Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-103032

Hansard session: Fifty-Sixth Parliament, First Session (56-1)

Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018

Second Reading Debate

Debate resumed from 3 May 2018

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Mrs MELINDA PAVEY (OxleyMinister for Roads, Maritime and Freight) (10:42:32):

— I speak in debate on the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018, introduced by the member for Strathfield. As members would be aware, the Government has already taken action to improve safety for emergency workers who are stopped on the road or roadside, as well as for others who are present at the scene of an incident. In April the Governor approved the Road Transport Legislation Amendment (Stationary Emergency Vehicles) Regulation 2018 which introduces a new road rule and associated penalties to improve the safety of emergency workers on the road.

The stated objects of the regulation include: to require motorists to slow down and not increase speed when passing stationary emergency response vehicles, including police vehicles, ambulances and other emergency vehicles that display flashing blue or red lights; to require motorists to give way to any person on foot near such a vehicle; to provide that those requirements are offences and may be dealt with by way of a penalty notice; and to prescribe these as offences for which demerit points may be incurred. Debate on this bill comes down to the important issue of blue and red lights.

The Government's new rule will begin as a 12-month trial from 1 September 2018—I reiterate, a 12‑month trial—following a comprehensive public education campaign which is currently underway. The new rule requires that drivers do not exceed 40 kilometres per hour when passing a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing red or blue lights. It requires also that drivers give way to any person on foot in the vicinity of an emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights and not increase speed until a sufficient distance past the vehicle so as not to cause danger to any person in the vicinity of the vehicle. The new rule will apply on all roads, including motorways, highways and freeways. However, if the road has a median strip and the stationary emergency vehicle is on the other side of the median strip the rule will not apply.

The decision to introduce this rule was based on input from the Incident Management Road Safety Working Group, which was established by the Government to review current regulations and risk management processes and consider all practical measures to increase safety around emergency situations on the road network. Representatives from the Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety, the Roads and Maritime Services, the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police, the NSW State Emergency Service, NSW Ambulance, the Volunteer Rescue Association and the motoring and heavy vehicle industry, including the NRMA, participated in the working group. Some of the key considerations when developing the new rule were to ensure the approach does not introduce unacceptable risks and is simple and easy for drivers to remember and comply with.

Soon after the Government's rule was approved by the Governor in April, the member for Strathfield introduced the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018 to Parliament. The Opposition's bill seeks to repeal the Government's regulation and replace it with a rule that is more complicated and confusing for motorists and ultimately create a situation that could be more dangerous to motorists. Limiting the rule to vehicles with a blue or red flashing light, as the Government has done, makes it easier for motorists to understand and comply with. In New South Wales, we already have a culture of giving way to vehicles with red or blue flashing lights. It has been part of our road rules for some time. However, the rule proposed by the Opposition also includes tow trucks and motor breakdown service vehicles displaying amber lights and captures many other vehicles that have an orange light.

The concern with including all these vehicles is that they are a small subset of a very large number of vehicles that may be fitted with amber lights. Requiring drivers to slow down to 40 kilometres per hour when passing some vehicles with flashing amber lights but not others has the real potential to confuse drivers, particularly from a distance when it is not easy to determine what type of vehicle has an amber light flashing. On 4 March 2018, the Leader of the Opposition stated that the Opposition's rule would apply to incident response vehicles, including the NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, St John Ambulance Australia, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service and tow truck drivers.

There was no mention of roadside assistance vehicles. In May, the member for Strathfield introduced this bill requiring motorists to slow down for roadside assistance vehicles with amber lights. If claims of confusing road rules are to be levelled at anyone, they should be levelled at those opposite. The Government took the expert advice of the Incident Management Road Safety Working Group. Included in the working group were the Transport for NSW Centre for Road Safety, the Roads and Maritime Services, the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police, NSW State Emergency Service, NSW Ambulance, the Volunteer Rescue Association and the motoring and heavy vehicle industry, including the NRMA. The Government's decision was determined by experts in the field for the safety of motorists.

For the member for Strathfield to introduce a bill that requires motorists to slow down for roadside assistance vehicles and some vehicles with amber lights is confusing. South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory already have in place road rules requiring drivers to slow down when passing designated vehicles with flashing lights. That is the Government's position. Victoria, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have set the required passing speed at 40 kilometres an hour while South Australia has a 25 kilometre an hour speed limit. The Government's rule, which will commence on 1 September, will require drivers to slow down to 40 kilometres an hour when passing stationary emergency vehicles displaying flashing blue or red lights.

The new rule will include police vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks from Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service vehicles and Volunteer Rescue Association vehicles. It also includes emergency Roads and Maritime Services vehicles and Transport Management Centre vehicles permitted to use flashing red or blue lights. While the rules differ across jurisdictions, we took into consideration the rules implemented by our neighbouring States and Territories. This was done to help minimise confusion, particularly for those motorists regularly crossing our borders along the east coast. I am advised that Western Australia is the only State where the rule applies to tow trucks and breakdown service vehicles with amber lights.

Labor governments in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have taken the same approach as the New South Wales Government. We are putting road safety first and foremost. We are listening to the experts and not thinking that we have all the knowledge. We share our experiences and we look at what is happening around us. As I said, even Labor in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have taken the same approach that we in New South Wales have taken and not extended their rules to include amber flashing lights. Safety and simplicity is why the Government decided the new rule would not include an additional requirement for drivers to undertake another driving task such as move over when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle.

The rule proposed by the Opposition includes a requirement to change lanes when safe to do so. It adds another layer of complexity for motorists. I reiterate that even the Labor governments in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory have taken the same approach that New South Wales has taken: they do not require motorists to move over. The Government's new road rule strengthens and complements New South Wales' existing regulatory framework to keep emergency workers safe. In 2012 the Government released the Breakdown Safety Strategy, which outlined actions to reduce the risks around breakdowns for all road users. The strategy was developed in consultation with Transport for NSW, Roads and Maritime Services, the NRMA, the NSW Police Force and WorkCover.

Key outcomes delivered as part of this strategy include the upgrade of emergency breakdown bays on the Hume Highway; the development of the Breakdown Safety Glovebox Guide to educate drivers about managing risks in breakdown situations; the development of the Slow Down and Give Us Space campaign to encourage safe driving behaviour around emergency services; changes to the law to enable drivers of motor breakdown services, such as NRMA, response vehicles or tow trucks, to drive in the breakdown lane or shoulder under certain conditions; and the development of new standards to enable tow trucks to be controlled from the left-hand side.

Furthermore, in 2013 the Government introduced legislative changes relating to the safe passing of emergency vehicles and personnel. This meant that a court could consider the presence of obstructions or hazards, including stopped emergency vehicles and personnel when determining whether a driver has been negligent. If negligent driving does not cause death or harm, the penalty includes a $448 fine and three demerit points.The New South Wales Road Rules 78 and 79 also contain provisions requiring drivers to keep clear or give way to police and emergency vehicles that are displaying flashing blue or red lights or sounding an alarm. These are existing road rules, which the Government's new road rule will build upon from 1 September.

The Government's regulation introduced also the following penalties for failing to comply with the new rule: a $448 fine, three demerit points and a maximum court-imposed penalty of $2,200.However, the Opposition's bill does not include any changes to allow police to issue an infringement notice or demerit points. It only includes a maximum court-imposed penalty, which would mean that all drivers would be required to go to court.The Government made the decision that its rule would commence on 1 September 2018. Despite claims made by the Opposition, the Government has clearly stated that this date was chosen to ensure the community is given time to understand the requirements of the new rule and the reasons it is being implemented.

A communications campaign was launched on 29 July to build driver awareness and understanding prior to the commencement of the Government's new road rule.The comprehensive public education campaign aims to help drivers understand their responsibilities in relation to ensuring the safety of emergency workers attending to incidents at the roadside.On Facebook, the initial post featuring the online video has reached more than 2.4 million people, it has been shared almost 20,000 times, and it has attracted over 19,000 comments in the past week.I thank the member for Strathfield for agreeing with us and stating in her second reading speech that "new road rules should be complemented with a driver education and awareness campaign and we should explain these laws to the community—why they are needed and what is required to comply."Guess what? That is exactly what this Government is doing.That is why we set the 1 September starting date for trial of the new road rule—to ensure the community is aware of these new laws before they commence.

The Opposition, on the other hand, fails once again to practise what it preaches. The Opposition's bill proposes that the new rule commences on the date the bill is assented to, which would not provide the necessary time for effective community education and communication and could increase compliance and road safety risks.Furthermore, the Government's new rule will begin as a 12-month trial. The trial will be overseen by Transport for NSW, in close consultation with NSW Police, emergency service organisations and stakeholder groups.An independent evaluation of the trial will be undertaken with data, including crash statistics and traffic congestion, to be collected throughout and immediately after the trial period.

The evaluation will allow us to monitor the implementation of the new rule and how it impacts on the safety of emergency workers as well as the safety and behaviour of all road users.The evaluation will also consider driver awareness of the new road rule and community attitudes, as well as any unintended consequences that mayarise. Importantly, the review will take into account the reviews andoutcomes from other jurisdictions implementing similar rules.Any expansion of the rule to cover vehicles with other coloured lights willbe considered in conjunction with the evaluation of the 12-month trial.The Incident Management Road Safety Working Group will meet throughout the 12-month trial period to ensure that the Government continues to receive feedback, input and advice from road safety experts, emergency responders and industry and community representatives, such as the NRMA.

In closing, I reiterate that the Government has recognised the need to take a balanced and staged approach with its new road rule. We are doing this by implementing a rule that applies to one set of flashing lights—red or blue. I acknowledge also the work of Peter Frazer, the father of Sarah Frazer. Sarah's life was taken, along with that of a tow truck driver. Peter has had an incredible impact on the Government in supporting safer rules and safer standards. I know that Peter would like us to adopt the Western Australian model of the amber lights. I understand where he is coming from, given that the tow truck driver who stopped to assist his beautiful daughter had his life taken.

Duncan Gay, as Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, did a lot of work to ensure we adhered to the rules relating to the width of stopping lanes. Sarah's death was the most dreadful thing that happened to the family, but Peter took it upon himself to do great things in the area of road safety. During Road Safety Week we turned the Sydney Harbour Bridge yellow because of Peter's canvassing, passion and commitment. I understand his concerns and I respect the concerns of Roads and Maritime Services. It is not that we do not think those workers and industries should not be supported or protected; but the work we did with the working safety group showed us that we need to take a balanced and fair approach.

As I said, we have considered what happened in our neighbouring eastern coast States—Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. It is important that we have alignment, that we work together and that we learn from each other. We acknowledge that this is a big change. When I spoke to Peter last week he said, "I wish that we didn't have to have rules like this and that motorists would show common sense and curtesy." On that issue I concur with Peter. He is a good and decent man who was rocked by a tragedy that no family should ever face. Peter, along with his wife and other daughter, Jessica, is dedicating his life to ensuring there are good rules and provisions in the Road Safety Act. We will continue to work with him and to take his advice. Even though we have not accepted the argument for orange lights at this point it does not mean we do not accept or respect his advice.

As I said, it is a 12-month trial. We need to see how these rules work. Similarly, I have heard concerns from the heavy vehicle sector. If we are going to slow down to 40 kilometres an hour we need to be aware of what is in our rear-view mirrors and do it safely, knowing that it takes trucks longer to slow down. Our balanced and staged approach is reflected in the new road rule being trialled and monitored over a 12-month period. We will seek and receive feedback from motorists, emergency responders, industry stakeholders and the community over the period. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the rule in improving safety for emergency responders and all road users. We will look at the facts and the outcomes, share them with the community, and determine whether any changes need to be made. At this point in time our focus is on communicating with and educating the community on a simple and clear message, "Look for the flashing blue and red lights."

The community needs to be aware of and understand the new road rule to continue to drive safely on our roads. Like all new road rules, this rule requires behavioural changes by motorists. It should be common curtesy and we should slow down as we go around emergency responders. We need to have a clear and simple rule in place. The Government has taken and will continue to take a considered approach and listen to all stakeholders. Our approach focuses on safety and simplicity for motorists so they can understand and comply with the new road rule from next month. I remind members that more than three months ago, the Government made the regulatory changes to implement its new road rule. The communications campaign to educate the community on the road rule is already underway. We need to take one step at a time, maintain our focus on safety and simplicity and minimise any potential confusion for motorists. The Government opposes the Opposition's bill.

Mr GUY ZANGARI (Fairfield) (11:05:00):

I commend the shadow Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight for her hard work and commitment in introducing the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Emergency Vehicles) Bill 2018, which can and will make a real difference for the safety of our State's emergency and incident responders on our roads. The primary objective of the bill is to require drivers to slow down, move over [SLOMO] and ensure they are travelling at no more than 40 kilometres per hour when passing stationary emergency or incident response vehicles. Back in February this year, following a horrific accident when two police officers were seriously injured when they were crushed between two cars by a speeding driver, the Leader of the Opposition called on the Government to immediately introduce SLOMO legislation to protect our State's emergency and incident responders. The Opposition bill makes it clear that the Government sat on its hands and took no action.

SLOMO laws have been championed also by emergency services personnel and associations and Mr Peter Frazer and his family, who lost their daughter, Sarah, in 2012. Sarah's car broke down on the Hume Highway and although she did the right thing and pulled over into the breakdown lane, the roadway was too narrow for her to get her vehicle completely out of the path of passing traffic. Sadly, both Sarah and a tow truck driver, Mr Geoff Clark, were killed when a truck ploughed into their vehicles. It is a shame it has taken this long for such legislation to be introduced and I trust that those opposite will do the right thing and support the bill. The need for such legislation is recognised throughout Australia. SLOMO laws were introduced in other States and Territories. The laws are backed by the National Roads and Motorists' Association and emergency responders, including paramedics, the Health Services Union, the Fire Brigade Employees' Union, the Police Association of New South Wales and the Rural Fire Service Association of NSW Volunteer Firefighters and Staff.

A petition organised by Michael Mills in support of the introduction of SLOMO laws has been signed by more than 26,000 individuals. I have met with a number of key stakeholders on this issue in my capacity as the shadow Minister for Police, and Minister for Emergency Services and heard their concerns and advocacy on the importance of introducing SLOMO laws. Those of us on this side of the House cannot fathom why those opposite would be reluctant to support the introduction of these protections and why they are dragging their feet on this issue. We have a responsibility to protect the people of New South Wales and to introduce laws that include such protections. We need to ensure our emergency and incident responders are not placed at a greater risk simply because we have failed to introduce protections for them.

The bill provides greater protections for incident response vehicles, including those from the NSW Police Force, the Ambulance Service of NSW, St John Ambulance, fire and emergency services, the NSW Rural Fire Service, tow truck drivers and motor breakdown service vehicles. Failure to obey these laws will carry a penalty to deter individuals from breaking the law. The penalty for failing to obey the law in Western Australia is a $300 fine and three demerit points. In Victoria the penalty is $272 and no demerit points. In New South Wales the offence will carry a penalty of 20 penalty units per offence, which is a $2,200 fine, and no demerit points. NSW Labor calls on the Government to give bipartisan support to the legislation as the safety of our State's emergency and incident responders is at stake. I thank the shadow Minister for introducing this legislation in a timely manner. I only hope that the Government comes to the table and puts the community's safety before petty politics. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr MARK TAYLOR (Seven Hills) (11:09:15):

I oppose the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018. Members on this side of the House always have the safety of our emergency service workers at the forefront of our minds. I had the pleasure of being in the Chamber when the Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight elegantly and succinctly put on the record the Government's new road rule, which commences on 1 September. The Minister certainly takes to heart the safety of emergency services workers and all other road users. I draw the attention of the House to legislation that she introduced this week dealing with prescribed concentration of alcohol offences, increasing fines, and the role of alcohol interlock devices. That is great work and I commend her efforts to the House.

The Government's new road rule will protect emergency responders who are out and about every day protecting us and keeping us safe. As I said, from 1 September 2018 drivers will be required to slow their vehicles to 40 kilometres an hour when passing a stationary emergency services vehicle displaying flashing red and blue lights and to give way to any person on foot in the vicinity of the vehicle. Concerning circumstances have been reported recently in the media and in the House involving police at random breath testing locations or operating on the side of the road. Having been an operational police officer, I understand the necessity for taking whatever steps we can to ensure that emergency responders are protected. They are dealing with difficult situations and they need the protection of this House.

As I said, the Government's new road rule will apply to stationary emergency services vehicles displaying flashing red and blue lights. That includes police vehicles, ambulances, fire trucks from Fire and Rescue NSW and the Rural Fire Service, State Emergency Service vehicles and NSW Volunteer Rescue Association vehicles. It also includes emergency Roads and Maritime Service vehicles and Transport Management Centre vehicles that are permitted to use flashing red and blue lights. The message to drivers is clear and simple: If they see a stationary vehicle with flashing red and blue lights, they should slow down. The Minister emphasised that one of the key principles of road safety is simplicity. There is nothing more difficult for drivers than someone in a vehicle ahead being confused or not understanding the road rules and as a result doing something unusual or unpredictable that could cause serious problems.

The Opposition's bill proposes that the rule apply to drivers when approaching and passing additional vehicles; that is, vehicles that are permitted to display amber flashing lights, including tow trucks and breakdown service vehicles. While only designated emergency vehicles can be fitted with blue and red flashing lights, amber flashing lights are fitted to a broad range of vehicles that operate on our road network. Other vehicles that display flashing amber lights include street sweepers, garbage trucks, private security vehicles, escort vehicles, oversize vehicles, special purpose vehicles, utility and energy company vehicles and so on. The list goes on. As there is no requirement to register the use of amber flashing lights, the exact number is not known. However, it is estimated that many thousands of vehicles using them operate every day on New South Wales roads.

Requiring drivers to slow their vehicle to 40 kilometres an hour when passing some vehicles with flashing amber lights but not others has the potential to confuse drivers, particularly given that it is not easy to determine what type of vehicle in the distance has amber lights flashing. This risk would increase at night and at other times when the flashing lights are visible before the vehicle is identifiable. Once again, simplicity is at the heart of this issue. That is why the Government has decided that this rule, which will be trialled over 12 months, should apply only when drivers are passing vehicles displaying flashing blue and red lights. Of the four jurisdictions that have already introduced a requirement for drivers to slow their vehicle in emergency situations, only Western Australia requires drivers to slow down near tow trucks and breakdown service vehicles displaying flashing amber lights. Limiting the rule to vehicles with blue and red flashing lights will make it easier for drivers to understand and to comply with it. It is also more consistent with this State's neighbouring jurisdictions, such as Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.

While the new rule does not apply to drivers when passing tow trucks and breakdown service vehicles, there are nevertheless strong penalties for drivers who drive negligently near these vehicles or at a speed dangerous to the public. In 2013, this Government amended the Road Transport Act 2013 to clarify that a court can consider the presence of obstructions and hazards, including broken down or crashed vehicles, fallen loads and accident or emergency scenes, in a decision to charge a person with negligent driving. This Government has taken a considered approach that focuses on safety and simplicity for motorists so that they can understand and comply with the rules. On that basis, I oppose the bill.

Ms KATE WASHINGTON (Port Stephens) (11:14:40):

I acknowledge the impressive work of the Leader of the Opposition, Luke Foley, and the shadow Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight, Jodi McKay, who have led the public debate on the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018. The Leader of the Opposition called on the Government for the first time in February to introduce slow down, move over laws to support emergency service workers. His call followed the tragic incident on Campbelltown Road in Leumeah when two police officers were seriously injured when they were crushed between two cars by a speeding driver. Our thoughts are with those police officers and their families. When the Leader of the Opposition called on the Government to act, volunteer firefighters in the Rural Fire Service had already asked it to introduce a law requiring drivers to slow their vehicles to 40 kilometres an hour when passing emergency service vehicles that have slowed down or stopped.

South Australia introduced similar laws in 2014, Victoria adopted them in 2017, and Western Australia followed suit earlier this year. In late April, the Government took the first step towards introducing slow down, move over laws, with the announcement of a one-year trial beginning in September 2018. While this is a step in the right direction, the Government's plan does not go as far as Labor's proposal and excludes a number of important road users. Notably, the Government's proposal does not include tow truck drivers, Roads and Maritime Services [RMS] incident vehicles or NRMA roadside assistance vehicles. There could easily be a situation in which a tow truck driver clearing a vehicle after an accident would be protected by this system if a police car or fire truck were still at the scene. However, if the police car or fire truck were called away before the damaged vehicles had been loaded—or if they were not required in the first place—the protection afforded by their presence would disappear.

I was pleased to see that the chair of the NRMA, Peter Khoury, and the president of Safer Australian Roads and Highways, Peter Frazer, have both backed Labor's commitment, enshrined in this bill, to ensure that tow truck drivers, RMS incident vehicles and NRMA roadside assistance vehicles are provided with the same protections as others responding to roadside incidents. Peter's loss of his daughter in an accident is a tragedy that underpins Labor's bill dealing with this issue.

Commuters from the Hunter and Central Coast will not soon forget the horror of last week on the M1. Families have suffered unimaginable losses. We know that accidents are not simply statistics; they represent broken families and broken hearts. If we can prevent these tragic accidents, which impact so many people's lives, we should do everything we can to do so. Among those responding to these crashes are the tow truck drivers and RMS incident vehicles, but their value to these situations is ignored in the Government's trial of these slow down, move over laws. RMS incident staff can be some of the first on the scene of incidents on the M1, which is one of the busiest roads in the State. However, the Government's proposal does not give those workers the same protections that are provided to other first responders.

I am particularly aware of the importance of these laws in regional areas. Like many Hunter residents, I spend a lot of time on the M1 and on rural and regional roads, many of which do not have the sealed road shoulders and wide lanes that city residents enjoy. When accidents and breakdowns occur on these roads, there is not always the room to pull fully out of a lane or even off the road. In these situations it is even more important for passing traffic to slow down and to navigate around the vehicles involved in the accident.

Let us imagine a breakdown on one of these rural roads, where the broken-down car has pulled 90 per cent out of the lane or off the road, or if they get as far off as they can go but they just cannot get all the way off the road. A tow truck or an NRMA vehicle is there with its lights on, but there is no need for a police orambulance vehicle to respond. In that situation, the tow truck driver or NRMA mechanic has none of the protections of the slow down, move over laws.On rural or regional roads, where traffic can be travelling at high speeds on single lane roads, these tow truck drivers or NRMA mechanics work hard to get broken-down vehicles back on the road or towed to safety, while also focusing on protecting themselves and the drivers of the vehicles. Applying the slow down, move over laws to these vehicles as well would offer that extra bit of protection to help those tow truck drivers and NRMA mechanics get home safely to their families.

As a parent of teenagers learning to drive I know a common instruction for new drivers is that if they have a breakdown or a flat tyre, they should focus on their own safety as they deal with the breakdown.Too often we learn of drivers being injured while changing a driver's side tyre or when walking back to a broken-down car.These laws will give extra protections to police, firefighters and ambulances drivers in their line of duty, as they should. But the risk of injury and death on our roads is not just in the dramatic incidents and crashes.The risk on our roads is present in the smaller incidents as well—in the changing of a tyre or the loading of a broken-down car onto a tow truck.Put simply, if a car has a need to have its flashing lights on it should not matter whether it is a police random breath-testing unit or an RMS incident truck or an NRMA vehicle,it should not matter what colour those lights are; drivers should slow down and give these responders a wide berth to do their important work.

Labor's bill is a commonsense billthat seeks to extendthe protections offered by the Government's plan. I have listened to the Minister and other Government members today and I still do not understand why the Government's plan does not seek to include everyone attending to drivers who have experienced a problem on the side of the road. Simplicity has been mentioned today as a reason. I do not see how it is any simpler than slowing down regardless of what colour the flashing lights are, whether they are red, blue or orange. There is nothing simpler than that. If you see flashing lights on the side of the road you slow down.

Having seen far too many near misses and having been involved in far too many near misses, as I am sure have many people in this House, and having witnessed the rising tragic road fatality statistics, I urge everyone to show respect to each other on our roads. It is not worth risking your life or anyone else's. Take personal responsibility for your own actions and drive safely. I commend Labor's bill to the House.I thank the shadow Minister for her hard work on this important issue, which hopefully will see a reduction in tragedies on and alongside all of our roads.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (11:22:50):

I speak in opposition to the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018. The Opposition's bill seeks to repeal the Government's regulation and replace it with a rule that is more complex to both understand and implement. The primary purpose of the Government's new rule is to increase the safety of emergency responders who are on the road attending to an incident. To achieve this, it is important that the rule is simple enough for drivers to understand, remember and obey.

After careful consideration, the Government decided that the rule should apply only when passing stationary emergency vehicles displaying a blue or red flashing light. Blue or red flashing lights are already well recognised by the community. Drivers know that when they see these lights they must give way and move out of the way of the emergency vehicle. The new rule provides certainty for drivers about how they should behave when these vehicles are stationary and responding to an incident on the road. While Western Australia extended the rule to tow trucks and breakdown service vehicles with amber lights, it was decided that limiting the rule to vehicles with blue or red flashing lights will make it easier for motorists to understand and comply with the new rule. We already have a culture of giving way to emergency vehicles with red or blue flashing lights and we want to ensure that continues.

While some other jurisdictions require drivers to slow down around stationary and slow-moving emergency vehicles, having a subjective aspect of the rule that requires drivers to make a decision as to whether a vehicle is slow moving or not could result in inconsistent driver behaviour, which we do not want. That is why the Government decided that the rule should apply only when an emergency vehicle is stationary. Safety and simplicity is also why the Government decided the new rule would not include an additional requirement for drivers to move over when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle. That is because requiring drivers to change lanes while also decreasing their speed could introduce complexity and risk, especially in high-speed environments and situations. This rule is about bringing clarity to drivers about what we need them to do to ensure the safety of emergency responders while working on the road, whether it is the M1, the M4, the M5, or King Georges Road in my electorate. The Government has made a conscious decision to make the rule simple so that drivers can comply with the rule easily. Therefore, the Government opposes this bill.

Ms TRISH DOYLE (Blue Mountains) (11:25:00):I speak in favour of the Road Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018 brought to this House by my colleague Labor's shadow Minister for Roads and the member for Strathfield.The bill seeks to protect those who assist motorists. It is the culmination of work by Peter Frazer and the Sarah group to ensure that motorists, first responders and emergency services workers, as well as incident response workers such as NRMA mechanics or tow truck drivers are kept safe on our roads and highways.

The member for Strathfield introduced this bill in May during National Road Safety Week. At the time I made the observation that while road safety is important for every electorate, it is especially so in the Blue Mountains electorate. The Great Western Highway is a way of life for almost every resident of the Blue Mountains.Not only is it our connection to jobs and commerce in Sydney or Lithgow, it is also our main arterial road between each village and town to the shopping centres of Springwood, Katoomba and Winmalee.Likewise, for constituents in Mount Wilson, Mount Irvine and Mount Tomah at the northern end of my electorate, the Bells Line of Road is a similar fact of daily life for every resident.

For those reasons, road safety is front of mind for everyone in the Blue Mountains electorate.It is therefore not surprising that the push for a slow down, move over bill that properly protects emergency services workers and incident response workers has been brought to this place on the back of the tireless work of one of our own, Blue Mountains resident Peter Frazer.The Frazer family tragically lost 23-year-old Sarah in 2012, when she and the tow truck driver assisting her were struck by a heavy vehicle as they stood beside the road on the Hume Highway.The section of road at that location did not have a wide enough breakdown lane, which was clearly a contributing factor to the accident. But with a posted speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour, there was considerable risk regardless of the space available. That is why it is so important that vehicles slow down and move over as they pass a breakdown or road accident.

I note that the NSW Rural Fire Service Association, the Fire Brigade Employees Union and the Police Associationof New South Wales have also been campaigning hard for the safety of their members and that this has culminated in the Government's legislation to protect emergency services workers exposed to similar risks on our roadsides.But the NRMA and the Safer Australian Roads and Highways Group make the point that the current legislation, due to come into effect in September this year, does not go far enough.efforts by the Government to grapple with the road toll in this State.We have a situation on our roads where, despite cars being built to ever-improving safety standards and new roads infrastructure being of a higher quality and designed to evermorestringent requirements, the road toll is rising once again.

I note the genuine

Motorists in the Blue Mountains would recall the horror road toll of the 1990s. In that decade, the average annual rate of road fatalities per 100,000 population was 10.92. We can put that down to a few things.The average age of the vehicle fleet on New South Wales roads then was older, the cars were less able to withstand a significant crash and they were more likely to be in a crash to begin with as they lacked active safety features such as traction control and anti-lock braking systems. Moreover, major arterial roads such as the Great Western Highway were often narrow, two-lane roads, where cars, trucks, cyclists and pedestrians competed for space on a narrow, winding road corridor.

I highlight this because in the absence today of these circumstances it is timely to consider why the road toll is still so high when our cars and road infrastructure have never been safer.Whereas in the 1980s the road toll was 16.75 per 100,000 people and in the 1990s it had reduced to 10.92 per 100,000, it has been stuck, over the past decade, at 5.66 per 100,000.The road toll in Germany, however, last year was 4.3, in Denmark it was 3.5 and in the United Kingdom it was 2.9.While we can account for some of these discrepancies with the types of journey undertaken and the prevalence of road trauma on country roads involving long journey times, where fatigue is clearly a factor, we must also acknowledge that driver distraction and inattention is a significant contributing factor to traumatic road accidents.

So the Government, rightly, has had to step in to create new laws to ensure safety on our roads. New laws allow electronic surveillance of roads to catch drivers using mobile phones.We have new laws to ensure drivers provide adequate space when passing cyclists, prompting—you would hope—motorists to pay closer attention to vulnerable road users in cycle lanes and on road shoulders beside the main traffic lane. Now we have a new law to compel motorists to slow down and move over as they pass emergency services vehicles. Once again, it is hoped that motorists will notice, pay attention to, and then respond thoughtfully, to roadside emergency services workers.

The bill we are debating seeks to address the one glaring omission in the Government's otherwise commendable legislation—the safety of motorists and incident responders such as NRMA workers or tow truck drivers on our roadsides.Labor acknowledges the work of the NRMA and their interstate counterparts on this issue.For example, the Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, found that 91 per cent of patrols had experienced a near miss in the past 12 months and 20 per cent had experienced a near miss at least once a week.Furthermore, the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland [RACQ] urged our colleagues in the Queensland Parliament to avoid adopting the New South Wales Government's legislation, which the RACQ described as confusing and failing to offer proper protection to emergency services and roadside workers.

New South Wales has fallen behind nationally on this issue.South Australia has had similar laws in force since 2014. Victoria has had laws in force since last year and Western Australian laws came into effect in May 2018.There is therefore no reason I can see not to follow suit and harmonise our legislation with other jurisdictions.This is, after all, the standard practice with other road safety matters. We harmonised the vast bulk of our road rules nationwide with the adoption of the Australian Road Rules Act in 1999 at a Federal level and the States adopting this Act as their own rules by legislation.

It should therefore not only be a very easy process but indeed a very desirable one to have a single standard across as many States and Territories as practical for the safety of roadside emergency service workers and incident responders such as NRMA mechanics and tow truck drivers.So it ought to be a very simple and very unremarkable process that we now follow, in which the Government either supports this bill today or it amends its own legislation to capture the objects of this private member's bill.This bill is not about the Minister for Roads being wedged by the Opposition, though I fear if she continues to dig her heels in against the measures we have put forward that she will find herself wedged nonetheless in the eyes of the community and within the public debate.

We should set that to one side and come together to give these workers left out by the Government's legislation the safest possible workplace, include in these new road rules incident responders such as the NRMA mechanics and towtruck drivers who come to our aid on the roadside and make sure motorists do slow down and move over as they pass breakdowns or road accidents.The SarahGroup's catch cry is "Drive So Others Survive".I note that Peter Frazer has been putting forward this very simple message in the six years since the tragic loss of his daughter Sarah.It is therefore high time we put that message into the statutes and ensured that everybody who travels or works on our roads is safe, and that they are given the best possible chance of making it home safely on our roads and highways.

Ms LIESL TESCH (Gosford) (11:36:52):It is with great sadness that I speak on theRoad Rules Amendment (Slowing Down for Police and Incident Response Vehicles) Bill 2018 today.As the member for Gosford and a member of the Central Coast community, I know that we have to do as much as we possibly can to protect every single life on our roads.Two weeks ago my sister called me to make sure I wasnot on the M1, as another fiery truck accident took the lives of two people and sent five people to hospital.The next morning we awoke to hear about another life lost at Warnervale.

Nine people have died on the 130-kilometre stretch of the M1 since this time last year—well above the 2.9 annual average of the past 10 years.Police and transport officials have issued alerts for at least 38 accidents on the M1 in the past year, all of them serious enough to close lanes and back up traffic for kilometres. Almost half occurred on or between the Hawkesbury River and Mooney Mooney Creek bridges in the Gosford electorate. I thank all of the emergency workers and roadside workers who have stopped to support people who have been injured on the roads of New South Wales. Six of the nine fatalities in the past year involved trucks, and three of those who died were struck while outside their vehicles.We must do more to warn motorists of risks ahead, and commit motorists to slowing down. The current banked-up traffic on the M1 due to upgrades is creating havoc enough for commuters. Let us act now to ensure we lose no more lives.

As a wheelchair athlete I have a number of friends who have been injured in motor vehicle accidents on New South Wales roads, and would like to share the story of Illawarra champion Eino Okkonen, as it relates to the importance of protecting workers in the light of today's SloMo—slow down, move over—legislation.As an able-bodied man, Eino stopped to assist a woman change a tyre on the edge of a busy road, and was sideswiped by a speeding vehicle. Eino's leg was severed just below the knee during this accident. He recalls putting a tourniquet on his own leg. He has gone on to lead the foundation of the Illawarra RollerHawks wheelchair basketball team and continues to play in local and regional competitions.

Eino took the risk and stopped to help. While this bill does not address individuals such as Eino, it does address protecting the lives of all those who are professionals whose job it is to assist on the roadside at the time of an accident. The Government must protect all workers at their places of work in New South Wales. Eino is a great example of someone who is living life to the fullest as an amputee, but let us protect all our workers, because we do not want people going home from work missing a limb or, even worse, families missing a family member as a result of injury on the roadside.

We call on the Berejiklian Government to ensure the slow down, move over bill will include all incident responders, including tow truck drivers, Roads and Maritime Services incident vehicles and NRMA roadside assistance vehicles—not just those with the blue and red lights. Tow truck drivers and roadside assistance workers also heed the call when motorists get into trouble on the road, so we must make surethe roadside, their workplace, is safe.Incident response vehicles should include the NSW Police Force, the Ambulance Service of NSW, St Johns Ambulance, Fire and Rescue NSW,the NSW Rural Fire Service, tow truck drivers, and motor breakdown service vehicles.

Next month the Berejiklian Government will start a one‑year trial only of Slow Down, Move Over [SLOMO] laws but they will not include tow‑truck drivers, Roads and Maritime Services [RMS] incident vehicles or NRMA roadside assistance vehicles. I ask members to think about the families of workers who are out there on the roads as we consider this trial and move to include those people in the trial. Labor's Slow Down, Move Over laws require drivers to reduce their speed to a maximum of 40 kilometres per hour when passing stationary emergency or incident response vehicles.

On behalf of the husbands and wives, kids and families of workers out there every day—just like Eino's family—on the sides of our expressways and roads supporting people injured at times of accidents, working to save lives and protect properties, I say, "Please! We want to ensure that every worker in New South Wales goes home safe at the end of the day." Our shadow Minister for Roads, Jodi McKay, is joined by the NRMA's Peter Khoury and SARAH— Safer Australian Roads and Highways—President Peter Frazer, who are also calling for SLOMO laws to ensure protection and include all New South Wales incident responders.

The Government must legislate and educate drivers. We know that the Berejiklian Government's trial of SLOMO laws does not go far enough. We need to ensure that we put in place the best protection we can for all emergency responders when they are on our roads. People need to remember that every time they get behind the wheel, they are responsible not only for their own lives but also the lives of every motorist. In closing, I send love and condolences to the families and friends of all those who have lost a loved one on New South Wales roads.

Business interrupted.