The road toll is on the rise again. It follows nearly two decades of falls. In 1981 the Australia-wide toll was a shocking 3321, falling to a low of 1760 in 1997. Since then, different states have had different experiences, but in the two most populous states, the situation looks fairly grim in 2000. Victoria and NSW both already have a higher toll so far this year, than all of last year. Interestingly, both have adopted a similar tactic this year – advertisements that are designed to shock.
This week NSW launched advertisements through the eyes of a boy filming a home video from a car’s back seat. Victoria’s campaign will concentrate on drink-driving. Victoria will also place a Christmas tree on the steps of Parliament House and dim a light for every road death.
Both these campaigns have some merit. It seems no single approach is effective indefinitely. Rather, the toll seems to fall when authorities change emphasis or add a new weapon to the fight against road trauma. Perhaps some complacency crept in around 1997 after long stretch of successful campaigns: seat belts, Breathalyzers, radar, speed and red-light cameras and double demerit points. There were even some foolish suggestions that, at 1760, Australia had taken the toll as low as could ever be expected. Not so. Australia should aim for zero road deaths. A road death should be an unusual, extraordinary thing, not something commonplace. We need a change of attitude away from present acceptance of nearly 2000 dead Australians being an acceptable price for the convenience of road transport.
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