This webinar will give you an overview of the causes and contributing factors behind road crashes in regional and remote areas, and strategic guidance to identify the best approaches to eliminate harm.

The research formed the basis for the update of Austroads’ Guide to Road Safety Part 5: Road Safety for Regional and Remote Areas.

Drivers and riders on regional and remote roads in Australia and New Zealand are at greater risk of deaths and injuries than those living in major cities. The fatality rate per head of population is almost five times greater in regional and remote areas than in major cities and is highest in very remote areas. In 2016, 65% of all road fatalities in Australia and 78% in New Zealand were in regional and remote areas.

Despite efforts at the national and state level to reduce those killed and seriously and injured on our regional and remote road network, road trauma on this network remains a significant public health and social problem.

In this webinar, you’ll learn about:

  • key current road safety issues in regional and remote areas based on crash data and the research literature
  • stakeholder perspectives on current issues
  • evidence-based measures and new initiatives for improving road safety in regional and remote areas
  • recommendations, aligned with the Safe System approach, that provide strategic directions for future actions
  • future opportunities for regional and remote road safety.

Join in a live Q&A with our expert panel to have your questions answered.

Presented by Melissa Watts and Dr Lisa Wundersitz

Melissa Watts is the Assistant Director Policy for the Road Safety Commission in Western Australia. She has extensive experience working for the WA public sector developing social and public policy, as well as leading service delivery operations for Western Australians, including for Aboriginal people in regional and remote WA. In her current role, Melissa is responsible for strategy and policy development, and the road safety research and evaluation program. Melissa and her team are also responsible for content development of the state’s new Road Safety Strategy, on behalf of the Road Safety Council, that will follow on from Towards Zero 2008-2020.

Dr Lisa Wundersitz is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide. With a PhD in Psychology and over 20 years of experience in road safety, Lisa has a comprehensive understanding of road user behaviour. In her role at CASR, she specialises in leading research involving young drivers, driver impairment (alcohol, drugs), driver distraction and the evaluation of behavioural road safety interventions and programs. Her work on these projects has informed and influenced Government policy across Australia. Lisa is a member of the new South Australian Road User Safety Advisory Committee. She is currently passionate about improving regional and remote road safety.

No charge but registration is essential.

Can’t make the live session? Register and we’ll send you a link to the recording.

Click here to register