2026 Road Safety Action Plan
2026 Road Safety Action Plan
Someone is killed or hospitalised every
50
minutes
because of a crash on NSW roads
The Plan
The 2026 Road Safety Action Plan features new targets to halve deaths and reduce serious injuries by 30% on NSW roads by 2030. This will be achieved by building on the success of the Road Safety Plan 2021 and will focus on stronger local government action, engagement and education programs and using technology in the fight to end road trauma.
NSW's road safety targets
Ambitious but achievable trauma reduction targets help to guide our investment – and reflect the NSW Government commitment to make NSW roads the safest in the country.
2030
Halve deaths and reduce serious injuries by 30% from 2018-2020 levels by 2030.
2050
NSW has set an aspirational target of zero fatalities and serious injuries on our roads by 2050.
The road trauma challenge in NSW
The NSW road network gives all of us access to work, school, friends, families and the services we need. For many, it’s a workplace, and for all, it’s a fundamental part of everyday life that keeps the economy moving.
But sadly, lives are lost, and people are seriously injured on our roads, every day. Each year, over two-thirds of fatalities in NSW happen on country roads.
Almost half (47.7%) of people who die on country roads are country locals, and sadly males account for most of the fatalities. Fatalities on country roads also make up almost 2/3 of the total fatalities across the state.
The majority of serious injuries resulting from road crashes happen in metropolitan areas. Unlike our long downward trend in fatalities, the number of serious injuries per year is not declining.
We know that behavioural factors in fatal crashes include speeding, tired drivers and riders, drink driving, seat belt non-usage, and illicit drugs being present.
People who walk or ride a bicycle or motorcycle are vulnerable in a crash as the unprotected body can only tolerate so much force.
For road trauma data and information for staying safe on our roads, visit the Centre for Road Safety website.
The Safe System
The 2026 Road Safety Action Plan continues to adopt the internationally recognised Safe Systems approach, which is holistic and proven approach that considers how people, vehicles, speeds, and roads work together to create a safe system. The system acknowledges that:
- The human body has physical limits to withstanding the impact of a crash.
- People sometimes make mistakes – but this shouldn’t cost anyone their life.
- Roads, roadsides, travel speeds and vehicles need to be designed to help avoid a crash or reduce the impact of a crash if it happens.
- Road safety is a shared responsibility. We all need to make decisions with safety in mind, from the design of our roads and vehicles, investment, laws and education, to each road user acting safely every day.
Priority areas
Taking action to save lives, over the next five years the NSW Government will deliver across five priority areas:
1
Creating safer country roads and urban places
2
Enhancing road safety in local communities
3
Increasing the safety of light vehicles, heavy vehicles and protective equipment
4
Making safer choices on our roads
5
Ensuring the safety of vulnerable and other at-risk road users
Priority areas
Creating safer country roads and urban places
Reducing fatalities on country roads and injuries in urban environments are key areas of focus in this Plan.
Country residents rely on our roads to connect them across NSW and the rest of Australia. Roads also provide a crucial link for goods and services to regional and economic centres. Country residents make up only a third of our state’s population, but deaths on country roads made up two thirds of our road toll – around 250 lives lost each year. This trauma affects local country communities and families. On average, over 70 per cent of the lives lost on country roads are local country residents.
In contrast, urban areas bring a mix of different road users in the same environment, which means we have to design roads and places to be shared and safe for everyone. Around 70 per cent of serious injuries and one-third of fatalities occur on NSW urban roads.
What we will do
- Deliver a new Towards Zero Safer Roads Program by 2030 (subject to business case assurance and funding approval) to systematically build a safer road network through safety infrastructure and speed management, that will aim to:
- Upgrade the safety of country roads by installing full median and roadside safety barriers, mass action treatments such as rumble strips and wide centrelines, and speed zone reviews of high risk, default speed zones on low quality, high speed country roads.
- Treat urban places and local streets with safety measures such as pedestrian crossing facilities and raised safety platforms, and safer speed settings particularly 30km/h and 40km/h zones.
- Transform the safety of identified urban and rural intersections by providing left in/left out restricted access, and treating intersections with fully controlled turns and other intersection treatments.
- Increase delivery of safety infrastructure to support operation of vehicle safety features (e.g. line markings and speed zone signs to enable Intelligent Speed Assist to operate), particularly on the country road network.
- Embed Safe System requirements into all transport infrastructure projects to ensure early and ongoing assessment and management of road safety risks by:
- Introducing a new Corporate Policy with Safe System Assessment requirements at feasibility, functional design and detailed design stages of all Transport for NSW infrastructure projects
- Including Safe Systems Assessment requirements as part of the Transport for NSW assurance process for road infrastructure business cases, and providing continued road safety assurance and endorsement throughout the design, construction and operational phases of all key Transport for NSW road infrastructure projects
- Integrating Safe System Planning and Design Principles into the Transport for NSW Asset Management Framework, to embed default safety requirements in planning and design stages of all transport projects
- Integrating Safe System guidance into the Movement and Place Framework and Practitioners Guide for NSW, including safety principles from the Safe System Assessment Framework and updated NSW Speed Zoning Guidelines to ensure safe systems thinking is incorporated into the planning and design of cities and towns and surrounding streets and roads.
- Reviewing and updating Technical Direction and Guidelines to enable greater and more systematic delivery of median and roadside safety barriers and audio tactile line marking across the country road network
- Ensuring ongoing Safe System guidance through implementation of other relevant Transport for NSW policies (e.g. the Road User Space Allocation Policy) to optimise safety benefits.
- Enhance support for planners and road managers, particularly in local councils, to integrate Safe System approaches into their day-to-day activities through increased delivery of more sustainable, accessible and ongoing Safe System training
- Complete risk assessments on all regional roads, increase risk assessments across the local road network, and publish all available NSW road risk ratings to help ensure high risk roads are prioritised for treatment and maintenance.
- Fast track delivery of a range of new and innovative infrastructure treatments to transform the safety of the network, such as Rural Intersection Active Warning Systems (RIAWS) and Raised Safety Platforms, in partnership with councils.
- Further strengthen road safety information and campaigns to educate all road user groups, including pedestrians and bicycle riders, about their road safety responsibilities, safe passing distance rules, and how to better manage risks that can lead to casualty crashes in NSW.
Priority areas
Enhancing road safety in local communities
By focusing on road safety as a joint responsibility, we can work in partnership to build a safety culture and accelerate innovative solutions to move Towards Zero.
To deliver a safe system for our customers, the Plan will be underpinned by a strong and growing partnership between NSW Government agencies, local and state road authorities, education providers, business and industry, vehicle manufacturers, community organisations and road safety advocates.
We will deliver new ways to facilitate collaboration and partnerships between councils, local agencies, community stakeholders, road safety advocates, local business and industry stakeholders to deliver local solutions to road safety problems.
We will also further enhance our already high-quality data to better understand and respond to what is causing road trauma and will continue to make it available to road safety practitioners, delivery partners and the community. We will also collect data and disseminate information on safety performance to drive continuous improvement and ownership for achieving ongoing trauma reductions.
What we will do
- Review and expand the Local Government Road Safety Program to ensure every council has access to a Road Safety Officer to better resource their road safety planning, support development of network safety plans, and enhance community engagement. This will:
- Reassess the objectives, program design and funding parameters of the program
- Increase local council participation in the program
- Ensure funding resources are used to effectively incorporate road safety targets in local strategic planning processes
- Integrate the Safe System approach across local councils
- Better enable local councils to build partnerships with their communities.
- Continue to review and refine the Community Road Safety Grants Program to deliver local road safety priorities across NSW.
- Strengthen local government role and related operational and business processes in funding, planning, designing and operating safe local road networks including:
- Continuing to support local councils to deliver ongoing safety infrastructure and speed management programs in line with the priorities and targets in this Plan
- Streamlining operational and business processes to better support local government requests to lower speed limits in line with revised NSW Speed Zoning Guidelines.
- Developing new community partnership approaches in collaboration with councils to optimise speed management on the local road network
- Undertaking Safe System demonstration projects with local government to highlight local best practice.
- Support local government stewardship of road safety in their local communities by developing a new online Towards Zero Collaboration Hub for local councils that:
- Provides up-to-date data and information, research, training, and learning resources, opportunities to transfer knowledge and share best practice in road safety planning, design, management and leadership.
- Improves access to communication, education and other learning resources to support local councils to deliver driver behaviour change initiatives targeting vulnerable road users on local roads.
- Facilitates collaboration and road safety partnerships by connecting councils with local agencies, community stakeholders, road safety advocates, local business and industry stakeholders to design, develop and implement local solutions to road safety risks.
- Deliver a Toward Zero Ambassador Program to encourage local council leaders to be road safety champions, showcase local road safety partnerships and initiatives and promote the achievement of Towards Zero targets within their local communities.
- Support the Road Trauma Support Group to provide a voice for families and friends who have experienced the impact of road trauma, and to provide effective connections with other existing services.
- Develop a new online NSW Road Safety Education Centre to improve access to co-ordinated information and resources for all road users at different life stages by integrating existing education pathways and resources in a whole of life context as well as linkages to resources and programs in other agencies that support safe transport and road safety outcomes.
- Explore options for a permanent road safety exhibition as part of the new online NSW Road Safety Education Centre, to build knowledge and empower the community to make safe decisions when using the road.
Priority areas
Increasing the safety of light vehicles, heavy vehicles and protective equipment
Improvements in the safety of vehicles and protective equipment have been shown to make a big difference to your safety in a crash
The safety features of a vehicle can save lives. However, a third of vehicles in NSW fatal crashes are aged 15 years or older, and this is higher for our high-risk younger drivers. Only 38 per cent of cars and other light vehicles on NSW roads are Australasian New Car Assessment Program 5-star safety rated.
Existing technologies, such as lane keep assist and auto emergency braking can reduce the risk of a crash, or the severity of an injury if a crash occurs. Technology can also help improve safety equipment, such as child restraints, protective motorcycle clothing, and helmets.
As vehicle safety standards improve and technology continues to develop, the safest vehicles will become more automated, connected and will rely more heavily on supporting infrastructure and regulation.
What we will do
- Support and advocate the mandatory introduction of the following life-saving vehicle technologies entering the Australian vehicle market by 2023:
- In all new light vehicles: lane keep assist, back-over assist, blind spot monitoring, intelligent speed assistance and more advanced autonomous emergency braking systems
- In all new heavy vehicles: front, side and rear underrun, improved direct and indirect vision, blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist, more advanced autonomous emergency braking, and intelligent speed assistance.
- Advocate and support the faster introduction of mandatory e-call systems in all new vehicles, and the faster roll-out of compatible cellular infrastructure especially in remote and regional areas, to improve post-crash responses for customers.
- Enhance fleet procurement and management policies for NSW Government contractors, and influence policies of Industry partners and local councils, to include requirements for light commercial and heavy vehicles as well as driver monitoring system requirements for all vehicles.
- Deliver a new heavy vehicle safety strategy and partnerships with the heavy vehicle industry to improve safety of the freight task across NSW, that will include:
- Introducing minimum heavy vehicle safety requirements and technologies in government procurement contracts and fleet policies for government funded infrastructure projects and suppliers of heavy vehicles to government agencies
- Trialling and encouraging uptake of low-cost retrofitted technology options to increase vulnerable road user detection and warning on heavy vehicles and buses, and to improve direct vision from driver’s position
- Exploring inclusion of additional critical safety features, such as blind spot detection and lane keep assist, in future Transport for NSW bus procurement specifications
- Developing a safety rating program for heavy vehicles to provide operators with information on the safety performance of heavy vehicles and the level of occupant and public road user protection
- Ensuring optimal safety outcomes from the Heavy Vehicle National Law review, particularly around fatigue requirements.
- Continue to support the Construction Logistics and Community Safety – Australia Program to manage the risks of increased construction vehicle movements through:
- Promoting the adoption of minimum heavy vehicle safety requirements (e.g. blind spot technology, underrun protection, lane departure and forward collision warnings)
- Promoting requirements for driver training and logistics planning
- Encouraging other NSW agencies, local governments and major construction companies and transport operators to become Program members.
- Pilot a vehicle renewal program that provides former fleet vehicles from Government and corporate partners to younger and disadvantaged drivers to increase their use of safer vehicles and consider further options to remove less safe vehicles from the system for high risk categories of drivers.
- Deliver a new trial program to equip lane departure and collision warning systems to vehicles of younger, older and regional drivers.
- Explore opportunities to integrate vehicle safety requirements into NSW Government incentive programs that encourage take up of electric vehicles in fleets.
- Assess the feasibility of an incentive program to increase the use of motorcycle protective equipment measures, and of mandating the use of protective boots and gloves for novice riders, to reduce serious injuries among motorcyclists.
- Investigate mandating motorcycle anti-lock braking systems as part of the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme for novice motorcyclists, to prevent wheel locking and increase motorcycle stability in near-crash situations.
- Promote information to encourage safer consumer choices for new and used vehicles, and work with retailers to increase uptake of the safest motorcycle protective clothing, child restraints and motorcycle helmets.
- Enhanced vehicle and equipment testing, including testing of safety-critical driving scenarios to support connected and automated vehicle trials as well as other testing at Crashlab and the Cudal test centre, to enable uptake of new safety technologies.
- Continued influencing of vehicle safety regulation to ensure safety outcomes in NSW, including vehicle registration, roadworthiness, technical specifications, and connected and automated vehicles.
Priority areas
Making safer choices on our roads
Sharing the road with others means taking responsibility through safer decisions and choices when driving
Internationally, NSW is recognised as a leader in successfully informing and motivating people to use the roads safely, and this has helped reduce road trauma. While vehicle technology and road infrastructure can reduce this trauma in the long term, education and enforcement of unsafe road user behaviour will remain important for the foreseeable future.
What we will do
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Establish a Drug and Alcohol Road Safety Advisory Group to revitalise the strategy for drug and alcohol testing of drivers in NSW - including the scale of testing and testing processes - with a view to achieving greater efficiency, reach and deterrence of unsafe behaviour and trauma reductions.
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Continue to deliver 200,000 mobile drug tests per year to deter driving after drug use and reduce drug related road trauma.
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Seek to establish a partnership with industry and/or research organisations to encourage streamlined, effective and faster roadside drug testing.
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Deliver new and enhanced education programs for drink and drug driving offenders, consistent with the drink and drug driving education strategy.
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Develop new drug driving and drink driving behaviour change campaigns, integrated with enforcement and supported by enhanced communication materials.
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Ensure that bicyclists who are involved in fatal crashes are subject to the same mandatory drug and alcohol testing requirements as other motorists.
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Develop reforms to post-crash drug and alcohol testing so that requirements extend to drivers that are involved in crashes that cause grievous bodily harm, not only fatal crashes.
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Make enhancements to the Mandatory Alcohol Interlock Program to enable offenders who have an interlock order but develop a severe medical condition to apply to the Court for an exemption.
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Support wider scale rollout of alcohol interlocks and/or other technologies (such as passive alcohol sensors) that prevent drink-driving.
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Expand the Mobile Phone Detection Camera Program to enforce seatbelt non-use laws.
- Develop and deliver a drink and drug driving research program to:
- Monitor and share research relating to enforcement and crash risk;
- Analyse the ongoing involvement of drugs in NSW road trauma;
- Evaluate enforcement initiatives.
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Deliver the Automated Enforcement Strategy to deliver more innovative, flexible and sustainable technology solutions, optimise ongoing rollout of automated enforcement, and maximise safety benefits.
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Establish an enforcement technologies program to continue to investigate and trial new technologies that will deliver more efficient, evidence-based enforcement, targeted to high-risk behaviours.
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Evaluate new and enhanced NSW camera programs.
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Develop improved community education, engagement and awareness of speed enforcement to increase compliance and build community support for the role of speed enforcement in saving lives.
- Work with Revenue NSW to enhance road safety messaging on infringement notices from safety related camera programs, and on demerit point warning letters.
- Investigate and, if feasible, trial an offender Intelligent Speed Assist program.
- Review and consider requiring high range speeding offenders to complete an education program before they are re-licensed.
- Develop a trial, targeted education program to address risk taking by the small group of high-risk, repeat offenders who are outside the scope of current behavioural road safety initiatives.
Priority areas
Ensuring the safety of vulnerable and other at-risk road users
Despite the reduction in trauma over the last four decades, some groups remain at a greater risk of becoming a fatality or being seriously injured
Compared to drivers, pedestrians, bicycle riders and motorcycle riders are at greater risk of fatality or injury as they are less protected in a crash. Developmental factors for younger drivers and older road users increase their risk of harm on the road network, as do complex systemic, challenging and wide-ranging factors for Aboriginal road users.
What we will do
- Research the impact of telematics-based feedback on improving low risk driving behaviour and reducing motor vehicle crashes among novice drivers.
- Explore options to improve road safety in work zones, including flexible, automated enforcement measures.
- Deliver enhancements to the motorcycle Graduated Licensing Scheme to improve motorcycle safety outcomes, including consideration of:
- Licensing requirements and restrictions consistent with best practice
- Expanding the reach of and access to mandatory rider training
- Other training and assessment enhancements including instructor skill development.
- Deliver a new online Learner Licence Education and Testing Platform to enable customers to achieve a learner licence online in an integrated learning environment, and to provide:
- Enhanced accessibility to the licensing system for regional and remote communities
- Improved linkages to related resources and programs such as the Safer Driver Course and Driver Licensing Access Program
- Culturally and linguistically inclusive content design and presentation for Aboriginal people and other culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- Develop an integrated online road safety education resource for older road users to:
- Integrate the Older Driver Decision Making Tool with a range of related resources to support older road users, their families/carers and health practitioners to make informed decisions about driving safely and transitioning from driving
- Enhance communication and education about motorised mobility scooter safety
- Improve linkages to resources and programs in other agencies that support safe transport and road safety outcomes.
- Treat urban places and local streets with safety measures such as pedestrian crossing facilities, raised safety platforms, and safer speed settings particularly 30km/h and 40km/h zones.
- Further strengthen road safety information and campaigns to educate all road user groups, including pedestrians and bicycle riders, about their road safety responsibilities, safe passing distance rules, and how to better manage risks that can lead to casualty crashes in NSW.
-
Deliver a new heavy vehicle safety strategy and partnerships with the heavy vehicle industry to increase uptake of safety technology to improve detection and safety of vulnerable road users around heavy vehicles.
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Continue to educate all road users on safe interactions around heavy vehicles, highlighting the unique driving factors affecting heavy trucks.
- Continue to expand delivery of the Driver Licensing Access Program to support Aboriginal and disadvantaged road users, including from vulnerable and resettlement communities and disadvantaged youth in regional areas, to get licensed and reduce unauthorised driving.
- Partner with Aboriginal stakeholders to deliver enhanced Aboriginal road safety education and engagement resources by:
- Updating, expanding and integrating current resources
- Linking resources to broader road safety and licencing programs.
- Continued engagement at key events, such as local community events during NAIDOC Week and the NSW Aboriginal Koori Knockout competition, to share information on safe road use.
- Develop and trial a new roadside interaction guideline in partnership with NSW Police that will highlight the risks of fatigue with drivers, reflecting the latest behaviour change principles.
- Collaborate with workplace safety regulators to improve work-related road safety in all industries and build a culture of safe vehicle and road use in NSW.
- Continue to engage industry and employers of food delivery riders to support them to ensure optimal safety outcomes for delivery riders.
A strong evidence base
Road safety actions over decades have saved thousands of lives. From the introduction of mandatory seatbelts in the 1970s to the establishment of the Community Road Safety Fund, there have been a number of initiatives introduced that have helped us get closer to our goal of zero lives lost on NSW roads.
Road Safety Plan 2021 outlined proven initiatives to move NSW closer to our target, and the 2026 Road Safety Action Plan builds on the success we have seen. As part of our Future Transport Strategy, NSW has set a target of zero fatalities and serious injuries on our roads, and you can find out more about what we have delivered and continue to deliver as we roll-out our new plan.
Road safety is a shared responsibility
Achieving our goal of zero trauma on NSW roads will require all of us to get on board.
In the development of the 2026 Road Safety Action Plan, we consulted with partners, stakeholders and members of the NSW community. The consultations we conducted were well-attended and ultimately helped inform some of the initiatives you see in the plan. The 2026 Road Safety Action Plan Engagement Summary provides an overview of the engagement activities and feedback across NSW during the consultation.
Additionally, we received over 3,500 submissions to our Community Attitudes Survey. The Community Attitudes Survey Report is available as well as a summary of the findings.
Community Road Safety Fund
The Community Road Safety Fund was established in 2013 as a legal requirement to ensure fines from camera detected speeding, red-light and mobile phone use offences are only used for road safety purposes. The NSW Government also allocates additional funds to deliver targeted road safety programs and help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on NSW roads.
We are committed to working towards the goal of zero trauma on the transport network by 2056 set by Future Transport 2056. The Community Road Safety Fund allows us to continue to deliver the commitments in the 2026 Road Safety Action Plan and improve safety for our community.
Since the Fund started in 2013 over 1,400 lives have been saved. In this time we have delivered programs that are saving lives and preventing serious injuries, including:
- The world’s first mobile phone detection cameras
- Delivery of life-saving infrastructure safety treatments across the road network
- Testing and rating of child restraints
- High visibility police operations
- Road safety education for children and young people
- Road safety advertising campaigns
- School crossing supervisors and flashing lights at schools
- The Driver Licensing Access Program
- Drink and drug driving reforms
- New and used car safety ratings and vehicle research
- Road safety delivery through partnerships including local governments as well as advocates and ambassadors to promote safety initiatives.
