NTRO has been hosting road safety forums with a difference around Australia.
It has recently held its Road Safety Revolution Forum in both Melbourne and Sydney - an invitation-only forum, featuring discussion about road safety’s wider impacts upon us all.
With road trauma rising for the first time in decades, the forum took a deep dive into the hidden toll of road trauma - the long-lasting, personal ripple effects, its aftermath on our health services, the staggering economic cost of road crashes, and why a data-driven, safety-led approach to delivering improved safety on our roads is critical.
But the difference with NTRO’s Road Safety Revolution forum is that we invited small groups of guests from outside the conventional road safety “bubble”. Most of those invited and involved in the discussions were different voices – health workers, trauma surgeons, business and industry leaders, insurance agencies, and mental health advocates among them.
Each group was presented with the challenge now facing us on the roads. Lives lost annually on Australia’s roads have risen for four consecutive years. It’s the first time this has happened since the 1960s. How do we create a change in this concerning trend?
In Sydney, Dr John Crozier AM, a trauma surgeon at Liverpool Hospital, spoke about the silent epidemic of road trauma, how fragile we are, and how poor we are at judging risk. In Melbourne, Dr Kate Martin from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Austin Health spoke about the impact that road trauma has on Victorian health services.
NTRO road safety leaders David McTiernan and Emily McLean presented at both events on road safety data through the decades, and where we are now.
At both forums, frank and open discussion facilitated by NTRO Executive Director, Roads and Road Safety, Jeff Doyle, was held after the presentations, brainstorming ways that Australia can reduce road trauma, and what needs to happen to shift the needle.
Ideas from the forums – and more will be held around Australia and potentially New Zealand in coming months – will shape NTRO’s way forward on tackling road safety.
Already NTRO has produced its four principles for a Road Safety Revolution as we look to challenge the status quo around road safety and do our bit to help reverse rising road trauma.
