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Fatalities down

Fatalities from bus and truck crashes have reduced in the last decade, according to a report

Annual deaths from bus and truck crashes have decreased in the last decade, partly because of an increase in passenger safety due to a subsidy for fitting seatbelts on school buses.

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics released the Road trauma involving heavy vehicles: crash statistics report which shows annual fatalities from crashes involving trucks and buses reduced over the last decade from 281 to 189.

The Australian Government’s Seatbelts on Regional School Buses programme is also continuing to increase passenger safety by subsidising the cost of fitting seatbelts to school buses on high risk regional school bus routes.

Successful projects under the latest round will be announced in the coming weeks.

The report also reveals that for heavy vehicle crashes, drivers and vehicle passengers accounted for 75 per cent of fatalities.

Although the statistics are trending downwards, the Australian Government is committed to working together with state and territory governments to ensure our transport networks are even safer and more productive across urban and regional Australia.

The Federal Government has committed $50 billion in the budget to build the infrastructure for the 21st century.

This includes a record $500 million investment in the national Black Spot Programme and a further $2.1 billion towards Roads to Recovery over the next five years to deliver vital funding to every council across Australia to fix local roads.

The Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Programme will also contribute to improving safety outcomes for heavy vehicle operations across Australia, targeting upgrades to road infrastructure and rest-areas and technology, among other projects.

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