TRAFFIC AMENDMENT (LEARNER DRIVER SUPERVISORS) BILL
Second Reading
Debate resumed from 19 September.
Mr SOURIS (Upper Hunter - Deputy Leader of the National Party) [11.24]: The Opposition supports the Traffic Amendment (Learner Driver Supervisors) Bill. The object of the bill is to amend the Traffic Act 1909 so that supervisors accompanying learner drivers will have their blood tested for the presence of alcohol if they attend or are admitted to hospital as a result of an accident on a public street involving a motor vehicle driven by a student under their supervision. Supervisors will be subject to the 0.02 blood alcohol limit as if they were driving the vehicle.
The Opposition supports any reasonably and enforceable initiative to reduce the State's road toll. More than 2,000 Australians are killed in road accidents each year, 30,000 are seriously injured and 90,000 sustain minor injuries. The Federal Government has estimated the cost of road accidents at more than $6 billion a year. That figure excludes the psychological and emotional damage caused by such accidents. It is worth pointing out that the biggest reduction in the New South Wales road toll occurred during the coalition Government's period in office. That reduction was a consequence of the massive increase in road spending. There is a clear link between improvements to roads and road safety during the coalition's period in office and the immediate reduction in the road toll.
When the coalition came to government in 1988 the total expenditure on roads was $972 million, with $53 million being spent on road safety. In the coalition's last budget overall expenditure on roads was $1.9 billion, with $206 million being spent on road safety. During the coalition's term of office it demonstrated that it was particularly willing to allocate resources to improve roads and road safety. One relatively small road improvement, the widening of the shoulders on many of our important roads, has been one of the most important road safety improvements to the road network. The creation of a safe area of asphalt on either side of the carriageway gives drivers extra room to manoeuvre to avoid car crashes. That is only one important example of the road safety improvements made by the coalition.
The reduction in the road toll that occurred during the coalition's term in office can be directly attributed to the massive increase in expenditure on roads and road safety. The amendments in the bill recognise that the supervisors of learner drivers have a great deal of responsibility, especially as in some cases the supervisors work either part time or after hours. The legislation will overcome the potential risks. In any case, the same rules should apply to both learner drivers and supervisors. I am pleased, therefore, to support the bill.
Mr GIBSON (Londonderry) [11.30], in reply: I thank Opposition members for their support for this bill and the Deputy Leader of the National Party for his comments. Let me bring the House up to speed on road safety. The big mover and shaker in road safety was a previous Labor government that introduced random breath testing in 1982. That measure virtually cut in half road deaths in this State. The New South Wales community has derived great benefit from existing drink-driving measures. This proposal will only serve to enhance that benefit. I commend the bill to the House.
Motion agreed to.
Bill read a second time and passed through remaining stages.