Safer Journeys is a strategy to guide improvements in road safety over the period 2010–2020. The long term goal for road safety in New Zealand is set out in its vision:
"A safe road system increasingly free of death and serious injury"
Download it at http://www.transport.govt.nz/saferjourneys/Pages/default.aspx
This vision recognises that while we could never prevent all road crashes from happening, we could ultimately stop many of them resulting in death and serious injury. It also broadens our focus beyond preventing deaths to also preventing serious injuries.
To support the vision, Safer Journeys takes a Safe System approach to road safety. This approach means working across all elements of the road system (vehicles, roads, speeds and road users) and recognises that everybody has responsibility for road safety. We have also identified issues that are areas of most concern. These are the priorities for road safety in New Zealand. Safer Journeys describes the actions we will take to address these issues, using a Safe System approach that works across all elements of the road system.
In developing Safer Journeys, we have looked to research and the experience in other countries such as Australia . Public consultation, on a Safer Journeys discussion document that set out possible actions, was held from 18 August to 2 October 2009. More than 1500 submissions were received. This feedback has been used in the development of Safer Journeys.
Safer Journeys will be implemented through a series of action plans. These plans will set out the actions we are to take, timelines for actions and responsibility for implementing them. They will also detail how progress will be monitored and actions evaluated.
The actions in Safer Journeys are not a complete list of everything that will be done to improve road safety over the next ten years. Current initiatives that are effective in reducing road trauma and provide value for money will continue.
The government is dedicated to ensuring that only those interventions which are effective are progressed. The new actions listed in Safer Journeys will be subject to further analysis to ensure that they can be effectively implemented. Many of the actions will still need to go through the regulatory process before they can be introduced. This will include further consultation and for some, the approval of Parliament. Actions that require funding changes will need to satisfy the funding requirements of the National Land Transport Programme.
CAN's news release: Safer Journeys welcomed by cyclists