The Department of State Growth is progressively auditing popular motorcycle touring routes around Tasmania.

Safe System Motorcycle Safety Audits aim to identify low-cost, corridor-wide infrastructure treatments that will help reduce the risk of fatal and serious injury crashes occurring on key touring routes. Treatments identified by these audits will also improve the 'legibility' of each route by providing widespread and consistent information on hazards.

Each audit brings together experienced motorcyclists, road safety experts and road managers to collaboratively identify solutions that best improve road safety outcomes for motorcyclists. Touring routes are an important focus, as visiting motorcyclists represent more than 40 per cent of non-Tasmanians fatally or seriously injured on Tasmanian roads.

Audit routes have been identified based on crash data, and each audit provides an opportunity for key motorcycle stakeholders to provide input on where the next audit should take place.

On 19 March 2024, the Tasman Highway, between St Helens and Scottsdale, was audited as part of this initiative.

This route was identified as a suitable touring route to conduct a road safety audit given its crash history. Between 2013 and 2023, one motorcyclist lost their life and a further 23 were seriously injured on this route.

To support this audit the Department of State Growth conducted a pre-audit motorcyclist community survey. Motorcyclist community surveys help facilitate and evaluate these audits by providing feedback on the audited route prior to and after the implementation of infrastructure treatments. A post implementation survey will be available following completion of the treatment works.

Now that the audit of the Tasman Highway from St Helens to Scottsdale has been conducted, an audit report will be prepared for the Department of State Growth to consider. This report will include recommended infrastructure treatments to improve motorcyclist safety outcomes on the route.