VEHICLE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:32): My question is to the Minister for Road Safety. Can the minister inform the house about the government's efforts to promote the latest in vehicle safety technology on our roads?

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:33): I thank the member for Mitchell for this question. In an Australian-first event today, South Australian private and public fleet buyers of vehicles are seeing and testing the latest in vehicle safety technology from world-renowned companies on the Clipsal 500 circuit. Everything on display is designed to prevent crashes, reduce injuries and save lives. The adoption of this technology will help achieve the government's target of less than 80 road fatalities each year by the end of the decade.

It is hard to believe that seatbelts have only been compulsory since the 1970s, yet our annual road toll has already dropped by around 75 per cent since 1974. Improvements in vehicle technology, road infrastructure, police enforcement, licensing, speed limits and other road safety policies are all making our roads safer.

It is vital to encourage fleet buyers to buy into road safety. Annual fleet sales in Australia represent around 50 per cent of all new vehicle registrations and 75 per cent of all Australian manufactured passenger vehicles produced each year. Encouraging fleet buyers to adopt this safer technology not only means motorists will enjoy the benefit of safer second-hand vehicles when a fleet car is sold but it also encourages manufacturers to include this as standard features for non-fleet buyers.

The event is also being attended by representatives of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), the Centre for Automotive Safety Research, manufacturers and technology suppliers. Some of the new systems being demonstrated today include systems that automatically prevent vehicles from reversing over people and objects, and systems that monitor road conditions and link information to braking and detect when a driver is drowsy.

Providing all South Australians with the best safety information available when buying a vehicle is a critical part of this government's Towards ZERO Together strategy. In 2010, 41 per cent of new cars sold in South Australia received a five-star ANCAP safety rating. The latest figures in 2012 indicate this figure now exceeds 60 per cent—well ahead of the national average.