ROAD SAFETY SPECIALISTS — VICTORIA · NSW · SA
Road safety advice
councils can afford
to actually build.
Vision Zero Australia provides deeply considered, innovative road safety engineering to local governments across regional and rural Australia — designed to be built, not filed.
2020 AWARD RECIPIENT
Australasian College of Road Safety
3M Diamond Road Safety Award
Based in Mildura and Melbourne — working across Victoria, NSW and SA
THE PROBLEM WE SOLVE
The barrier isn't always money. Sometimes it's alignment.
Councils across regional and rural Australia face two distinct problems when it comes to road safety investment.
The first is cost. A consultant recommends a $500,000 treatment. The budget doesn't stretch that far. The report goes in a drawer. The crash history continues — and in a regional town, that history is personal, as locals know the people involved.
The second is harder to see. A council has funding — which could be up to $2 million sitting in a state programme allocation — and still can't get the work built. The designs don't meet programme criteria. The state agency and the council are reading the same guidelines and arriving at different answers. The money sits unspent.
Vision Zero Australia was built to solve both. We know what Safe System treatments cost to build, and we know what state funding programmes need to see. Engaged early, we align your design and your submission from the start — so the funding works, and the work gets built.
"We can't afford a full signalised intersection. The black spot round closes in six weeks. We've had another fatality at that intersection."
"The consultant report recommended treatments outside our budget. We submitted the grant anyway. They rejected it. We're back to square one."
"We have the funding. But the state agency keeps telling us our designs don't meet the programme criteria. We don't know what they want."
"The community wants something done — and we need to be able to defend whatever we recommend to elected members."
We have sat on your side of the desk. We know what is possible within your budget — and we know how to build a case that gets approved.
Twenty years inside local government. Award-winning innovation. Advice you can build.
WHY VISION ZERO AUSTRALIA
1/10th
The cost of a conventional roundabout
A Low-Cost Implanted Compact Roundabout achieves Safe System threshold speeds for vulnerable road users — less than 30 km/h on entry — at a fraction of the cost and build time of a conventional design. The concept is now broadly accepted throughout Australasia and has been requested by transport agencies across Australia and New Zealand.
34:1
Benefit-cost ratio, Ninth Street LCICR
The first Low-Cost Implanted Compact Roundabout, built following a fatality in Mildura's CBD. DTP Black Spot Officers questioned the BCR — they thought it was too high. Zero crashes since construction. The design principle of vertical deflection on roundabout approaches is now adopted throughout Australasia.
79
Victorian councils personally visited as TAC LGA Safe System Lead
In 2018–19, Christopher Davis personally visited all 79 Victorian councils to understand what they needed to achieve zero fatalities by 2050. The resulting report directly informed the $2,000,000 non-competitive grant programme now available to every Victorian council. No other consultant in Australia has that breadth of direct council engagement.
We are an Associate of Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd — Australia's largest road safety consultancy, with a team of highly specialised practitioners. That association gives Vision Zero Australia access to national-scale technical depth when a project calls for it.
Vision Zero Australia is a focused practice built around direct principal engagement. Christopher Davis is a Senior Road Safety Auditor, a qualified Project Manager (PMBOK, Prince2 Practitioner), and a three-time Austroads Project Working Group member — contributing to Practical Approaches for Managing Regional Road Safety Priorities, National Harmonisation of Road Safety Audit Practices, and the Road Safety Audit guide (AGRS06-22), representing local government and rural/remote interests.
Professional Indemnity: $2,500,000 per claim / $5,000,000 aggregate. Public Liability: $20,000,000. Certificates of currency available on request.
2020 Australasian College of Road Safety 3M Diamond Road Safety Award
Senior Road Safety Auditor
TAC LGA Safe System Lead — personally visited all 79 Victorian councils in 2018–19 to understand what they needed to achieve zero fatalities by 2050
Keynote Speaker — Australasian Road Safety Conference 2019, TAC road safety findings
Qualified Project Manager — PMBOK and Prince2 Practitioner
Austroads Project Working Group member ×3 — Practical Approaches for Managing Regional Road Safety Priorities, National Harmonisation of Road Safety Audit Practices, and Road Safety Audit (AGRS06-22)
Associate — Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd
20 years in and managing local government engineering teams
Co-author — Mildura Speed Management Plan
Creator — Mildura Road Safety Strategic Plan
SERVICES
What our clients tell us
What our clients consistently say is not that the technical work was sound — though it is. It's that working with Vision Zero Australia made their job easier. Designs their elected members understood and supported. Advice that went further than the brief. Someone who picked up the phone. From a single intersection audit to a full network strategy, you deal with Christopher Davis directly — not a graduate assigned to the file.
01
Low-Cost Implanted Compact Roundabout design
Our award-winning innovation. An LCICR achieves Safe System threshold speeds for vulnerable road users — less than 30 km/h on entry — at approximately one tenth the cost and a fraction of the build time of a conventional roundabout. Concept design and detailed design available. The design has been adopted across Australasia.
Award-winning innovation
02
Road Safety Audits
Stage 1–4 and existing conditions road safety audits — delivered by a Senior Road Safety Auditor with 20 years of council-side experience. Includes intersection audits, corridor audits, school zone audits, and network-level reviews. Contact us for a fixed-fee quote on your site or corridor.
03
Motorcycle Road Safety Audits
A specialist audit discipline requiring the auditor to ride the route — observing the road environment as a motorcyclist experiences it. Christopher Davis conducts motorcycle audits across Victoria's most challenging rural and alpine roads, identifying risks that a desktop or vehicle-based audit cannot see.
04
Safe System Assessments
Formal Safe System assessments of existing roads and new designs — evaluating the road environment against the Safe System principles of safe speeds, safe roads, safe vehicles, and safe people. Used to prioritise investment, support funding submissions, and guide network improvement programmes.
05
Road and Intersection Design
Concept through to detailed design for intersections, corridors, and streetscapes — including cost estimates structured for council budget alignment. Focused on treatments that achieve Safe System outcomes within the constraints councils actually work within. Bayview Street, Williamstown is a recent example.
06
Traffic Impact Assessments
TIAs for development applications, rezoning proposals, and infrastructure projects. Delivered with an understanding of the council assessment process — concise, defensible, and written for the decision-maker as much as the engineer.
07
Speed Management Plans and Studies
Network-level speed management planning, AusRAP and ANRAM analysis, and speed environment reviews. Christopher Davis co-authored the Mildura Speed Management Plan and guided the AusRAP analysis that secured local and state government support for 40 km/h on every residential street in Mildura.
08
Road Safety Strategy Development
Council road safety strategic plans — evidence-based, linked to the Safe System framework, and structured to drive capital investment and funding submissions. Includes crash analysis, network prioritisation, and programme development. Creator of the Mildura Road Safety Strategic Plan.
09
Movement and Place
Road safety and placemaking are the same conversation. A redundant turning lane, eliminated by a roundabout, becomes public realm. We apply Movement and Place principles to design streets that serve all users — not just through traffic — and that communities want to be in, not just pass through.
10
Active Transport Design
Design of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure — paths, crossings, separated lanes, and end-of-trip facilities. Focused on achieving safe operating speeds for vulnerable road users and connecting communities to the places they actually want to reach.
11
Integrated Transport Strategies
Comprehensive transport strategies for growing and established communities — covering road infrastructure, active transport, public transport, rail crossings, climate change, and funding. The Ballan Integrated Transport Strategy for Moorabool Shire Council was completed and adopted by council in 2026.
12
Subdivision Road Safety Audits
Road safety audits for residential and commercial subdivision designs — identifying risks in proposed road layouts, intersection treatments, pedestrian connections, and speed environments before construction. Delivered at concept, detailed design, and pre-opening stages.
13
Carpark Design and Assessments
Safety assessment and design of car parking facilities — including pedestrian conflict points, sight lines, speed management, accessibility, and layout efficiency. Relevant to council streets and roads, public carparks, shopping precincts, and community facilities.
14
State and Federal Funding Programme Submissions
We know what funding programmes need to see — and we know how to build a submission that meets those criteria from the design stage, not as an afterthought. Black Spot, Safer Roads, and other state and federal programmes. Engaged early, we align your design and your submission so the funding works.
High value engagement
Every engagement is scoped and quoted on a fixed-fee basis. Contact us with your site, your timeline, and whatever you have — and we will tell you what we can do with it.
SELECTED WORKS
Built, not filed.
Mildura, Victoria — 2013
Ninth Street and Pine Avenue — the first Low-Cost Implanted Compact Roundabout
Following a fatality involving a car and a mobility scooter at a stop-sign controlled crossroad in Mildura's CBD, we designed and built a rubber spike-down roundabout implanted into the existing intersection footprint — without moving kerbs, relocating services, or closing the road for weeks. Built over two consecutive nights. The design principle of vertical deflection on roundabout approaches is now adopted throughout Australasia, and has been requested by DTP, WALGA, Main Roads WA, CASR, RAA, City of Onkaparinga, NZTA, and the Victorian Local Government Road Safety Network.
$56,000
Total cost incl. unrelated earthworks
34:1
Benefit-cost ratio
Zero
Crashes since construction
Mildura, Victoria — 2017
Eighth Street and Pine Avenue — second generation LCICR
The refined design incorporated an in-situ concrete centre island and wider speed cushions across the full lane width. Built in five days while buses continued through the worksite under traffic management. Cost reduced to approximately one tenth of a conventional roundabout.
$37,500
Construction cost (2017)
5 days
On-site construction
99.97%
Vehicles entering below 30 km/h
City of Onkaparinga, SA — 2024
Port Noarlunga Road Safety and Traffic Upgrades
Concept design services for intersection upgrades in a constrained, busy township environment. LCICR concept designs were received favourably by ward elected members and are now driving a suite of works improving Port Noarlunga for pedestrians, cyclists, and through traffic. Delivered on time and within budget.
Hobsons Bay City Council, Victoria — 2023
Bayview Street, Williamstown — school precinct improvements
Road and intersection design and cost estimate for traffic safety improvements in a school precinct. Innovative solutions addressing both pedestrian and vehicular safety. Cost estimate structured for transparency and alignment with council's budgetary goals.
Moorabool Shire Council, Victoria — 2026
Ballan Integrated Transport Strategy — adopted by council
Moorabool Shire Council engaged Vision Zero Australia to create Ballan's first Integrated Transport Strategy. With rapid population growth forecast and no existing framework to guide transport planning or investment decisions, the township needed a strategy built from scratch. Engagement through to council adoption, VZA delivered a complete, multi-modal strategy for the township's future — covering active transport, public transport, road infrastructure, rail crossings, climate change, and funding strategies.
Adopted
By council 2026
Received favourably by our elected members
WHAT CLIENTS SAY
“We were impressed with the quality of work provided by Chris and the team — delivered on time and within budget. The concept designs were received favourably by our local ward elected members, and they are now being used to further our planning for a suite of works to improve the Port Noarlunga township for pedestrians, cyclists and the traffic moving through this area."
Brett Williams
Senior Traffic & Transport Coordinator — City of Onkaparinga
"Chris demonstrated exceptional professionalism, expertise, and attention to detail throughout the project. The design not only addressed the key safety concerns but also incorporated innovative solutions to enhance pedestrian and vehicular safety. We were particularly impressed by Chris's ability to communicate effectively, respond promptly to queries, and provide practical advice that added significant value to the project."
Sujan Batakari
Team Leader — Civil Design, Hobsons Bay City Council
ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDENTIALS
Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd — Associate
Australasian College of Road Safety
Austroads — Project Working Group
Based in Mildura and Melbourne — working across Victoria, NSW and SA
GET IN TOUCH
Talk to someone who has sat in your chair.
Council engineers don't have the luxury of focusing on one problem. Customer enquiries are skyrocketing. A noisy community wants action on a site that may or may not be in the data. Grant rounds close whether you're ready or not. Elected members want answers. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, there's a site that keeps appearing in the crash data that nobody has had time to properly address.
That's why councils call us. Not just for the technical depth — though that's there — but for the outside perspective that sees what you're too close to see, and the capacity to get it done while you get on with everything else.
Call us. Let's work out what's needed and get it moving.
PHONE
0408 101 663
EMAIL
chris@visionzeroaustralia.com.au
WEBSITE
www.visionzeroaustralia.com.au
BASED
Mildura and Melbourne — working across Victoria, NSW and SA
PRINCIPAL
Christopher Davis — Senior Road Safety Auditor
Send us a message
We respond within one business day. If it is urgent, call.