Improving safety across the network
We’ll take action to improve the safety of infrastructure and the environment to reduce the risk of crashes happening, and the severity of outcomes when they do.
We’ll install the following infrastructure to improve safety:
- Road safety barriers at high-risk locations on the rural road network.
- Median and side safety barriers on divided urban roads on high-movement routes.
- Road safety infrastructure at priority rural intersections, including splitter islands and side road activated speeds.
We’ll take the following actions to improve safety across the network:
- We’ll update our Speed Zoning Policy and technical guidelines. The updated policy and guidelines will be informed by the feedback from local governments and communities.
- Through the Safe Local Roads and Streets Program we’re working with local governments, as road managers and key partners in driving road safety, to fund and support projects that improve local road safety.
- We’re rolling out a road and roadside safety policy to help align projects with the Safe System approach and to prioritise proven infrastructure and treatments in road design.
- Through the Commonwealth Road Safety Program and Federal Blackspot Program, we are working with our Commonwealth partners to deliver targeted road safety infrastructure solutions across the network.
- Responding to keen interest from local governments and their communities, we’ll consider proposals for speed limit reductions in areas with significant interface between pedestrians and bicyclists and vehicles.
Protecting vulnerable and unprotected road users
We’ll take action to support vulnerable and unprotected road users – pedestrians, cyclists, micromobility users and motorcyclists – to feel safe and be safe on and around our road network. We’ll also keep our most vulnerable citizens safe – including children, young drivers and older people.
- We will improve the safety of signals at urban intersections that see a high interface between pedestrians and vehicles.
- Talking to children and young people is an opportunity to embed a culture of safety among our most vulnerable citizens. Our early childhood,
in-school and educational programs will continue to inform children, young people, and their families and teachers about how to be safe on and around our roads. - We will introduce initiatives to support positive learner-supervisor partnerships, build supervisor confidence and ensure alignment with our graduated licensing system.
- Our L2P Program will continue to help learners who may not have access to a supervising driver, to gain the minimum experience required under
our graduated licensing system by matching them with volunteer mentor drivers. - We will use compliance and enforcement to support safety for vulnerable and unprotected road users.
- We will continue to invest in motorcycle safety infrastructure improvements on priority routes.
- Motorcyclists are particularly vulnerable on our roads, which is why we engage with them directly via the Motorcycling Community Engagement Panel to understand their needs. We’re developing a strategic plan to support motorcycle safety initiatives. At the same time, we give motorcyclists advice about what critical safety features to look for when purchasing a motorcycle, and supporting safety assessments and ratings for protective motorcycle gear and helmets.
- We’re reviewing the Motorcycle Graduated Licensing System to improve outcomes for the motorcycling community.
- We’re rolling out programs to provide Safe System compliant infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
- Our popular and practical Bike Ed program continues to educate children and adults about safe behaviours and how to share the road.
- We have adopted minimum heavy vehicle safety requirements for construction trucks working on major government projects to protect vulnerable
road users in and around sites. - Through a new Safer Motorcycling Grants Program, we will support innovative approaches to help improve motorcyclist safety
Addressing risky behaviours
We’ll take action to discourage and reduce risky and unsafe behaviours on our road network, with a focus on speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, distracted driving, driving while fatigued and seatbelt non-compliance.
- We’ll extend the Distracted Driving and Seatbelt Camera Program that has been implemented to detect dangerous and distracted behaviours such as illegal portable device use and seatbelt non-compliance.
- Under the Road Safety Camera Program, we’ll continue to deploy mobile road safety cameras anywhere, anytime across the road network and operate fixed road safety cameras in some of the highest risk areas on our roads.
- Active policing and information campaigns will support the Road Safety Camera Program by raising awareness and strengthening compliance.
- We’ll support the introduction of new technology and the role of enforcement with public education campaigns.
- We’ll continue to take an intelligence-led approach to identifying high-risk driving and enforcing our laws.
- Victoria Police will expand its road policing capabilities in rural areas through:
- Intelligence-led deployment to enforce our laws against driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
- Visible patrols to support general deterrence.
- Intelligence-led approaches will target unauthorised driving, with enforcement measures that reduce the ability to re-offend.
- Victoria Police will continue to enforce speed limits in high-risk areas and promote general deterrence through high-visibility patrols, as well as targeting high-risk and recidivist drivers.
- Our behaviour change programs will continue to help people identify the underlying reasons why they have driven under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, and ways to reduce their risk of re-offending.
- Acknowledging the vulnerability of motorcycle riders as unprotected road users, we’re working to better understand unauthorised (including unlicensed and unregistered) riding and how we can reduce unsafe behaviours.
- We are conducting a closed-circuit trial to investigate whether individuals who use medicinal cannabis can drive safely.
Improving vehicle safety
Ensuring the safety of people inside and near vehicles on our roads remains a key priority.
- We’ll continue to develop and deliver innovative policies, education and trial programs to encourage the uptake of newer, safer vehicles, particularly among newer and older drivers and within corporate fleets.
- Connected and automated vehicles may help reduce driver error. We’ll work with our
jurisdictional counterparts to better understand their capabilities and how we can support their future operation on our network. - We’ll continue to work with the Commonwealth and our jurisdictional partners to accelerate the adoption of new safety standards into Australian Design Rules, with a strong focus on emerging technologies that can help prevent or mitigate crashes.
- We’ll continue to support the work of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP SAFETY) and the Vehicle Safety Research Group to better understand vehicle safety and inform consumers via howsafeisyourcar.com.au(opens in a new window).
Engaging for change
We’ll work with our partners and stakeholders, including local government, peak bodies, workplaces, schools and communities to increase understanding of our shared responsibility and grow a culture of safety on our roads.
- We’ll focus our efforts on working closely with local governments to understand their needs, help them embed Safe System principles into their work, and create change within their communities and on their local roads networks, through grants and other support.
- Road safety campaigns will continue to support compliance and enforcement activities, new initiatives and behaviour change.
- Partnerships with key communities and stakeholders will ensure we can directly reach priority audiences where they live, work and play.
- The TAC will continue its annual Road Safety Monitor and Motorcycle Monitor surveys to identify trends in behaviours and community attitudes towards road safety.
- We’ll continue to support road safety education through programs at the Road to Zero education complex and Road Smart Interactive for secondary schools.
- We’ll continue to partner with Amber Community to deliver free professional services and support to Victorians affected by road trauma.
- We’ll continue to work with community groups and organisations to fund grants to develop and put in place road safety initiatives.
- Influencing policy development nationally and regionally (including New Zealand) is an integral role played by the Victorian Road Safety Partners. We’ll engage closely with the National Road Safety Partnership Program, the National Transport Commission, Austroads and our jurisdictional and Commonwealth partners
Research and data to inform and improve road safety
We’ll collect, consider and share research and data, to better understand what’s happening on our roads and how safety can be improved. We’ll learn from others as we continue to design and deliver road safety initiatives.
- We’ll work with the Monash University Accident Research Centre to continue the baseline research program, which brings together
data and research to better understand road trauma and how different road safety approaches can reduce deaths and serious injuries. This research contributes to the development of our work program. - We’ll publish Victorian crash statistics and data on the open data portal and produce a visualisation tool for analysis.
- We’ll routinely share crash data with the Commonwealth, to inform and improve road safety data and understanding at a national level.
- We’re working to better understand the safety of the Victorian arterial road network using data and our network safety plans, to inform current and future road safety infrastructure needs, opportunities and initiatives.
- Emerging technologies may help us identify and assess fatigue. We’re testing technologies to understand how they might work in real-world conditions and how they might help us address this kind of impaired driving.
- We'll establish a new fatal crash review team and process at the Department of Transport and Planning that aligns with the Safe System approach and world’s best practice, to gain greater insights, learnings and outcomes that will help us reduce road trauma both locally at the crash site and across the wider network.
"Our goal is to end road trauma on Victorian roads"
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