Road Safety

ACT Road Safety information provided on these pages includes the ACT Road Safety Strategy and Action Plan and Crash Statistics. Subsequent pages provide much more road safety information organised according to "Safe System" principles.
 
A safe transport system requires responsible road user behaviour, but also makes allowance for human error and recognises that there are limits to the forces that humans can withstand in a crash.

The Safe System approach relies on – safe speeds, road safety campaigns, safe vehicles, as well as safe people/behaviours.

For example, Safe People and Safe Behaviours includes safety issues for Pedestrians, Bicyclists, Motorcyclists, Young and Novice Drivers, Older Drivers, Impaired Road Users, Heavy Vehicle Safety as well as Road Safety Advertising and Brochures.

More information is available from the Safe System links above or the section choices to the right.

 

Current News / Hot Topics:

2018 Road Safety Fund Grants Program

The 2018 ACT Road Safety Fund Grants program was opened on 9 April by Minister for Road Safety Shane Rattenbury. The Road Safety grants provide an opportunity for the community to help shape priorities in the ACT for improving road safety. Funding is available for a range of activities including road safety programs and rehabilitation services, road safety education and public awareness campaigns, research, road safety audits and feasibility studies into road design and construction.

Key funding priority areas of vulnerable road users, improving road safety through greater links and promotion of sustainable transport, speed management, impaired driving and young/novice drivers, riders and road users. Applications which fall under one of these strategic priority areas will be given a greater weighting than other projects.

Applications for this year close on 23 May 2018.

For more details about the grants program, go to ACT Road Safety Fund.

ACT Road Safety Report Card 2018

Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury, has released the ACT Road safety Report Card 2018 which shows the Government’s commitment to reducing the road toll and crashes that result in serious injuries.

The report card provides an update on the implementation status of the ACT Road Safety Action Plan 2016–2020, the ACT Road Safety Camera Strategy and the agreed recommendations arising from the 2014 Legislative Assembly inquiry into vulnerable road users and the ACT Auditor-General’s performance audit on speed cameras in the ACT. The report card also includes statistical measures of progress, including ACT reporting against national performance indicators.

2017 ACT Road Safety Fund Grants announced

The Minister for Road Safety, Mr Shane Rattenbury MLA, has announced the seven successful projects that are being funded from the 2017 ACT Road Safety Fund grants round.

Read More

ACT Road Safety Report Card 2017

Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury, has released the ACT Road Safety Report Card 2017. Information about this can be found on the ACT Road Safety Report Card 2017 news item.

Quick reference guide to mobile phone offences in the ACT

Operating a vehicle requires your full attention.  Using a mobile phone or other device while driving is distracting and extremely dangerous.  ACT Policing actively targets people illegally using their mobile phones and devices while driving. 

Tough new penalties now apply for texting, using social media or the internet while driving.  If you’re caught, you’ll face a fine of $511 and the loss of four demerit points.  If you’re a P plater, you could lose your licence for three months for a single offence. 

The penalties for using devices while driving are (as at 1 January 2017):

Offence

Infringement

Demerit points

Driver using mobile phone for messaging, social networking, mobile application or accessing internet

$511

4

Driver using mobile phone

$416

3

Drive without proper control of vehicle

$257

-

Find more information on what you can and cannot do with a mobile phone when driving, view the Quick Reference Guide [PDF 199KB].

Nominate a mobile road safety camera location

Members of the public are invited to nominate locations where mobile road safety cameras could be used to help address speeding and improve road safety. The ‘nominate a mobile camera location’ is a feature of a new road safety cameras website, which was launched by Minister for Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury on 7 September 2016.

The website aims to better engage the community in the ACT road safety camera program by inviting participation, input and feedback on the use of the ACT’s cameras. This new website can be used by the public to submit suggestions for additional mobile camera sites in the ACT. All nominations will be reviewed by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate and if the site is suitable, it will be added to the list of mobile camera locations.

The website is based on the Government’s very successful ‘Fix My Street’ web form with back-end links which will direct your nomination to the relevant people within the directorate. Another key feature of the new website is enhanced information on the purpose, performance and effectiveness of the camera program, including statistical information about infringements issued at each of the camera locations.

The new website can be accessed on the Access Canberra Website.

ACT Road Crash Report for 2015

The Minister for Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury has released the annual ACT Road Crash Report. This year’s report, which relates to the 2015 calendar year, shows that 15 people were killed and 131 hospitalised following crashes on the Territory’s roads. Last year there were 7,850 reported crashes on ACT roads, which involved 15,358 vehicles and resulted in 813 casualties. The report can be downloaded at the ACT Crash Information Page.

New driver competency relating to vulnerable road users

Minister for Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury, has announced the details of a new driver competency and enhanced testing of knowledge of road rules focused on how to drive safely around vulnerable road users – pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

This change means that a learner driver applying for a provisional licence will be required to demonstrate good observation skills, recognition and risk management and display appropriate and calm decision making to mitigate and avoid risk and harm to any vulnerable road users.

For more information please see the New driver competency relating to vulnerable road users page.

ACT Road Safety Action Plan 2016-2020

Minister for Road Safety, Shane Rattenbury, has launched the ACT Road Safety Action Plan 2016–2020 which details the 39 initiatives the Government will deliver to help achieve Vision Zero.

ACT Road Safety Action Plan [PDF 2.4 MB]