Truck industry to take greater responsibility for speeding and driver fatigue
Source: Queensland. Minister for Transport. Media Release.
"New laws that require the truck industry to take greater responsibility to address issues of speeding and driver fatigue were passed by the Queensland Parliament.Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said road safety must be a focus for all levels of the truck industry, not just drivers.Under the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill employers, schedulers, operators, prime contractors and/or other parties should take reasonable steps to improve safety."

Alcohol ignition interlocks set for high risk drink drivers
Source: Queensland. Minister for Transport. Media Release.
" By the end of the year, high-risk drink drivers will be made to install an alcohol ignition interlock device or be prohibited from driving for two years under new legislation. Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said new laws within the Transport and Other Legislation Amendment Bill had the potential to affect more than 12,000 drink driving offenders each year."

Government announces review into CTP scheme
Source: Queensland. Treasurer. Media Release.
"Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the Government has directed the scheme regulator Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) to conduct a review into the state’s Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme. Mr Fraser said CTP levels today were lower than those of 2003, but a review would seek to examine the model."

Drug Driving in the Territory: an overview of issues and options—March 2010
Source: ACT. Dept of Territory and Municipal Services
"Random roadside drug testing is far from being a straightforward process, and the ACT Government has issued a discussion paper on the subject. It is crucial that Canberrans are aware of the complexities and understand the importance of getting any legislation right.
It is important to understood that random roadside drug testing is much more expensive than breath-testing for alcohol—as much as $40 per driver tested, compared with a few cents for a breath test—and much more time-consuming—potentially delaying motorists by the roadside for at least several minutes. Nor can any current tests be used to test for a full range of illicit substances."

Metropolitan Strategy Review: Sydney Towards 2036
Source: New South Wales. Premier. Media Release.
"Premier Kristina Keneally announced the beginning of the formal public consultation on Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy. The Sydney Towards 2036 discussion paper is the first stage in an extensive consultation process to review Sydney’s Metropolitan Strategy." Discussion Paper.

First Look at New Melbourne Bike Hire Scheme
Source: Victoria. Minister for Roads & Ports. Media Release
"Melbourne is just a couple of months away from having its first public bike hire scheme, with an early roll-out of the newly named Melbourne Bike Share to be up and running at the end of May, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas announced today. Mr Pallas was at the City Square with Education Minister and Member for Melbourne Bronwyn Pike on Ride-2-School Day, where one of the ten first bike stations will be introduced from Monday 31 May. He said the first Melbourne Bike Share stations would be rolled out at ten convenient city locations and house 100 new public bicycles.“The Brumby Labor Government is building a better transport system and we understand how important cycling is as a viable, sustainable and accessible travel option,” Mr Pallas said."

Alcohol Interlockers will stop drink drivers in their tracks
Source: Queensland. Premier and Minister for Transport. Media Release
"New laws will see repeat drink drivers and those with excessive blood alcohol levels pay for the installation of alcohol interlockers in their vehicles to keep them off the road. Premier Anna Bligh and Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the alcohol interlockers – which require drivers to pass a breath test before they can operate their vehicle – were part of the State Government’s determined bid to crack down on alcohol-related road fatalities."

Queensland consulted on tough new drink driving measures
Source: Queensland. Premier. Media Release
"The Queensland Government will continue its campaign against drink driving with options for strict new laws being released for consultation. Premier Anna Bligh and Transport Minister Rachel Nolan released the Drink Driving in Queensland Discussion Paper. The paper asks Queenslanders to comment on a range of tough measures, which are under consideration by the State Government. "This week we announced the roll out of the alcohol interlockers scheme for high risk drink drivers and this discussion paper is the next step in our tough drink driving strategy,” said Ms Bligh."

NEW SAFETY TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE ROADS SAFER
Source: NSW. Minister for Transport and Roads. Media release.
"New heavy vehicle safety measures, including point to point speed cameras and increased speeding fines for heavy vehicle users, come into effect this month to make regional roads safer.
Minister for Transport and Roads David Campbell said the new cameras will target speeding heavy vehicles that weigh over 4.5 tonnes by measuring the time it takes a heavy vehicle to travel a length of road."

VICTORIAN ROADS GET SMARTER WITH NEW NETWORK PLANS
Source: Victoria. Minister for Roads & Ports. Media Release
"New world-leading transport management guidelines will reduce congestion and prioritise public transports routes, bringing the best out of Melbourne’s existing road infrastructure, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas announced. Mr Pallas said the Australian-first SmartRoads operating plans would improve the efficiency of metropolitan road network for all transport modes – including trams, buses, taxis, cyclists, cars and walking.“The Brumby Labor Government is taking action to build a better transport system, so people can spend less time commuting and more time with family and friends,” Mr Pallas said.“SmartRoads is an innovative approach to managing Melbourne’s arterial road network – giving priority to different transport modes at certain times of the day.“By designating which modes have priority on particular roads, we can make the system work better for everyone, rather than every mode competing for space all on the one road. The aim is to reduce delays and congestion for commuters and make the most of our existing road space and use SmartRoads to guide planning into the future and encourage smarter road sharing.”

TRUCK LANE RESTRICTIONS TO IMPROVE VICTORIA’S FREEWAYS
Source: Victoria. Minister for Roads & Ports. Media Release
"Trucks will be restricted from the right hand lane on multi-lane freeways in Victoria as part of a Brumby Labor Government plan to improve safety and encourage better road sharing across the state, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas announced. Mr Pallas said the new restrictions would be implemented by the middle of this year on the Princes Freeway (Geelong Road) between the Western Ring Road interchange and Beach Road interchange at Lara, with a progressive rollout to follow on other freeways.“The Brumby Labor Government is listening to community concerns about road sharing and taking action to introduce lane restrictions for trucks to help create a safer and more efficient driving environment,” Mr Pallas said. Restricting trucks from the right-hand lane on freeways with three or more lanes of traffic in each direction is aimed squarely at making some of the busiest roads in the state safer, while ensuring the needs of all drivers on these roads are met."

Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Bill 2010
Source: NSW. Minister for Police. Media release.
"Minister for Police Michael Daley has announced that the NSW Government’s Police Pursuits
Legislation would be introduced into the NSW Parliament. Mr Daley said the Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Bill 2010 will ensure that those who attempt to evade police will face tough penalties for their risky and inherently dangerous behaviour."

Road Amendment (Isabelle Broadhead Child Restraint Measures) Rules 2010.
Source: NSW. Minister for Transport. Media release.
"New national safety regulations to curb the high number of children injured in car crashes come into effect in NSW. Minister for Transport and Roads David Campbell said the changes mean children up to the age of seven are now required to travel in approved child restraints or booster seats."

Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Bill 2010
Source: NSW. Minister for Police. Media Release.
"Minister for Police Michael Daley has announced that the NSW Government’s Police Pursuits
Legislation would be introduced into the NSW Parliament. Mr Daley said the Crimes Amendment (Police Pursuits) Bill 2010 will ensure that those who attempt to evade police will face tough penalties for their risky and inherently dangerous behaviour."

New Campaign to Warn on Overheight Vehicles
Source: NSW. Minister for Transport. Media Release.
"The NSW Government will today launch a campaign targeting drivers of large vehicles following a spate of overheight vehicles caught on approaches to major Sydney tunnels. Acting Minister for Transport David Borger said last year, more than 1,100 vehicles were detected as being over-height on approach to Sydney’s motorway tunnels."

The Public Transport Information and Priority System (PTIPS)
Source: NSW. Premier. Media Release.
"A record 2,000 State Government buses have been fitted with a special global positioning
priority system linking them to traffic lights to help late buses make up lost time. This means that buses can get priority over other vehicles and speed up journeys. The Public Transport Information and Priority System (PTIPS) is part of a $295 million package of bus priority measures to support the operation of strategic bus corridors across the Sydney road network."

NEW NOISE CAMERA TRIAL TO REDUCE TRUCK DISTURBANCE
Source: Victoria. Minister for Roads & Ports. Media Release
"A new noise camera system will be used to monitor heavy vehicles as part of a Brumby Labor Government commitment to reduce excessive truck noise on Victorian roads. Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas said excessive truck engine brake noise was a problem in some areas, with new noise cameras to be used for road surveillance and enforcement starting next month.“We understand people are concerned about trucks on our roads, which is why the Brumby Labor Government is taking action to build a better transport system and move trucks away from residential streets,” Mr Pallas said.“Not all heavy vehicles emit excessive noise, but loud engine brakes are inappropriate in built up areas and can affect a community’s quality of life. The new noise cameras will allow VicRoads to enforce the heavy vehicle national noise emission standards across Victoria and to reduce noise from engine brakes – with non-compliance ultimately resulting in suspension of a truck’s registration.”

Historic reforms to curb drink-driving, drug-driving
Source: ACT. Chief Minister
"Chief Minister and Minister for Transport Jon Stanhope will introduce a historic package of reforms to anti-drink-driving laws and legislate for roadside drug-testing to curb Canberra's culture of dangerous driving and to prevent deaths on ACT roads.
Mr Stanhope said the reforms were currently being drafted and would be presented to an upcoming road safety roundtable on 10 March 2010.
The reforms include greater restrictions on access to restricted licences and new sanctions for high-level or repeat drink-driving offences such as the immediate suspension of licences by police. The blood alcohol limit for learners (L-platers and P-platers) and drivers of public vehicles would be lowered from 0.02 to zero and alcohol education courses would be mandatory for drink-drivers wanting to be re-licensed. "

CRIMINALS FACE FIVE YEARS FOR HIGH-SPEED POLICE CHASES
Source: NSW. Premier. Media Release.
"Criminals who lead police on high-speed chases will face jail sentences of three years and up to five years for repeat offences, regardless of whether anyone is hurt, under new laws approved by cabinet."

Metropolitan Transport Plan: Connecting the City of Cities
Source: NSW. Premier. Media Release.
"The Metropolitan Transport Plan: Connecting the City of Cities and the Metropolitan Strategy are complementary documents which will be used to create a single view on future land use and transport planning for Sydney. This is the first time that governance, accountability and management have been integrated into a single plan."