The evolving role of Australian road and vehicle standards rules in the promotion of road safety

The Australian road rules and vehicle standard rules were established in 1999, in large part, to improve mobility and safety in Australia’s road network. The rules improve mobility and safety by updating, standardising and simplifying traffic regulations, prescribing and prohibiting various behaviour, and providing guidance to resolve conflicts. The rules are periodically revised; nine amendment packages have been approved since their introduction. The National Transport Commission oversees the revision of the rules. In 2011 the commission issued a public discussion paper inviting government, industry and citizens to comment on the rules, and specifically, whether and how effectively they promote road safety. Respondents’ feedback has provided the commission with much valuable information about community knowledge and expectations of the rules. More broadly, the commission has gained insight into what measures the Australian community wants to see taken to make the road network safer. In this paper, the commission will describe how these views will influence the evolving role of the road and vehicle standards in promoting road safety, in concert with the broad range of traffic solutions that governments, designers, engineers and planners use.