Changing direction….picking up the pace. A review of community road safety in Western Australia

RoadWise was established in Western Australia in 1994 as the Local Government Road Safety Strategy and has operated within a community development model to facilitate community participation in road safety.

In 2002, coinciding with a review of the draft WA Road Safety Strategy, the Western Australian Local Government Association initiated the establishment of a Taskforce to review the roles and relationships of RoadWise. 

This review process has resulted in a shift from community development to a community organization model. Associated with the rationalization of strategies and approaches to implementing road safety at the community level is a change and clarification of the structural, reporting and advisory links between RoadWise, the Local Government and Community Road Safety Program and other road safety stakeholder agencies in WA.

This paper provides an overview of the findings and recommendations of the Taskforce, subsequently endorsed and adopted. It outlines the significant change in strategic and operational direction, and explores the challenges and opportunities experienced or envisaged as a result of this review of the community road safety program in WA.