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ACT roads becoming more dangerous: Ausrap report


ACT roads becoming more dangerous: Ausrap report

Author: Daniel StantonDate: 19 January 2012

Thursday 19 January 2012: Almost two-thirds of ACT highways on the National Network have worsened from a low-medium to medium risk rating according to the latest Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) report.

Funded by the Australian Automobile Association, the NRMA and other state motoring clubs, AusRAP found that one person lost their life on each of the Barton and Federal Highway for the period 2005-09. There were fifty crashes that led to serious injury also occurred in the same period.

The report released by the NRMA today, tying in the with the United Nation’s Decade of Action for Road Safety, found that the 12 km stretch of Barton Highway accounted for 37 casualty crashes while the 8 km of Federal Highway in the ACT accounted for 13 casualty crashes during the 2005-09 period.

The AusRAP report for the period 2005-09 found:

  • Four people are killed and 90 people are seriously injured on Australia’s roads every day;
  • Road crashes cost the Australian community $74 million every day.

NRMA Motoring & Services Director Alan Evans said the report clearly illustrated the lack of funding for the Barton and Federal highways over the past decade.

“On the whole, low risk roads are becoming medium risk,” Mr Evans said.

“Across the border, the Hume Highway is a good example of the investment required to help reduce casualty crashes and deaths. The numbers have dropped significantly in sections where the highway has been duplicated.

“If funding commitments are made by both the ACT and Australian Governments we can reverse the trend of these highways becoming more riskier and ease the minds of Barton and Federal Highway road users.”

AusRAP works in partnership with government and nongovernment organisations to:

  • inspect national and state highways and develop Star Ratings and Safer Roads Investment Plans;
  • track road safety performance through risk maps so that funding agencies can assess the benefits of their investments;
  • and explain the benefits of safer road infrastructure to the community by describing why some roads are safer than others.

AusRAP analyses crash and traffic volume data over two five-year periods (2000-04 and 2005-09) and is based on the European equivalent, EuroRAP, which produces maps showing the risk of road crashes that cause deaths and life-threatening injuries and rates roads for safety.

*Individual risk rating is a measure of the number of casualty crashes per year per 100 million vehicle kilometers travelled. There are five ratings: low, low/medium, medium, medium/high and high.

Report available at: http://www.mynrma.com.au/about/reports-brochures-research.htm

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