Principles for decision-making and investment

The following principles will guide the South Australian Government’s decision-making on transport related investments, policy setting, programs and initiatives.

They support the vision of this strategy and will contribute to eliminating serious harm.

Decisions taken over the life of the Strategy will be consistent with these principles and work towards the objectives of safer roads, safer vehicles and safer user behaviour.

• Road safety will be a key criterion in all decision-making frameworks for investment decisions and policy setting.
• Roads will be designed to be forgiving of unintentional human error, meaning that design features should result in crashes being less likely to happen and, if they do occur, having a less severe outcome.
• The road environment will be safe for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
• Current known road safety issues will be prioritised for treatment, while being flexible and responsive to emerging issues, and consider innovative solutions (and opportunities such as technological advancements).
• When designing, building and upgrading road infrastructure, and planning maintenance, safety requirements and safety outcomes will be given priority.
• Well-informed choices will be made that are evidence-based, prioritising investments to cost-effective solutions that are affordable and proportionate to the benefits they deliver.
• Input will be sought from communities and stakeholders, and consideration will be given to the issues that are raised that materially impact road safety.
• In planning the transport network, we will consider the function of roads and the adjacent land use to provide safe movement and safe use for road users and visitors.

Note, the principles are not in any order of priority.