2026 Road Safety Action Plan

The 2026 Road Safety Action Plan features new targets to halve deaths and reduce serious injuries by 30% on NSW roads by 2030. This will be achieved by building on the success of the Road Safety Plan 2021 and will focus on stronger local government action, engagement and education programs and using technology in the fight to end road trauma.

The NSW road network gives all of us access to work, school, friends, families and the services we need. For many, it’s a workplace, and for all, it’s a fundamental part of everyday life that keeps the economy moving.

But sadly, lives are lost, and people are seriously injured on our roads, every day. Each year, over two-thirds of fatalities in NSW happen on country roads.

The 2026 Road Safety Action Plan continues to adopt the internationally recognised Safe Systems approach, which is holistic and proven approach that considers how people, vehicles, speeds, and roads work together to create a safe system. The system acknowledges that:

  • The human body has physical limits to withstanding the impact of a crash.

  • People sometimes make mistakes – but this shouldn’t cost anyone their life.

  • Roads, roadsides, travel speeds and vehicles need to be designed to help avoid a crash or reduce the impact of a crash if it happens.

  • Road safety is a shared responsibility. We all need to make decisions with safety in mind, from the design of our roads and vehicles, investment, laws and education, to each road user acting safely every day.

Taking action to save lives, over the next five years the NSW Government will deliver across five priority areas:

  1. Creating safer country roads and urban places

  2. Enhancing road safety in local communities

  3. Increasing the safety of light vehicles, heavy vehicles and protective equipment

  4. Making safer choices on our roads

  5. Ensuring the safety of vulnerable and other at-risk road users

Road safety actions over decades have saved thousands of lives. From the introduction of mandatory seatbelts in the 1970s to the establishment of the Community Road Safety Fund, there have been a number of initiatives introduced that have helped us get closer to our goal of zero lives lost on NSW roads. 

Road Safety Plan 2021 outlined proven initiatives to move NSW closer to the target, and the 2026 Road Safety Action Plan builds on the success we have seen. As part of the Future Transport Strategy, NSW has set a target of zero fatalities and serious injuries on our roads, and you can find out more about what they have delivered and continue to deliver as they roll-out the new plan.

Sara Johnston