget for a safer road network in rural South Australia through the Rural Road Safety Program. In 2009-10, $5.25 million has been allocated to deliver 29 projects in the Adelaide Hills, Barossa, the Mid North, the South-East, Fleurieu Peninsula and the Lower Flinders Ranges. As I said, these funds and this program will complement the ongoing shoulder-sealing program which has been allocated $7.2 million in the most recent budget, which is to gain passage today. This will seal shoulders over 125 kilometres of road across rural South Australia. The member for Schubert would also be aware that his electorate is actually the major beneficiary of this funding, with in excess of 50 per cent of all work on shoulder sealing occurring within the electorate of Schubert. The member for Schubert's constituents have had a fairly difficult nine or 10 months, with a high level of fatality within the Barossa Valley, and I think they will be extremely pleased with this particular initiative. The South Australian Strategic Plan contains a target to reduce road fatalities to fewer than 90 per year and serious injuries to fewer than 1,000 per year by 2010. These programs will play a vital part in assisting the South Australian community to meet these objectives, just as responsible driving behaviour will play its part.