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Road Safety Committee to consider road trauma in workplace and post-crash response

The will hold further public hearings for its Inquiry into Road Safety on 6 and 7 October 2021.

The hearing on 6 October 2021 will be an opportunity for the committee to hear from industry participants, regulators, and peak bodies about road safety in the workplace, with a focus on the heavy vehicle and freight sector, and the gig economy.

Committee Chair, the Hon Darren Chester MP, said that ‘vehicle use is by far the most significant contributor to work-related trauma. Over 60 per cent of worker traumatic injury fatalities involve a vehicle. With the expanding gig economy, we are likely to see increases in deaths and serious injuries on our roads unless measures are taken to enhance workplace road safety. Also critical to reducing road trauma is understanding the causes of heavy vehicle crashes, and designing measures to enable heavy vehicles to share our roads safely with other road users. Accordingly, the hearing will be an opportunity for the committee to hear about issues facing Australians who use the road as a workplace and measures that may be taken in this area to improve road safety outcomes’.

The hearing on 7 October 2021 will be an opportunity for the committee to hear from research institutions, as well as peak bodies in the medical and law enforcement sectors, about impacts of road trauma on first responders and medical professionals and measures that can be taken to enhance post-crash response.

Mr Chester said that ‘in addition to the long-lasting impacts on victims, families and communities, road trauma has a hugely significant impact on first responders, emergency services personnel and medical staff. Post-crash care—including emergency treatment, trauma care and rehabilitation—is also a key pillar of the Safe System approach and is critical to achieving our ambitious “Vision Zero” targets. Accordingly, the hearing will be an opportunity for the committee to gather valuable evidence in relation to the impacts of road trauma on first responders and the medical sector, and the measures that can be taken to reduce the impacts of road trauma through enhanced post-crash care’

Public hearing details

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Time: 9.30am to 4.15pm

Witnesses: ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Heavy Vehicle Regulator

Uber

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

Deliveroo

Australian Trucking Association

³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Road Transport Association

Toll Group

Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)

Date: Thursday, 7 October 2021

Time: 9.30am to 3.15pm

Witnesses: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons

Australasian Trauma Society

Injury Matters

Australian Road Research Board

Police Federation of Australia

Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland

Due to health and safety concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, hearings will be held remotely via videoconference and will not be open for public attendance. However, interested members of the public will be able to view proceedings via the live webcast at

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