| Executive summary:
In July 1996, the Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB) initiated a Road Safety Task Force (RSTF) to reduce road trauma to target levels through enforcement and the use of mass media. With funding input from the MAIB, the Task Force facilitated cooperation and coordination between the Tasmanian Police (now within the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management – DPFEM), and the Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources (now the Department of State Growth – DSG). This arrangement remained until 2010 and was subject to evaluations every three years so that continued funding could be considered by the MAIB.
In October 2010, the RSTF and the Tasmanian Road Safety Council (RSC) were rolled into the new Road Safety Advisory Council (RSAC). The policy and advisory responsibilities of the Task Force and the oversight task of the Committee of Review were taken over by the RSAC. Notably, since the formation of the Department of State Growth, former high-level participation in RSAC transferred from the DSG Secretary and Police Commissioner to the next levels of leadership hierarchy: the DSG Assistant Secretary and a Tasmanian Police Assistant Commissioner. This situation remains to this day.
In 2021 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was entered into between DSG, DPFEM and the MAIB to deliver the program for a period of three years from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2024 with annual funding of just over $4 million indexed by 2% annually.
The Education and Enforcement Sub-committee (EESC) continues in its role making recommendations on public education and enforcement programs to RSAC. At present, the sub-committee is chaired by the MAIB Chief Executive Officer Paul Kingston with DPFEM represented by Assistant Commissioner Adrian Bodnar and DSG represented by Road Safety Branch Manager Craig Hoey. The EESC funding program supports marketing activities subject to a budget approved by the EESC and two full time equivalent positions in the DSG: an RSAC Marketing Manager and an assistant. The DPFEM funds support 16 additional traffic police positions across the state. An additional $400,000 funding has also been made available for additional activities during this period.
The purpose of this review is to assist the MAIB in considering future funding commitments to road safety in Tasmania beyond the current MOU. This is based predominantly on a process review of the RSAC educational and enforcement program, with particular emphasis on the three year period concluding 31 March 2024. Attention is also given to relevant broader road safety considerations as current system developments are now so significant they are likely to substantively interact with all efforts.
An approach consistent with previous evaluations was used to consider road safety data, operational data and perspectives from stakeholder interviews. Data was primarily sourced from MAIB, DSG and DPFEM. Interviews were conducted with 21 people from RSAC, Police, DSG and MAIB via a combination of online and face to face meetings including visits to each police district. | 