Mark Turner has been Executive Manager of IPWEA (NSW) for four years. He came to the position after 14 years as Executive Director of the Steel Reinforcement Institute of Australia. His early career included engineering positions with Sydney Water and Standards Australia. He has held senior management positions in the steel and concrete roof tile industries.

Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia

The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) is a not for profit, membership based, professional organisation representing engineers and others including Road Safety Practitioners involved in the provision of public works and services predominantly in the local government sphere.

IPWEA’S road safety background

Until June 2010 IPWEA worked closely with the RTA to deliver the Local Government Road Safety Strategy which was a central component of the Local Government Road Safety  Program, developed under the state-wide program for road safety management in NSW. The Program encouraged local government to adopt a corporate approach to road safety specifically through the support for road safety planning, the administration of seed grants and training and through the facilitation of information flow. This programme was a major driver for the implementation of road safety strategies within Local Government in NSW.

IPWEA currently operates a long standing Road Safety Panel to assist Councils across NSW in dealing with road safety issues. The Panel comprises voluntary participants from the membership of the IPWEA, representing rural and urban councils, RTA; Local Government Association of NSW and Shires Association of NSW; Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management; Motor Accidents Authority and consultants practising in the road safety area. Panel activities include:

• Strong support for an ongoing Federal commitment to the Federal Road Safety Blackspot Program.
• Continued support for the Local Government Road Safety Program and IPWEA involvement.
• Continuation of the Roads and Road Safety Stream at the annual IPWEA Conference.
• Continued support for road safety professional development.
• Support for the Road Safety Auditors register.
• Revision of the IPWEA Road Safety Panel Strategic Action.
• Providing support towards the development of the Roads and Transport Directorate within the IPWEA.
• Continuation of the Road Safety Speakers Bureau.

Many of the road safety outcomes in local communities have been delivered through the Local Government Road Safety Program (LGRSP). This was a collaboration between the RTA, LG&SA and IPWEA. The program enabled Road Safety Officers to be employed in Councils with a focus on addressing behavioural issues. This program has been curtailed by the RTA and no clear assurances have been given to Road Safety Officers that their roles will continue to be 50 percent funded by the RTA beyond 2012. This uncertainty has prompted many excellent Officers to resign and seek alternative employment. This represents a loss of expertise challenging the opportunity to change driver behaviour.

Relationship between local government and state road authorities

In NSW, Local Governments are “Road Authorities” under the Roads Act, 1993. Local Government has responsibility for 85 percent of the road network and accounts for over 50 percent of road accidents.

However, the primary responsibility for Road Safety according to the NSW State Plan is vested in the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA).  The challenge for Governments is to translate the key performance targets for Road Safety into the Local Government arena while ensuring adequate resources to deliver the desired outcomes. In our submission to the “National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020” earlier this year we argued that this may be achieved by three broad actions:

1. Partnership between the State Road Authority and Local Government on road safety. This implies recognition of the expertise residing in each authority and building on that sound base. The road safety officers within Councils are a significant resource.
2. Encouragement of Local Government to embrace Road Safety as an essential element of their risk management planning. Existing legislation should be sufficient to ensure this outcome. Some adjustment to regulation may be required.
3. Provision of adequate resources to Local Government to meet their obligation. We noted (in the submission) the shortfall in funding to maintain service levels of the road and bridge network. Local government cannot bear further cost shifting.

The details of this shortfall in asset renewal funding are available in the Roads & Transport Directorate’s NSW 2010 Road Asset Benchmarking Report and 2010 Timber Bridge Asset Benchmarking Report. Copies of these reports are available from IPWEA (NSW).

These reports concluded that Local Government in NSW has a funding shortfall of $545million each year in budgeting to maintain the regional and local road network in its present condition. This is an important consideration in assessing road safety strategies that result in an increase in the level of service to be provided.

Impacts of the Draft National Road Safety Strategy on Local Government in NSW

Local Government’s role in the Strategy

The Strategy includes the statements:

• Reduce serious casualties on roads controlled by local government.Local roads account for more than 50 per cent of serious casualties in some States.

• Despite these achievements, road crashes still cause some 1,500 deaths and 30,000 serious injuries each year. The social impacts are devastating – and the annual cost to the  Australian economy is estimated to be $27 billion.

Together these statements reflect the importance of Local Government in effectively implementing this Strategy: 750 deaths; 15,000 serious injuries and an annual cost $13.5  billion are attributed to regional and local roads for which Local Government has responsibility.

Local Government is therefore a critical component of road safety management but the draft National Strategy does not adequately reflect this level of importance.

The Safe System approach

The principles upon which the Strategy is based are stated as:

The internationally recognised “Safe System” approach accepts that people using the road network will make mistakes and therefore the whole “system” needs to be made as safe as possible to ensure it is more forgiving of those errors. This means improving the safety of roads, adding safety features to cars, making sure people obey speed limits and the road rules, and having appropriate sanctions for road users who demonstrate irresponsible behaviour.

IPWEA fully supports this approach. We are of the view that safe road design, safe vehicles, enforcement and driver education tools must all be used together to achieve the desired road safety outcomes.

Local flexibility

The mix of measures adopted in individual jurisdictions, and the details of specific measures, will vary to reflect local circumstances and priorities. This draft strategy forms the basis  for consultation with th  community. Implementation will require financial commitment as well as administrative and legislative processes. All jurisdictions agree that an evidence-based approach supports a focus on the priorities identified in this strategy.

This approach is critical in having the strategy adopted at the local level. In the past, road safety has been seen as a State and Federal

Government issue. Where State initiatives have been developed, they have frequently not been fl exible enough to allow for local circumstances and have therefore not achieved a satisfactory result.

Local Government responsibility

Many organisations, the “system managers”, have a primary responsibility to provide a safe operating environment for road users. They include the government and industry  organisations that design, build, maintain and regulate roads and vehicles. These and a range of other parties involved in the performance of the road transport system, and the way roads and roadsides are used, all have responsibility for ensuring that the system is forgiving when people make mistakes.

There is evidence that many Road Authorities, having responsibility for the management of regional and local roads, see road safety as being a State or Federal Government  responsibility. In NSW the State Plan covers the State Road Authority (the RTA) but is not applicable to local councils. Neither the Local Government Act 1993 nor the recently introduced Integrated Planning and Reporting requirements specifi cally require Councils to develop and implement local road safety programmes.

While it is prudent for councils, as Road Authorities, to manage road safety as part of their overall risk management strategies, lack of resources, including a lack of expertise in the road safety area has resulted in limited planning for road safety within local government.

IPWEA (NSW) identifi ed this issue in 1998 and undertook a project to produce a guideline tilted “A Guide to Developing Council Road Safety Strategic Plans”. This publication was updated in 2006. To date, the number of councils that have built Road Safety into their strategic planning is limited; refl ecting the restricted resources available to councils.

Safe roads

• There are many uncontrolled accesses to the arterial high-speed network per kilometre.
• A low proportion of the network is fi tted with median barriers to separate opposing fl ows and side barrier protection.
• There are many high-speed intersections in rural areas and limited use of roundabouts and raised platforms at intersections.
• There are many narrow traffi c lanes and unsealed and narrow shoulders on many routes.
• There is limited use tactile line treatments (rumble strips) on road medians and edges.
• Many roads have insuffi cient clear zones, which can be treated with increased clear zones, sealed shoulders and/or appropriate barriers.

And
Run-off-road crashes can be avoided or reduced in severity through:

• Infrastructure treatments including safety barriers, tactile edge lines, shoulder sealing, and removal/relocation of roadside hazards and objects.
• Setting speed limits according to the safety standards of roads and roadsides.
• Effective management and clear accountability for removal and trimming of vegetation in order to maintain the safety and effi ciency of the road.

IPWEA (NSW) and the Roads & Transport Directorate fully support this approach to providing safer roads. The diffi culty that Local Government faces, however, is the severe  limitation on resources available to maintain existing road assets. As detailed earlier, the local and regional road networks are deteriorating at an alarming rate under the present  funding arrangements. Unless there is a substantial change in funding sources for local roads in NSW the above recommendations are not achievable.

The introduction of safety barriers, tactile edge lines and shoulder sealing all represent an increase in the level of service expected from the infrastructure assets. Not only is there an increased capital cost but there is also an ongoing maintenance cost into the future. These costs are expected to be funded from a source that is already inadequate.

The setting of speed limits in NSW is carried out by the RTA with little or no input from Local Government. There is no suggestion here that this function should be devolved to local  government for the setting of speed limits on local roads, but there needs to be development of an updated set of limit setting guidelines with the ability to engage with  local councils in dealing with local conditions.

The establishment and maintenance of clear zones on local roads is a major concern for councils in NSW with legislation and case law indicating that environmental considerations outweigh road safety considerations. IPWEA is of the view that there must be a careful balance established between environmental value and road safety considerations and that determination of this balance should involve consultation with the local community.

Safe speeds
The majority of regional roads in Australia are single-carriageways where the default speed limit applies (100 km/h in most jurisdictions). These roads have been found to consistently have much higher fatal crash rates than other road stereotypes.
and: Many lives could be saved if appropriate speed limits could be applied on higher crash rate roads. The decisions on speed limits are a matter for road authorities. Opportunities to review speed limits and apply changes would reduce crash risk and improve safety.

The default speed limit also applies to the majority of non-urban rural roads which are unsealed and have surface characteristics that vary with weather conditions. As stated above, IPWEA supports the development of an updated set of limit setting guidelines with the ability to involve local councils in dealing with local conditions.

Safe people

While there is a lack of evidence that school road safety education programs reduce road crashes, it is important that children and young people are taught to use the roads safely as pedestrians, cyclists and later as riders and drivers. Programs designed to instil safe attitudes and behaviours from an early age are strongly supported by parents and the wider community.

A considerable amount of effort has been put into road safety education programmes as part of the NSW Local Government Road Safety Program. The focus of this programme is  now changing to look more at safer roads issues.

The view of IPWEA is that while it may be difficult to determine evidence to support road safety education programs, “Safe People” must continue to be an element of a well  developed road safety strategy.

Fatigue

The effects of fatigue on serious road casualties is difficult to quantify, but is recognised as a major and potentially growing problem area. Fatigue is a contributing factor in crashes which involve long trips and extensive periods of continuous driving, and also in short trips when the driver has previously been deprived of sleep. Shift workers are particularly at  risk.

This has become a significant issue for Councils that have State and regional truck links through their council areas. There is concern that lowering speed limits on major arterial routes results in an increase in fatigue related accidents. This is an issue which needs to be researched further so the rational decisions based on factual evidence can be reached.

Conclusions

IPWEA (NSW) and the Roads and Transport Directorate of NSW support the intent and direction of the National Road Safety Strategy. However for the strategy to be effective, Local Government must be fully engaged in the process: from consultation; to design; and implementation. We offered three recommendations:

1. Formation of partnerships between State Road Authorities and Local Government, recognising the expertise and developing the skills to deliver outcomes at the local level.
2. Local Government include Road Safety Strategic planning in their overall risk management plan. We believe this can be achieved within the existing legislative framework.
3. Additional funding and resources be provided to Local Government to deliver the desired strategic outcomes without shifting the cost burden to local communities.