Sydney, March 20 (IANS) Australia, once a global leader in vehicle safety, is now lagging behind Europe in adopting life-saving technologies, experts warn.
Australia’s road toll hit a 12-year high in 2024, with 1300 deaths, up from 1258 in 2023, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics.
As road fatalities rise, calls for stronger safety regulations are growing, an article on the website of the Melbourne-based Australasian Fleet Management Association said on Wednesday.
Ingrid Johnston, CEO of the Australasian College of Road Safety, pointed out a concerning case where an Australian-sold vehicle lacked safety features included in its European counterpart, and that Australia’s vehicle safety standards are falling well behind those in Europe.
“You might think that you’ve got an identical vehicle to what’s being sold in Europe, but the Australian version is going to have had safety features removed. It’s just not acceptable,” the article quoted Johnston as saying, Xinhua news agency reported.
Europe has embraced advanced safety measures like ‘eCall’, which automatically alerts emergency services after a crash, and driver monitoring systems that detect drowsiness or distraction, she said, adding these technologies remain optional in Australia despite their proven effectiveness.
Automakers often exclude safety features in Australian models to cut costs since they are not legally required, said Johnston, calling for strengthening vehicle safety standards, enforcing smarter road policies, and implementing advanced safety technology.
In January, the government data revealed that Australia’s road death toll had hit a 12-year-high with 1300 deaths on Australian roads in 2024.
The 12-year high comes after Australia’s federal, state and territory governments in 2021 launched a 10-year national strategy to reduce the number of road deaths by half and the number of serious injuries by 30 per cent.
The National Road Safety Strategy set a target of gradually reducing road deaths from the 2018-20 annual average of 1,142 to fewer than 571 by 2030.
The BITRE report said the 2024 death toll was 127.7 per cent higher than the 2030 target.
Responding to the report, peak motoring body the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) said the national strategy is “wildly off-track”.
“It is clear current road safety approaches are inadequate and that more action is required to save lives,” AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley said in a statement.
Out of Australia’s eight states and territories, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania reported fewer road deaths in 2024 than in 2023.
In New South Wales – the country’s most populous state – the death toll was unchanged at 340 in both years, while Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory reported 79 more deaths combined in 2024 than in 2023.
November was the most dangerous month on Australian roads in 2024, with 131 deaths.
–IANS
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