Last year there were 32 people killed on Tasmania’s roads, slightly down from 33 in 2018.
Fortunately there have been no fatalities recorded on Tasmania’s roads over the Christmas/New year period to date.
While every single death on our roads is a tragedy for family, friends and the whole community, serious injuries also can cause ongoing pain suffering and trauma for Tasmanians as well as pressures on individuals, families and community and social services.
Last year there were 252 serious injuries on our roads, down from 281 in 2018. The lasting pain, suffering and loss caused by road injuries is needless, distressing and takes an ongoing toll on the community at large.
As in previous years, motorcyclists are over represented in the 2019 figures with 6 killed and 66 seriously injured on our roads, compared to 8 killed and 81 seriously injured in 2018. Motorcyclists account for only 4 per cent of registered vehicles on our roads.
While we recognise that crashes causing death and injury on our roads can be the result of inadvertent mistakes, many are still caused by careless or reckless behaviour.
We continue to work hard to change attitudes around speeding, the use of mobile phones when driving, and drink and drug driving, which are all irresponsible and can be deadly.
As part of our Towards Zero Action Plan 2020-2024, the Tasmanian Government will invest $75 million to help save lives on our roads over the next five years.
Information on our campaigns to improve driver behaviour on our roads is at www.rsac.tas.gov.au
