Australia launches national dashboard to boost road safety

Austroads has launched Australia's first publicly accessible dashboard assessing the safety of the nation's major arterial roads.

The National AusRAP Dashboard is an interactive online tool that displays safety star ratings based on the AusRAP Road Safety Star Ratings system, which incorporates the internationally recognised iRAP (International Road Assessment Program) methodology.

This system evaluates roads using a scale from 1 star (least safe) to 5 stars (most safe), reflecting the safety features built into the road infrastructure.

Transparency and data-driven decisions

The dashboard aims to support transparency and provide critical data to help state and territory governments prioritise road upgrades with the greatest potential to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. The focus is currently on the country's busiest highways and arterial routes, where the majority of road users travel and where crashes are most likely to occur.

"We know not all roads are equal when it comes to risk. That's why the focus of AusRAP is on the country's most travelled roads – the highways and major arterial routes where millions of Australians drive every day, and where fatal and serious injury crashes are most likely to occur. By publishing star ratings and crash history data on a single, national dashboard, we're giving governments and the community a clear line of sight to where upgrades will have the greatest impact," said Geoff Allan, Austroads Chief Executive.

The tool also provides crash history data and traffic volumes.

It includes metrics such as crash density (serious crashes per kilometre per year) and crash rate (serious crashes per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled), which indicate risk based on road usage levels. Case studies demonstrating the impact of using AusRAP data for real-world safety improvements are available to illustrate these benefits.

National safety targets

The introduction of the dashboard supports Australia's goal that by 2030, at least 80% of travel should be on roads rated 3 stars or above. These measures form part of the broader Vision Zero initiative, which aspires to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on Australian roads by 2050.

Geoff Allan emphasised the ongoing nature of the road safety effort, stating:

"Road safety star ratings are a robust and trusted tool for communicating road safety information to the public, and Austroads is proud to coordinate and publish our members' results. Importantly, these results provide a snapshot in time of the safety of our roads – and there is still much work to be done to reach our goal of having 80% of all travel occur on roads rated 3 stars or better by 2030."

Star ratings are determined by factors such as road layout, speed limits, and traffic volumes rather than driver behaviour. The methodology draws on global practices and is used in more than 130 countries. According to the program, each additional star awarded to a road halves the risk of death or serious injury.

Government and partner reactions

The release of the dashboard has garnered support from a range of government agencies and road safety partners across Australia.

The Hon Jenny Aitchison, Minister for Roads and Minister for Regional Transport in New South Wales, commented:

"I welcome today's release by Austroads of the AusRAP national dashboard. You cannot fix what you do not measure. AusRAP gives us a powerful national tool to improve road safety. The Minns Labour Government has proudly played a leading role in this initiative and will use AusRAP to guide road safety investment decisions that are data and evidence based.

NSW is committed to doing everything it can to reduce the number of crashes on our roads. Every fatality and injury is a tragedy. We have already released to the public and stakeholders NSW's safety star rating data, a move towards transparency that has been widely welcomed."

In Western Australia, Rita Saffioti, Deputy Premier, Treasurer, and Minister for Transport, Sport and Recreation, said:

"WA is pleased to be part of this national initiative as it is one that supports both increased road safety as well as a consistent evidence-based approach to identifying and prioritising high risk roads.

It is encouraging to see that currently 82% of vehicle travel on the WA state network is on 3-star standard, or better, roads. We are committed to continuing to maintain and improve our state network to provide safer travel for all road users."

From the Australian Capital Territory, Benjamin Hubbard, Senior Director, Road and Path Operations at Roads ACT, added:

"Delivering safe roads and infrastructure is a significant priority for the ACT Government and a key focus of our current ACT Road Safety Action Plan. The release of the National AusRAP dashboard helps support the ACT Government's evidence-based approach to road safety and investment in achieving the Vision Zero."

Partners in road safety also welcomed the dashboard's implementation. Dr Ingrid Johnston, Chief Executive of the Australasian College of Road Safety, stated:

"ACRS values AusRAP's role in sharing road safety information, both locally and globally. By proactively measuring the safety of our roads, AusRAP facilitates a collaborative effort to improve road safety outcomes, before predictable and preventable crashes occur. ACRS recognises these results will help inform and guide improvements in safety for vehicle occupants, but more needs to be done to identify risks and develop treatments that will make roads safer for our vulnerable road users. Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists all deserve to be safe on our roads and AusRAP needs to be part of that solution."

Greg Smith, Chief Executive of iRAP, the International Road Assessment Programme, commented on the urgency of meeting national road safety targets:

"The International Road Assessment Program (iRAP) commends the members of AusRAP for publishing their results for Australia's arterial roads. There are only five years left to achieve Australia's National Road Safety Strategy target of ensuring that at least 80% of travel occurs on roads with a 3-star rating or higher by 2030. While these AusRAP results can help inform and guide the priority of work needed to achieve this ambitious objective, there is no time to lose."

Dr Richard Yeo, Chief Operating Officer of the National Transport Research Organisation, highlighted the role of transparent data sharing:

"As iRAP's Centre of Excellence in Australia and founding contributor to the evidence-based research that underpins AusRAP, the NTRO is very proud to have provided major support to the understanding by our member transport agencies of road safety risk across the nation's road networks. The public release of Star Ratings is vital in the engagement of the community in saving lives through the development of safer road infrastructure for all road users."

Future developments

This phase of the AusRAP focuses on major roads and vehicle occupants, with work underway to map crash history results and extend star ratings to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists in the future. Member agencies are considering how the coverage might be expanded to other parts of the road network in subsequent phases.

Geoff Allan addressed the scope of current and future assessments:

"We understand people may ask, 'Why not rate every road?' and the answer is: we're starting with where we can have the greatest impact, to save the most lives soonest. The roads that carry the most people are where the greatest risks – and greatest opportunities – lie."