Australian governments have committed to a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries by 2050 (Vision Zero).
Vision Zero is a principle that no one should be killed or seriously injured using our road networks. Its adoption is a commitment to a road transport system that does not kill or seriously injure people.
This means creating a system where the system designers and operators, including engineers, planners, lawmakers, enforcement agencies, post trauma crash care workers and others – share responsibility with road users for designing a road system that does not allow human error to have a serious or fatal outcome.
The 2050 Vision Zero statement represents a stronger commitment to the Safe System approach adopted in the previous national strategy through the National Road Safety Action Plans, as well as the strategies of individual states and territories.
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The guiding principles behind this approach are:
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How is the Safe System implemented?
The Safe System approach involves all elements of the road transport system working together to prevent crashes or limit crash forces, making them survivable and reducing the severity of injury. While all states and territories have adopted the Safe System approach, at present we have a legacy system that does not always work this way and requires transformation, prioritising areas of highest risk. Roads and vehicles should be designed to limit crash forces to levels that are within human tolerance.
When we talk about a ‘system’ that does not kill or seriously injure, it is not just about the road network. Road transport is a complex system in which people, vehicles and road infrastructure interact. A Safe System approach ensures they interact in a way that creates a high level of safety, by anticipating and accommodating human errors.
Safe System means looking as broadly as possible at all the elements that influence crashes:
- ROADS AND ROADSIDES
- VEHICLES AND VEHICLE MIX
- ROAD USERS
- SPEED
- FUNCTION OF THE ROAD
- PLANNING
It means looking at how these elements interact and can work together to protect all road users. In taking a system approach we also commit to the proactive improvement of roads and vehicles so the entire system is made safe, rather than just locations or situations where crashes last occurred.
In all crashes, speed is a key element that determines the forces that injure people. Speed management is key to improving the interaction of all three parts of the road transport system. Speed, whether it is driving at a speed inappropriate for the prevailing conditions or driving at a speed over the limit, contributes to the risk of crashes and their severity. Even if the speed of the vehicle was within the posted speed limit and not considered the cause of a crash, the kinetic energy transfer impacts the severity of the injury.
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Safe System and Vision Zero are consistent with the approaches adopted by the safest countries in the world and are in step with the United Nations current approach to global road safety through its Sustainable Development Goals and the second Decade of Action on Road Safety. |
Shared responsibility
Importantly, the Safe System approach seeks to recognise the responsibility shared by all contributors to the elements of the system. There is a responsibility to collectively manage all inputs so the likelihood of a crash is minimised. The responsibility also continues so that when a crash occurs, every attempt is made to minimise the likelihood it results in a fatal or serious injury. Remedies should be sought throughout the system, in addition to road users being responsible for their behaviour.
By ’contributors’ we mean not only people who plan, design and build roads or vehicles, but anyone whose actions can influence road trauma, including road managers, vehicle manufacturers, legislators, commercial transport operators, police, employers, and of course individual road users.