The Road Safety Council needs to move on.
Lower default speeds are not the hoped for silver bullet.
The member for Rumney, Tony Mulder, believes that Education, not revenue raising is the key. The state government should offer 4year learner licences and instill this significant life skill as part of the high school curriculum taught by professionals, in the classroom and with off -public street skills for the first 2 years, moving to on-street skills thereafter. Not all instruction can be done by professionals but parent and friend tutors should have completed an advanced driving course AND a short instructors course to ensure they are not passing on bad habits and attitudes.
“The Federal government should commit to increasing the road infrastructure spends to at least half the 14billion dollars it raises in fuel taxes. The current spend is under $4 billion. User pays fees collected at the bowser should upgrade the roads to the required standard dictated by its usage rather than have the standard of the road dictate frustratingly low speed limits,” Mr Mulder said.
Expert evidence presented to the current Legislative Council Committee hearings on the proposed lowering of speed limits on rural roads raises genuine concerns that global speed reduction will have little effect on serious accident rates as those who do not drive to conditions today will not be deterred by a change in signage.
The member for Rumney, Tony Mulder
