Members of WALGA’s 4700-strong RoadWise community road safety network are being recognised in events across the state that acknowledge the important contribution of volunteers to the community as part of National Volunteers Week, which runs from 9 – 15 May.
WA Local Government Association President Cr Lynne Craigie said whilst many members of the community road safety network were volunteers with an interest in road safety and others had an official role through road safety partner agencies, everyone’s goal was the same – working together using the shared responsibility approach to achieve zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads.
“In many ways the contributions made by our network of road safety volunteers is invaluable,” she said.
“However, a recently completed study which aimed to explore and quantify the level of financial and in-kind contributions made by the road safety network found that individuals in the network contributed more than 4000 hours during the three-month reporting period. This represents more than 16,000 hours on an annual basis1.
“This reinforces the strength of the RoadWise Program’s well established partnership approach.
“To put an estimated dollar value on it, this study has shown that the community road safety network, supported by the WALGA RoadWise Program, generates contributions of more than $1.6 million dollars per year (based on 2015 estimated values) in in-kind and financial contributions to enable the implementation of local road safety activities2
“This is leveraged from the $1.8 million dollar support provided through the Road Trauma Trust Account and State Road Funds to Local Government Agreement funding allocations to the RoadWise Program (in 2015).
“The significance of this contribution cannot be underestimated and it is certainly cause for celebration,” Cr Craigie said.
To obtain a copy of the Estimating the value of contributions to community level action for road safety report, or find out more about our RoadWise volunteers, visit the RoadWise website at www.roadwise.asn.au.
 
Ends