Welcome to Saferoads 2008

Conference Aim

The Saferoads 2008 Conference will provide a platform for local government and community road safety organisations to share information about their local issues, solutions and emerging concerns as to enable them to strengthen the delivery of road safety programs that best meet the needs of the Victorian community.

Local government and RoadSafe Community Road Safety Councils continue to be important road safety partners of the Victorian Government in working together to achieve the arrive alive 2008-2017 targets. They play a major role in advocacy, increasing the understanding of road safety issues in their communities, implementing local programs and drawing attention to road safety issues important to their communities.

The Victorian Government’s arrive alive 2008-2017 road safety strategy aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 30 per cent.

By the end of 2017 the strategy will:

• Save an extra 100 lives a year
• Prevent over 2,000 serious injuries a year
• Reduce the severity of serious injuries

Working Together

In meeting these targets the Victorian Government is committed to working with its key road safety partners and the community.

arrive alive 2008-2017 recognises that road safety is a shared responsibility and that all Victorian road users must play their part in reducing road trauma. The First Action Plan of the strategy has been developed in consultation with the Victorian community and will be delivered in partnership with road users, state government agencies, local councils, RoadSafe Community Road Safety Councils, professional organisations, community groups and others.

The Government will continue to engage all Victorian communities in road safety and will consult widely in developing the remaining action plans to ensure that road safety initiatives under arrive alive 2008-2017 enjoy strong community support and reflect Victorians’ expectations for a safe transport network.

Improving road safety requires a community effort – and all Victorian road users share a responsibility to help make our roads safer.

Engaging the Community

Substantial benefits can be achieved by involving the community in road safety activities as much as possible. Community participation in road safety is essential for:

• Providing government and other decision-makers with a clear and accurate understanding of the public’s priorities and needs, especially at the local level
• Maintaining strong public support for road safety initiatives
• Disseminating information quickly at the local level
• Ensuring the effective delivery of services
• Taking road safety messages to as wide an audience as possible, especially to groups within the community that are hard to reach
• Encouraging people to act as advocates for road safety

This two-day conference will explore best practice approaches and opportunities for local government, RoadSafe Community Road Safety Councils and other community organisations to enable them to meet the challenges of improving the safety of all road users.

Workshops

To ensure the Saferoads 2008 Conference enables participants the opportunity to discuss important local road safety issues and develop ideas for the future. A number of workshops will be held across the two days.

The objectives of the workshop are to provide a forum for the presentation of latest research and evidence based program implementation and discussion to inform the next arrive alive 2008-2017 action plans as well as to provide a tool box of ideas for local community action.