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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-23 Daily Xml
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ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION

Mr GOLDSWORTHY (Kavel) (15:55): I rise this afternoon to speak about the tragedy that occurred on our roads on the weekend where an Italian man, a tourist to South Australia, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving in a head-on collision which killed a lady who lived in Strathalbyn. We know that any and every fatality that occurs on our roads in this state and right around our country causes tremendous grief and anguish to the respective families. I want to take the next few minutes to reinforce what is a fundamental road safety measure, that is, obviously, driving on the left-hand side of the road.

The road rule in this state, and all around this nation, is that you position the vehicle as near as is practical to the left-hand side of the road. The allegations that have been made in relation to the Italian gentleman concerning the head-on collision was that that person had positioned the vehicle on the wrong side of the road, on the right-hand—

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I have a point of order.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Excuse me, member for Kavel. Minister for Mineral Resources Development.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The member for Kavel said in his opening remarks that this person has been charged and is before the courts. I think he is now straying very close—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sub judice?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Kavel, I am prepared to uphold that particular concern but perhaps you can couch it in different language.

Mr GOLDSWORTHY: I understand the points being raised and I will be very careful. They are the only remarks I will make in relation to that particular issue. I do want to reinforce the fundamental road safety measure in terms of adhering to that specific road rule that you drive on the left-hand side of the road.

I refer to a statement of a spokesperson from the RAA in a radio interview on Monday of this week. I quote from the transcript—and I am only quoting from the transcript, I will say that. He said:

I'm not aware of exactly the amount of information that's given out from each hire company, but certainly there's a case to say that if you are picking up a hire car then you should be given basic information about the road conditions and the road rules as well.

In a statement made by the Director of Road Safety in another interview on Monday, he said that the department is talking with the tourism industry about how to raise awareness of the road rules.

As we all know, we welcome tourists to this state and our country and we want to expand the tourism industry because we know it has a significantly positive effect on our economy in South Australia, but it is very important that overseas visitors who hire cars and drive on our roads are aware of our basic road rules. Again, I want to quote from a media transcript from the Minister for Road Safety, the member for Newland. The road safety minister said:

...it's certainly an issue that we're going to have a look at...I think the department are putting together a briefing for me on those circumstances...we'll go from there, but it's certainly something that needs to have a look at...

I can tell the house that I am here to help in a bipartisan gesture. There is a fairly uncomplicated way, I think, that we can look to improving road safety when people do hire cars, particularly overseas visitors, and that is just the preparation of a small sticker which highlights the fact that you do have to drive on the left hand side of the road. It could be placed in each and every hire vehicle, whether it be on the steering wheel, on the dashboard or on the windscreen. It is a fairly simple solution, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Time expired.

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