Editorial: Local talk may be the safety voice needed

Campaigns like “Declare war on 1044” or “Drink, Drive Bloody Idiot”  have made an astonishing difference over the decades  They have factually saved hundreds if not thousands of lives.

But those great initiatives and that great community conversation about how road safety changes our lives has stalled. We need to reignite it  and we need to do it at a community level.

The Bendigo Advertiser has looked with great interest at the models set by overseas counterparts not to demonstrate that one country is better than another or to point the finger at what we are doing wrong, but rather to learn through perspective.

Countries much more populated than Australia have faced these problems before and although every country differs in its particular geography, demographics and laws, that should be no excuse for prejudice or a barrier to enlightenment.  

The synergies with Denmark are interesting and potentially highly enlightening. The population is roughly similar; Victoria’s tops six million and Denmark’s is slightly less. There are some definitive contrasts in road networks and certainly in driver behaviour, but that should not prevent government agencies from looking and learning about where they have succeeded or not and seeing what applications these may have for regional Victoria. 

One of the most interesting of these and potentially the most productive is the idea of bringing the safety message back more strongly to a local level. Currently the TAC produces strategies and campaigns for a statewide audience.

But consider the potential of a road safety campaign that not only engages the local community in regard to what risks they face and what local problems are posed, but to have local government deeply involved in the many steps of turning these problems into strategies for solution.

While legislation may take place at a higher level, the communication and education are definitely stronger when communicated a local level.

We are only beginning the journey to bring a better road toll back to a good (read zero) road toll.

The conversation should start locally for maximum effect.