Australian Road Safety Award winners

Gold Coast City Council won the Local Government Award and the Founder’s Award for Outstanding Achievement (Overall Award) for its SMART Motorcycle Training Program.

SMART is a road safety initiative that offers professional instruction for licensed motorcycle riders to help improve rider skills and knowledge of local and hinterland roads and reduce riders’ chances of crashing when faced with challenging road conditions.

Across Australia, motorcyclists are 20 times more likely to be killed in a fatal road crash than a car driver or passenger. In Queensland, fatalities from crashes involving motorcycles increased by 71.4% between 2003 and 2008 with 72 fatalities resulting from crashes involving motorcycles in 2008.

Gold Coast City Council started its Safe Motorcycle Advanced Rider Training (SMART) rider training courses in 2007, when there were 19 biker deaths in the hinterland region. While biker deaths have dropped by about a fifth around the nation over the past five years, deaths in the Gold Coast region have been more than halved with only four riders killed so far this year, one of which was due to a medical condition.

Earlier this year, Sgt Ian Birkbeck from the Gold Coast traffic branch acknowledged that since the SMART course began the fatalities in the hinterland have plummeted. "I put it down to this program," he says. "You can never have enough skills."

Council senior road safety officer Karen Burton, who started the SMART course, said the $45 courses were subsidised 50 per cent by council but were open to all riders who use the region's roads, not just ratepayers.  She said they did not knock back any riders, with some coming from northern New South Wales and the Sunshine Coast - and even a request from a Perth rider to participate. "People come from far and wide to ride our beautiful hinterland roads," she said.

Rather than just teaching riding skills, the courses which are held every fortnight from March to September, focus on road craft and mental approach to riding. Recent course participants Delvene Read, 32, and James Turner, 30, from the Lockyer Valley, said they learnt a lot from the course even though they have been riding for 13 years. "I've learnt proper cornering techniques and feel like I'm much more in control and comfortable," Read says, while Turner says the course highlighted the bad habits he had picked up.

The Fatality Free Friday Road Safety Foundation (FFFRSF) launched the Awards program – sponsored by Caltex for 2011 -- to recognise outstanding achievement and innovation in the area of road safety in Australia. 

“As well as formally recognising stakeholders’ commitment to improving road safety outcomes, we hope the Awards will encourage new standards of excellence in the road safety industry and in turn, will act as a catalyst to increase road safety activities across the nation,” FFFRSF chairman Russell White says.

“We acknowledged nine winners from a field of 35 finalists across 10 categories, representing a broad spectrum of community organisations, government, industry and individuals.

The significant number of entries and finalists reinforces that many organisations are making vital contributions towards improving road safety nationally. “I would like to congratulate the winners for their commitment to improving road safety and reducing road trauma.”

White says that, on average, four people are killed and 90 are seriously injured every day on Australia's roads. “Almost everyone has at some stage been affected by a road crash,” he says.

“As we approach the end of the first year of the global initiative, Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, it is very clear that road safety is an area where we could be doing better -- much better. Strong leadership and a federally-funded, multifaceted approach which changes the behaviour of road users will go a long way to reducing our road toll and ultimately one day achieving zero fatalities on Australian roads.”

Caltex Australia brand advertising and marketing communications manager Mark Leathan says the company was in favour of help to support safety initiatives. “Road safety is of critical importance not only for our own people and drivers, but for our customers and every road user and pedestrian,” Leathan says. “We are keen to help raise awareness of road safety initiatives through our support of the Australian Road Safety Awards.”

The Australian Road Safety Awards judging panel included: Chair of Road Safety at UNSW, Professor Raphael Grzebieta; international road safety expert Robert Klein and Senior Manager at the National Transport Commission, Dr Jeff Potter. To learn more about the Australian Road Safety Awards visit: www.australianroadsafetyawards.com.au.

The Fatality Free Friday Road Safety Foundation, established by driver safety advocate Russell White, is committed to improving road safety and reducing driver trauma and fatalities on Australian roads through community engagement, research, advocacy and education.

The Foundation’s signature events include the award-winning national road safety initiative, Fatality Free Friday, which will be held on Friday 25 May 2012, the World’s Largest Driving Lesson and the Australian Road Safety Awards.

“Road safety is a complex issue but we believe that if drivers consciously think about road safety and safe driving for just one Friday in the year, that day’s toll could be reduced to zero,” White says.

“That’s our aim. Not a single road death in Australia for just one day. Fatality Free Friday puts the emphasis back on the only people who make a real difference – those who use the road. Australians are urged to ‘take the pledge’ of Fatality Free Friday and drive to stay alive,” he says.

2011 Australian Road Safety Awards

Founder’s Award for Outstanding Achievement - Overall Winner
Winner: Gold Coast City Council, QLD
Project: SMART Motorcycle Training Program 

Community Programs
Winner: Gulgong Liquor Accord, NSW
Project: The “Nightrider” Bus 

School Programs
Winner: Youthsafe, NSW
Project: Plan2  

State Government Initiatives
Winner: Territory Insurance Office, NT
Project: Party Safe Program  

Local Government Initiative
Winner: Gold Coast City Council, QLD
Project: SMART Motorcycle Training Program  

Innovation
Winner: Visiondrive. QLD
Project: In-Vehicle Driver Recorders  

Corporate Fleet Safety
Winner: Redland City Council, QLD
Project: Fleet Safety Program  

Indigenous Road Safety
Winner: Clontarf Aboriginal College, WA
Project: Unique Driver Education Program  

Media
Winner: No winner
Highly Commended Award: The Government of South Australian Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure
Project: 1000 Horsepower – Rail Level Crossing Safety Campaign and Safety Strategy & Action Plan 2010-2012

Caltex Award
Winner: Hypodrive, QLD
Project: Hypodrive Awareness Program

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[*] In Queensland, fatalities from crashes involving motorcycles increased by 71.4% between 2003 and 2008 with 72 fatalities resulting from crashes involving motorcycles in 2008 and 42 fatalities resulting from crashes involving motorcycles in 2003. Across Australia, the rate of fatalities from motorcycle riding is 20 times higher than for car drivers and over 40% of fatal motorcycle crashes are single vehicle crashes (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads Queensland Motorcycle Safety Strategy 2009–2012).