Any death and serious injury on our roads is devastating for family and friends, as well as the wider community. This year, 27 loved ones have been lost to road trauma.
We want to remind all Tasmanians about the importance of driving safely, obeying our laws and demonstrating safe behaviours, which is why we are increasing road safety awareness advertising by 40 per cent this month.
This will boost the reach and profile of the important road safety messages, with increased print, radio and social media advertising.
On top of that, a new anti-drink-driving campaign targeted at young drivers will be launched next month, and the next stage of the anti-mobile phone use campaign will be released later this year.
These advertisements and additional funding complement the current road safety public education campaigns.
We know road safety is not just about promoting safe driving behaviours, it is also about building infrastructure to protect drivers and passengers in the event of a crash, and to protect our vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
A record $1.5 billion in Tasmanian and Australian Government funding will be spend on creating a safer road system by 2024.
In addition, we are funding $75 million for projects under the Tasmanian Road Safety Strategy Action Plan.
Today, we announced 19 new projects under our Vulnerable Road User Program* across the state, to increase safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and I urge Tasmanians to look after themselves and each other as we get out and explore our state and support Tasmanian businesses through our COVID-19 recovery.
Please always remember the Fatal Five:
*www.premier.tas.gov.au/releases/improving_safety_for_vulnerable_road_users
More Media Releases from Michael Ferguson
More Media Releases from the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport