Regional Safety Award
The Insurance Commission sponsors the Regional Safety Award at the Community Achievement Awards to promote safe road practices in regional communities. This award encourages fewer and less serious injuries from motor vehicle crashes, leading to fewer insurance claims incurring lower costs.
See Regional Achievement and Community Awards to nominate for the Regional Safety Award.
2023 Regional Safety Award Winner
Red Dirt Driving Academy/ Ngarliyarndu Bindirri Aboriginal Corporation
This program is designed to remove barriers faced by Indigenous West Australians in obtaining their driver's license in remote communities. By offering individualised support, comprehensive services, driving lessons and driver education workshops that are culturally sensitive this program helps to equip drivers with practical driving skills, good driving habits and safe road practices to keep them safe on often dangerous roads in Roebourne. In 2022, this program has helped to facilitate over 1600 driving lessons.
Introduced in 2010, this program has made significant strides in reducing traffic offenses, drink driving, and the overrepresentation of Aboriginal individuals in the justice system due to traffic-related issues.
Congratulations to Red Dirt Driving Academy/ Ngarliyarndu Bindirri Aboriginal Corporation
Photo: Fab Zanuttigh (right, General Manager Motor Injury Insurance) presents Red Dirt Driving Academy their winning trophy
Previous winners of the Regional Safety Award
| Year | Name | Initiative | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 |
| Shire of Nannup - Living with Emus | This program is designed to communicate road safety messaging to pre-drivers and learner drivers. It aims to increase the understanding of the risks while driving on regional roads, with a focus on those caused by wildlife. The initiative enabled local artist, Lewis Horne, in consultation with Nannup youth, to create a large emu sculpture from old road signs to open dialogues on road safety and driver awareness. |
| 2021 |
| Life Without Barriers - Aboriginal Driver Training Program | This program is dedicated to removing barriers for remote and regional communities through learning to drive safely and legally. The program was developed to prepare, train and equip clients with the skills and knowledge to drive safely on often dangerous roads in the Kimberley and Goldfields regions of WA. Drivers are trained to understand speed, fatigue, and gain experience in a variety of different driving conditions. By removing barriers to obtaining a drivers license, the program also provides Indigenous Western Australians with improved employability opportunities. |
| 2020 |   | Royal Perth Hospital P.A.R.T.Y. program | Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth The Royal Perth Hospital’s P.A.R.T.Y. program is a unique, evidence-based program that promotes injury prevention through vivid clinical reality, enabling young people aged 14 and above to recognise risk, make informed choices and learn about the potential traumatic consequences of risk-taking behaviour. The program provides an opportunity for young people to go ‘behind the scenes’ of a hospital, following a trauma patient’s journey and speaking with experienced trauma nurses, doctors and physiotherapists. By December 2019, more than 18,700 students have attended the program in WA. |
| 2019 |  | Boab Health Services | Boab Health Services, a primary health care services provider in the Kimberley, won for its remote travel safety systems. Its fleet of 4WDs is equipped with key safety features, including satellite tracking, emergency duress pendants, satellite phones, emergency breakdown kits and water. New employees receive comprehensive remote travel orientation training and a remote travel manual is constantly updated and developed. As a result, Boab Health Services has had no major incidents for over 21 years, involving any of its 30 staff who travel monthly to remote facilities in the Kimberley. |
2018 | 
| Narembeen Community Resource Centre | Located in the heart of the Wheatbelt, the Centre created the week-long event, S.O.C.K. – Save Our Country Kids. Rocked by five road fatalities in 2016 – all young people with direct links to Narembeen – the community responded to get road safety front of people’s minds. The Centre coordinated the week, which included a social media campaign featuring powerful stories showing the impact road tragedies have on families and the community as a whole. |
2017 | 
| Cory Payne | Cory was critically injured in 2014 and spent over three months in hospital. His rehabilitation involved re-learning how to talk and walk. Cory now educates young people about the importance of road safety and the risk of fatigue while driving. |
2016 | 
| Kimberley RoadWise Committee | The Kimberly RoadWise Committee initiated the ‘Horns and Hooves on the Highway’ road safety campaign. The campaign raised awareness of the risk of animals straying onto country roads and causing injury. Each year over 200 cattle strikes occur on Kimberley roads, many of which cause injuries to motorists. |
2015 |  | East Narrogin Primary School | East Narrogin Primary School embedded a whole of school approach to road safety in its curriculum. The school actively provides education and road safety support for teachers, parents and children. Initiatives include a ‘Road Aware Kids program’ for 4 to 15 year olds, newsletter tips on pedestrian and road safety, child car seat program, online resources, road safety posters for display at community events. |
