Safe Speed Forums

NMAA president, Michael Lane says the NSW government has a woeful record in road safety.

The NSW government has a woeful performance record in road safety, according to the National Motorists Association of Australia (NMAA). The president of the association, Michael Lane says, "In the past decade the NSW Government has endorsed a punitive system of speeding fines and raised millions of dollars in revenue annually. However, this has failed to provide the answer for improving road safety.

"NSW road fatalities have not diminished significantly since 1998. This has occurred against a background of dramatic improvements in car safety such as ABS brakes, traction control and airbags. Also, there have been significant improvements in road trauma recovery rates with ambulance and hospital services", Mr Lane said.

"Speed has been shown to be the prime cause in only a very small percentage of crashes and putting so much effort into speed control can only have a minimal effect" Mr Lane said. "This is why road safety campaigns are failing.

"Issues such as inattention, fatigue, alcohol and drugs, tailgating, inadequate driver training and the lack of road funding are far more important. Addressing these issues would be far more successful", he said.

Mr Lane claims that "The Government would make better decisions if its focus was on road safety instead of chasing road revenue and then appeasing the backlash from irate drivers before the next election.

"The new Minister deserves credit for attempting to address the lack of credibility that the NSW Government has in the area of road safety. Unfortunately, the new points system remains a severely punitive system and the focus remains on speed. Now the demerit points have leapt to three points for low range speeding. It seems inevitable that the result will be more drivers losing their licences" Mr Lane stated.

Mr Lane said "It appears that the government has not considered the unintended consequences of its previous actions. There is an increasing number of unlicensed drivers who continue driving. Many of these drivers feel compelled to drive while unlicensed for financial reasons. For many, the ability to drive determines whether they retain their jobs, their means of income and their businesses.

"The NMAA does not condone unlicensed driving and has criticised the Government for not addressing this issue adequately in the past. The big-stick approach to low range speeding is working against the Government's intentions."

"The question remains as to whether the Government focus should remain on speed" Mr Lane said. "Over-emphasis on the issue of vehicle speed leads to speedo-gazing. Drivers have become so concerned about speeding fines and demerit points that they tend to gaze at their speedos every few seconds. Drivers need their eyes focused on the road to have proper control of a vehicle, particularly in areas where there are pedestrians who may unexpectedly run onto the road.

"To reiterate the point, drivers are spending too much time gazing at their speedometers to avoid punishment, instead of concentrating on the road and avoiding hazards" he stated emphatically.

When asked what safety message should be given to road users, Mr Lane said "For drivers, instead of 'drive slowly' the safety message should be 'drive safely'. Pedestrians must take care when crossing a road."