Indigenous Road Safety

In Western Australia, Aboriginal people make up only 3% of the population but 9% of those killed on the roads and 8% of those hospitalised. They feature prominently in statistics relating to drink driving, pedestrian collisions and unsafe travel such as not wearing seat belts and riding in the back of trucks and utilities.

Aboriginal people are about 3 times more likely to die in crashes. Since 1971 the rates of road injury involving Aboriginal people have been increasing while the rates for non-Aboriginal people have been decreasing.

The National Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010 identified Aboriginal people as a key group not enjoying the same level of road safety as others. It stressed the need to work with Aboriginal communities to identify and implement initiatives and approaches relevant to them.

The Road Safety Council uses a safe system model to promote road safety for Aboriginal people - safe drivers in safe vehicles travelling at safe speeds on safe roads. 

While many initiatives within the Towards Zero road safety strategy benefits all road users, the strategy’s specific initiatives to improve the safety of Aboriginal people include:

• drink driving programs aimed specifically at Indigenous communities in regional and remote areas
• support for activities to increase the level of Indigenous participation in the driver licensing system through the delivery of licensing services to remote communities. 

Involving Aboriginal people and engaging with Indigenous community leaders is seen as the best way to raise awareness about road safety among Aboriginal people.  Leadership and ownership by elders and community members drives the process and provides real and sustained improvements.

An Indigenous Road Safety Manual and CD-ROM is available on the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet website.
 
Since 2006 the Office of Road Safety and Goolarri media have forged a strong working partnership to deliver Indigenous specific road safety messages to the people of the Kimberley. Goolarri Media was recognised in 2006 and 2007 by winning AVPA (Australian Video Producers Awards) for their drink driving television commercials.

Advertising is written and produced by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.

You can view the campaign material here.