Federal Member for Cowper Pat Conaghan was appointed Chair of the Government’s Joint Select Committee on Road Safety this week and he is looking forward to working to try and achieve the government’s goal of zero road crash deaths.

“I have been a member of this committee since August last year and I accepted the position of chairperson on Wednesday because I want to use my practical experience in this area to try and keep motorists safe while travelling on the road,” he said.

“Still in Australia, despite all the State and Federal Government road safety campaigns, around 1,200 people die in vehicle crashes each year.

“Sadly three people have died in my own region since Saturday.

“I know what this means first-hand because I have attended the scenes of traffic fatalities when I worked as a policeman for 12 years. I also know the court process as I have been a prosecutor for New South Wales Police.

“I want to work with my parliamentary colleagues and the community to try and achieve zero road crash deaths and being involved in this committee is one way I can do that.”

The Joint Select Committee on Road Safety’s role is to inquire into and report upon:

• the effectiveness of existing road safety support services and programs, including opportunities to integrate Safe System principles into health, education, industry and transport policy;

• the impact of road trauma on the nation, including the importance of achieving zero deaths and serious injuries in remote and regional areas; and

• measures to ensure state, territory and local government road infrastructure investment incorporates the Safe System principles road trauma and incident data collection and coordination across Australia.

For more information on this Joint Select Committee visit the APH website here.