Each day, 3,500 people are killed in road crashes and 100,000 suffer life-changing injuries. Without intervention, 15 million people will die on global roads and 500 million people will be injured in the decade to 2030 at a cost of USD$24 trillion in crash costs to the community.

Fatalities are just the tip of the iceberg of road trauma, with life-changing injuries presenting an enormous cost borne by individuals and the community for years.

Raising the profile of road crash injury and the potential of the Safe System Approach and the elimination of high-risk roads to prevent injury was the key goal of participation.

Keynote speaker: Peter Frazer sharing Sarah’s story

Peter Frazer, President of Safer Australian Roads and Highways (SARAH) presented an emotional tribute to his daughter Sarah, tragically killed in 2012 by a truck driver in a completely avoidable crash on the Hume Highway.

Due to the unsafe design of the road, she was unable to get her car fully off the road and it, and the NRMA tow truck that came to assist her, were struck. Since then, Peter has used his 40+ years’ experience in social justice, policy, research, law enforcement and intelligence, to positively influence legislative reform, infrastructure policy and community advocacy for 3-star or better safer roads.

Listen to Peter’s keynote presentation below (30 minutes):

Exhibiting the Road to Zero through the Safe System Approach

The exhibit featured a 6m graphics wall showcasing the necessary safe system elements to achieve zero road deaths – safe road users in 5-star vehicles on 5-star roads, travelling at safe speeds.

It also included an iRAP-TAC animation presenting the Role of Safe Roads in the Safe System.

iRAP and TAC staff were on hand to answer questions and provide a range of information resources on iRAP in Countries, Star Rating for Schools, CycleRAP, Star Rating for Designs, RAP Tools and TAC’s Road to Zero Museum.

Hear iRAP Global Programme and Communications Manager Judy Williams and TAC Head of Road Safety Sam Cockfield speak about the exhibit shared at Safety 2022:

Hosted sessions

Watch the at-times amusing, insightful and provocative session below (90 minutes), hosted by Rob McInerney and including panellists:

• Ms Nneka Henry, Head, United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF)
• Mr John Crozier, National Trauma Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
• Ms Sana’a Ramiz Alkhassawneh, YOURS: Youth for Road Safety
• Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the Department for Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organization
• Ms Monica Olyslagers, Global Innovation Manager and Safe Cities Specialist, iRAP
• Mr Martin Small, Principal, Martin Small Consulting

This interactive workshop showcased the range of iRAP and partner RAP Tools for road infrastructure safety management managed through the charity’s Innovation Framework:

For more information on these and other RAP Tools visit https://irap.org/rap-tools/.

Presentations

Link to the video presentations and abstracts below for presentations that included iRAP content:

• Creating Safer Road Designs: Star Ratings for Road Safety Audits – Kenn Beer, Principal, Safe System Solutions
• A methodology for combining life cycle costs of road safety infrastructure countermeasures – Bic Byaruhanga, Doctoral Researcher, University of Birmingham

Mark your diaries

Safety 2022 was hosted by the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) with the support of co-sponsor the World Health Organisation and supporting hosts Australasian University Safety Association and the Australasian Injury Prevention Network (AIPN).

The 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion will be held 2-4 September 2024 in Delhi, India.

Image and content credit: iRAP, TAC and PHAA. Thanks to Safety 2022 for allowing us to share the session and presentation recordings.