FATALITY FREE FRIDAY

Today is the 17th annual Fatality Free Friday and Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack has urged motorists to take extra special caution on the roads.

“This has been an extremely successful initiative and I commend Russell White from the Australian Road Safety Foundation for all he has done to improve road safety and outcomes for all road users,” Mr McCormack said.

Mr McCormack said he was perturbed by a recent increase in road fatalities.

In March alone, New South Wales road fatalities increased by 23 per cent, the highest total since 2016.

“Fatality Free Friday was introduced to make people aware of the need to, at all times exercise caution on our roads and to try make one day, just one day, fatality free,” Mr McCormack said.

“Obviously, we’d like to see every day be fatality free.”

Mr McCormack said he “remained concerned that young drivers were over-represented in road toll statistics with those – aged under 26 – accounting for almost a quarter of Australian road fatalities.

“Lifelong safe driving habits can form very early on, particularly when a driver is learning with their driving supervisor,” Mr McCormack said. “We all need to learn how to be safe drivers and we all need to be diligent drivers at all times.”

Mr McCormack said he was concerned the recent Federal Budget excluded the Keys2Drive Program which funded 400,000 safe driving lessons that set standards for safer independent drivers, at a time where there has been 296 fatalities in NSW since April 2022.

He was also worried that a 90-day review of the previous Federal Coalition Government’s $120 billion infrastructure investment pipeline could lead to many blackspot intersections and road upgrades not given priority and he urged the Government to ensure regional road funding was prioritised at the level of the former Coalition Government.