Geelong and Surf Coast councils should follow the lead of Mornington Peninsula Shire in joining the Transport Accident Commission’s Towards Zero campaign, according to the TAC’s chief executive officer.
Mornington became the state’s first Towards Zero municipality last week when its council voted to join the campaign’s push for reduced road deaths and serious injuries, Joe Calafiore said.
Councils officially aligning with Towards Zero must commit to developing a “safer overall road system” to prevent crashes or limit their consequences, he said.
“Towards Zero is not just a campaign or a vision, it defines our approach to saving lives and we’re thrilled that Mornington has become Victoria’s first council to join the push.
“It doesn’t matter if you are in government, business or the everyday road user. We all have a role to play in reducing deaths and injuries so we would love to see more councils and other organisations taking on that responsibility.”
Mr Calafiore said some of the ways councils could participate in Towards Zero included: introducing traffic-calming measures in local streets; speed management in areas with large volumes of cyclists and pedestrians; ensuring fleets had five-star safety ratings; and promoting the campaign to residents.
“Local governments are in a great position to make their local roads safer and we would love to see more councils showing the sort of leadership we’re now seeing from Mornington Shire,” Mr Calafiore said.
