Canterbury Bankstown Council will be writing to Premier Chris Minns calling for an urgent review of government policies and strategies for tackling the alarming number of deaths and poor driving behaviours, especially involving young people, particularly young males, with Mayor Bilal El-Hayek suggesting reducing the total number of demerit points before a loss of licence, tougher licence requirements and more education.
He told the council that “hardly a day goes by without flicking on the news and hearing about an innocent victim who has lost their life, or been badly injured, at the hands of a young driver behind the wheel of a car”.
“Over the past six weeks, there have been several incidents across the State but three, closer to home, have struck a chord with me and left most in the community numb and in disbelief,” he said.
“How many more deaths must occur before we begin to question whether the strategies that are in place are working.
“Let’s face it, over the past few years there have been countless summits, conferences both locally and globally, reports, strategies and education programs to tackle this issue with very little effect.
“In fact, if you go to the NSW Government’s Centre for Road Safety website, you will discover they have a goal of zero deaths by 2050 … having a goal and achieving it couldn’t be further from the reality when you look at what is happening on our roads.”
According to the latest available figures for NSW, speeding drivers were responsible for about 41 per cent of deaths and 24 per cent of serious injuries on NSW roads … sadly, that’s 135 deaths and nearly 1,200 others seriously injured.
The council will also be highlighting the dangers of speeding, in particular targeting drivers in the age group 16-29, on its social and digital media platforms.
Must stop killers on road
THE State Government has been called on to introduce tougher penalties to help drive down the road toll and increasing number of speed-related crashes.
