Road Safety in Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Remote Communities
Keywords: General
ARSRPE
Submission Date: 2001
Abstract
Queensland Transport has initiated a range of actions to address the over representation of indigenous people living in the remote areas of Queensland, involved in road crashes.
Research indicates indigenous people throughout Australia are three times more likely to be involved in road trauma than non-indigenous persons. A survey of five remote Queensland communities indicated the overrepresentation could be as high as six times.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Road Safety Remote Communities Project started in 1997 ? a six year project. Outcomes of this project will influence future directions of road safety in Queensland. Through a community capacity building approach, many road safety activities were conducted in aboriginal communities.
Community members, driven by an increased awareness of road safety, participated in a Queensland Transport facilitated working group, which developed a road safety action plan. It was identified that while actions can be taken in individual communities there were significant road safety issues common to most communities, including knowledge and access to obtain driver licences, safety standards of vehicles, infrastructure and public education. It was recognised that a co-ordinated approach was required to address these issues. Queensland Transport initiated committees/groups within the department and in association with other departments to address the major issues, while working within whole of government frameworks including Cape York Partnerships and the Cape York Partnership 2010 Plan.