SPEED LIMITS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:29): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Road Safety a question about speed limits.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: In The Advertiser dated 12 July 2007, under the heading 'Emergency crews need protection', the CFS chief officer Euan Ferguson called for the speed limit for passing stationary emergency vehicles to be lowered from 40 km/h to 25 km/h. I understand that this position is supported by the Country Fire Service Volunteers Association, the United Firefighters Union, the SES Volunteers Association, the Police Association and the Fire and Emergency Services Advisory Board. In contrast, The Advertiser reports that the Minister for Road Safety has indicated that she does not support the proposal, preferring to wait for a national approach on the issue.

Reducing the speed limit for passing stationary emergency vehicles to 25 km/h would make this offence consistent with similar offences in South Australia. For example, one already needs to reduce speed to 25 km/h in school zones, at roadworks and when passing a bus with children getting on or off. In these speed limits South Australia is already inconsistent with other states that specify 40 km/h in such zones. My questions to the minister are:

1. Why is national consistency so important in relation to provisions for the safety of emergency service workers but not for a range of other static road safety situations?

2. Considering that minister Laidlaw indicated, in moving the original amendment in 2000, that she looked forward to other jurisdictions introducing the speed limit, but seven years later none have, on what grounds does the minister consider that national consistency is possible?

3. Will the government support the chief officer of the CFS and seek national consistency at a 25 km/h limit rather than a 40 km/h limit?

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for his questions. Section 83 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 mandates a 40 km/h speed limit while passing emergency service vehicles displaying their red and blue flashing lights. Last year the SAFECOM Advisory Board, as we have just heard, sought advice on a further reduction of the speed limit to 25 km/h. Discussions were held between SAPOL and the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure on the proposed reduction and other ways in which the safety of emergency services personnel working on or adjacent to roads could be enhanced. As a result, SAFECOM is to promote the use of the SAPOL Traffic Watch line within our emergency services agencies—a means of reporting drivers passing emergency vehicles at excessive speed, for subsequent SAPOL action.

I facilitated a multi-agency group to include SAPOL, SAAS and my agencies to develop a community education and awareness campaign about the current 40 km/h limit. This group will also work with SAPOL to improve enforcement and, once this campaign has been conducted and evaluated, if there has been no improvement the group will then consider other options. In the interim, emergency service personnel are being encouraged to improve 'near miss' reporting and to develop other strategies to improve incident scene safety.

DTEI and the emergency service organisations at this stage will continue to support the introduction of the 40 km/h limit with their national colleagues, because the national introduction of this limit will increase community awareness. In discussion with my Commissioner of Fire and Emergencies, I understand that one of the suggested ways forward was to issue warrants and putting up a sign in the same way that people undertaking road traffic works put up signs. I am not certain of the reason why this was discounted at the time, but it is something on which I have asked the Commissioner to continue further discussions in relation to our emergency services.

An option to grant approval for a temporary measure of a 25 km/h speed limit sign in certain circumstances would, on the surface, certainly alleviate that problem, but at the time it was not supported, and I have asked the Commissioner to go back and ascertain why. The honourable member asked whether I am supportive of the safety of my emergency service personnel, in particular the volunteers. Of course I am supportive of them, but national approaches are usually what most ministers seek for consistency throughout the nation and because that works well when people are driving interstate. It is not something I have ignored. I have facilitated meetings. I have also now asked my Commissioner to go back and re-engage emergency service workers in relation to seeing temporary signs being put up at the site of an incident. When those discussions are complete, I will probably be in a position to write back to the association, if indeed it raised this matter with the honourable member.