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WINTER 2021

INSIDE: DRIVE Spotlight National Road Safety Week General News Heavy Vehicle & Agriculture Industry

DRIVE SPOTLIGHT

Transport’s Yellow Ribbon Relay raised awareness of road safety on NSW roads during National Road Safety Week.

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GENERAL NEWS

National Road Safety Week Transport held activities across the state in May to highlight National Road Safety Week.

We held a virtual Yellow Ribbon Relay across NSW, worked with road safety ambassadors in local communities and turned some of our state’s iconic monuments yellow. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Golden Guitar in Tamworth, the Memorial Clock in Mudgee and the Big Merino in Goulburn were lit yellow to raise awareness of the road trauma on NSW roads. At the NSW launch, Tahlia Mardini bravely spoke about her personal experience and loss.

Tahlia’s life changed forever in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2018, when she was involved in a horrific car crash. The crash claimed the life of her friend and placed Tahlia in a coma. One of the main contributors of the crash was speed. This tragic story is a strong reminder that speed is one of the largest contributors to road trauma in NSW. Speeding causes around 40% of road fatalities and 20% of serious injuries on our roads each year. This is almost 140 lives lost and 1,000 people seriously injured. Speed increases both the risk of a crash, as well as the likelihood of death or serious injury occurring as a result. During the week, we reached 4 million people on social media and encouraged everyone to take the pledge: to drive, so others survive. You can still show your support by taking the pledge. Thank you to all of our community partners and everyone who got involved.

GENERAL NEWS Harsher penalties for drink and drug driving Harsher penalties for combined drink and drug driving offences took effect on 28 June 2021. The law targets high risk people including those with mid-to-high range alcohol and drug levels and repeat offenders, deterring the high risk behaviour.

Driving road safety in the workplace In NSW, around one-in-four workplace fatalities occur while the person is driving or riding for work and 26% of fatalities on our roads involved a vehicle used for business. Road safety in the workplace is a shared responsibility between employers and workers. Workplaces have a key role to play in keeping their workers and others safe on our roads. The recently launched Road Safety in Your Workplace program helps employers protect their staff by embedding road safety within their Work Health and Safety plans.

Research shows the risk of fatal crashes increases 23 times with the combined use of drugs and alcohol while driving. Between 2015 and 2019, 101 serious crashes involved a driver or rider with illegal levels of both alcohol and drugs in their system. These crashes killed 98 people and left 52 people seriously injured. Penalties include increased fines and increased minimum licence disqualification periods. Alcohol interlocks are now required for people with first time mid-to-high range alcohol and drug levels as well as all subsequent combined offences. Vehicle sanctions may also be applied. This law was announced as part of the Saving Lives Accelerated Package measures, adopted by the NSW Government to tackle emerging and persistent road safety challenges.

A set of tools is available to help employers make road safety a core part of their business. The online employer toolkit includes case studies, fact sheets, toolbox talks and more. Workers can also try out an interactive online learning resource to refresh their knowledge of safe driving and riding, when travelling for work. We’re encouraging our partners to adopt this program and share the message. Visit the website to find out more about the program and how you can get involved. Safety at work is everyone’s responsibility– Drive safe. Work safe.

Based on 2015-2019 NSW road trauma data

Mobile speed camera program expansion Changes to the state’s mobile speed camera program announced late last year are now in force, helping reduce speed-related trauma on NSW roads. In November 2020, Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance and Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Paul Toole announced changes including increasing enforcement by 21,000 hours per month, a reduction of high visibility signage on mobile speed camera vehicles and the removal of warning signs. These changes were implemented on 1 July 2021 to improve safety on our roads. Speeding is a large contributor to road fatalities, so speed camera enforcement is one of the most effective, evidence-based measures to reduce speeding, ultimately saving lives and preventing injuries on NSW roads. Research shows that sufficient hours, a high number of enforcement sites, unmarked and unsigned operations and highly randomised deployment can deliver a network wide 20 to 30% reduction in casualty crashes. All revenue from mobile camera detected speeding offences is directed to the Community Road Safety Fund. Fines from mobile speed cameras are currently being used to install road safety features through the Safer Roads Program, including school crossing supervisors, flashing lights, flexible safety barriers, audio tactile line markings, wide centre lines and curve treatments which saves lives on our roads. These enhanced safety measures demonstrate our commitment to working towards zero deaths on NSW roads by 2056. To help reduce trauma on NSW roads please contact us via email towardszero@transport.nsw.gov.au for a Mobile Speed Camera communications toolkit.

Transport tells GPs to save time by going online Transport met with hundreds of doctors at a General Practitioner Conference in Homebush earlier this year. The team let GPs know they could save time for themselves and their patients by submitting Fitness to Drive medical assessment forms online. Ryan Creed, Acting Manager of the Licence Review Unit, said more than 800 GPs attended the conference. “We spoke to hundreds of GPs during the event and collaborated with HealthLink to provide GPs with live demonstrations and education around using Fitness to Drive online medical assessments,” said Ryan. The digital Fitness to Drive form helps streamline and speed up the process of GPs submitting medical assessments for drivers who require them. If you or someone you know needs a fitness to drive assessment, talk to your GP or visit the Fitness to Drive page.

Are you fit to drive? Find out more >

GENERAL NEWS

More options for drivers needing an eyesight test Before COVID-19, drivers who needed to take an eyesight test were not able to renew their driver licence online. When COVID-19 escalated, more flexibility was needed to ensure the health and safety of customers and staff. Special conditions were introduced to allow these drivers to defer their eyesight test for up to eight weeks. This meant they could renew their licence online and continue driving without having to visit a Service NSW Centre. Drivers could then visit a local optometrist or ophthalmologist to take the deferred eye test.

STAY CONNECTED

Transport recently implemented the COVID-19 approach as standard practice, to make renewing your licence as convenient as possible. Through this new process, test results are sent online to Transport and customers are quickly notified that their driving record is up to date. People may be charged a fee if they choose to have their eyes tested by an optometrist or an ophthalmologist however, free eyesight tests can still be completed at Service NSW Centres.* Visit Transport to find out more about eyesight tests and your fitness to drive. *This service is suspended due to COVID-19. Services will resume once restrictions are lifted, contact Service NSW for updates.

Connect with us on social media to keep up-to-date on announcements, safety initiatives, community projects and news that impacts your industry.

Digital Vehicle Registration trial starting soon Transport for NSW and Service NSW are trialling a new service to deliver registration documents digitally, instead of by mail. Beginning in August, the trial will test the new Digital Vehicle Registration service before it becomes available across NSW. Eligible customers will be sent an email inviting them to take part in the trial. When customers opt in through MyServiceNSW Account they will:

their

• receive their Certificate of Registration and registration reminders via email and in their MyServiceNSW Account, instead of in the mail • have immediate access to their current Certificate of Registration and to their new Certificate after they renew

The digital Certificate of Registration is a digital version of the paper certificate. If your organisation sights paper certificates as part of your operations, you will be able to accept the digital version instead. A sample of the new-look digital certificate can be viewed on the Service NSW website. Unlike paper certificates, digital certificates do not contain a notice of disposal or a transfer application. Instead, customers are encouraged to submit these online. Alternatively, paper forms can be downloaded and printed or completed at a Service NSW Centre.   For more information about the Digital Vehicle Registration trial, visit Service NSW.

HEAVY VEHICLE AND AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY NEWS

Endeavour Energy - Toolbox safety sessions Transport Industry Liaison Officer, Julian Tesch joined Endeavour Energy’s safety days at depots across Sydney and Wollongong in May. Julian spoke to drivers and supervisors about heavy vehicle driver compliance laws under the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). Topics included complying with load restraint, mass, dimensions, access to the road network, driver licences, fatigue, vehicle pre-start checks and towing of trailers. The presentation was

organised as a toolbox talk where staff could gather around vehicles, watch real-world demonstrations of highlighted topics and ask questions about regulations and compliance. Endeavour Energy employees took the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the driver/operator obligations under the NHVR. A special thanks to Endeavour Energy for their commitment to safety and inviting us to present these important topics to their employees.

PRIMEX field days This three-day agricultural and rural event, held in May, drew primary producers and heavy vehicle operators from around Northern NSW. The Transport display featured a NSW enforcement heavy vehicle (HV) with HV Compliance Inspectors on hand to answer questions from transport operators, rural contractors and farmers. The Centre for Road Safety (CRS) displayed a Boral cement agitator to demonstrate the vehicle’s blind spots to other motorists, cyclists and pedestrians from the driver’s perspective. Two crash cars from

the CRS Crash Lab were also on display. The cars had damage from head-on collisions at 60km and 100km/hr, demonstrating that speed makes a difference in surviving a car crash. Road User Safety Officers were on hand to talk to people about the display and answer questions. The event was a great opportunity to meet face to face with important members of the transport sector about HV safety and compliance, so we can work together to reduce road trauma.