Northern Grampians Shire Council has undertaken an extensive review of its road safety strategy in a bid to reduce the number of deaths on the shire's roads.

The strategy was first prepared in 2004, with the objective being to implement strategies that would improve the safety of all people who used roads in the Northern Grampians Shire, in accordance with the Victorian Government `Arrive Alive' initiatives.

Council's general manager customer services, Jim Nolan, said the review process examined the achievements of each of the 12 action groups within the road safety strategy plan.

``To achieve this, council records were examined, and council staff and outside agencies who had been involved in the plan were interviewed,'' he said.

``It would be fair to say that originally from 2004 and for the next 18 months the plan was executed in a very timely manner.

``The actions that were achieved after this period were initiated through agency partners or as a result of circumstances in other shire projects and programs, but without specific emphasis on road safety.

``Some elements of the plan continued to achieve satisfactory outcomes with the Community Development Officer contributing to a number of valued proactive initiatives.''

Mr Nolan said as a result of the review, a number of issues were identified to be addressed, before committing to another Road Safety Strategy Plan.

These included:

* What format is best suited to this council in addressing its road safety responsibilities.

* What is the best strategy to drive the plan?

* What objectives does council wish to develop within the plan?

* What financial contribution can council make towards preparing and executing a plan?

Mr Nolan put forward several recommendations for council to consider, including that council adopt the Arrive Alive 2008-2017 road safety strategy program and select objectives that are relevant to the shire.

He also recommended that council maintain a policy that ensures safety for road users within the municipality, that council actively involve itself in Wimmera Roadsafe, that the plan annually identifies objectives and strategies that would be actioned in the next 12 months and that the objectives be prioritised by a sub-committee of the Roads Committee in accordance with a set of terms of reference.

Cr Robyn Smith praised the contents of the plan and its objectives to reduce deaths on the shire's roads.

``Anything we can do by having such a plan in place to help make our roads safer for our communities, then we should do it,'' Cr Smith said.

``We are doing our bit by pouring funds into programs that improve safety on our roads.''