Road Rage
Reverend the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes: I ask the Minister for Roads a question without notice. Is the Minister aware of research conducted by Australian Association of Motor Insurers , which found that 93 per cent of Australian motorists have been subject to antisocial behaviour or road rage of some type, particularly with regards to rude gestures, drivers being tailgated, drivers being forced off the road and, alarmingly, one in 20 drivers saying that they have been physically assaulted? I note that the Minister yesterday spoke about road rage involving teenagers. On Monday two men armed with a pistol led to a shooting in broad daylight at Werrington in Sydney’s west. While graphic and powerful advertising campaigns target speed and drink driving, can the Minister indicate what educational programs and measures are in place or will be established by the Roads and Traffic Authority to educate all drivers, regardless of age, concerning road rage?
The Hon. Eric Roozendaal: I thank the honourable member for this important question. Indeed, the particular incident that the honourable member refers to in St Marys is one that the police are still investigating. If anyone has any information about that matter, they should contact St Marys police. Apparently a gun was fired at a car in a road rage incident. Road rage is a global problem in all cities because of the number of vehicles on our roads. Since 1995 an added one million vehicles travel on New South Wales roads. Obviously that presents a great challenge but the Government is aware of road rage and people should stay calm in their vehicles.
There are a number of ways to address the challenge. Obviously, the $3.6 billion record Roads budget each year means that the Government is substantially improving the network, which helps to alleviate driver stress. We are not just focusing on roads; we have a duel responsibility. We must improve public transport also. We are improving the bus network—we have 43 priority bus corridors around New South Wales. We are improving the new north-west metro and rail transport. We need a combination of factors to address urban congestion that is found in all global cities.
The Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] has a number of programs in place for training young drivers. It is worth noting that it takes a young driver four years from the day of obtaining a learners permit to gain a full licence. That time allows them to mature and hopefully discourages them from antisocial behaviour, road rage or the car hooning behaviour we see from time to time. Recently the police conducted yet another anti-car hoon campaign and confiscated a number of vehicles. This included a very expensive classic Ford GT worth somewhere in the vicinity of $200,000. The driver had been caught car hooning for the second time. I am not sure whether it was a Ford XY or Ford XW GT, but I will find out. It is worth noting that police are cracking down on car hoons.
