THE RAA wants a radical new approach to road deaths, a target of zero fatalities.

It says the State Government's plan of 80 deaths by 2020 is inadequate.

The South Australian Government last month released its draft road safety strategy 2020, aiming to cut the road toll by 30 per cent.

But the RAA has criticised the plan because it is less ambitious than the last 10-year target which ended in 2010, and wasn't achieved anyway.

"RAA believes that the proposed target in the Draft Strategy of a 30 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries is not ambitious enough to significantly address road trauma in South Australia," the RAA states in a letter to the State Government.

"Further meaningful reductions in deaths and serious injuries will not occur by simply continuing to spend the same amount of money in the same way."

The RAA states a target of 50 per cent reduction by 2020 would be a minimum and even this would only equal the performance of Victoria: "The Swedish `Vision Zero' philosophy maintains that no deaths or injuries due to road crashes are socially or economically acceptable".

"RAA believes that South Australia should adopt the Vision Zero philosophy."

The RAA has proposed the following ways to aim towards a zero road toll, stating they offer more than "business as usual":

INCREASE funds to improve high-risk road sections.

TARGETED speed limit reductions not blanket speed restrictions.

REVIEW of driving instructor training.

REVIEW of the effectiveness of MAC advertising.

DEVELOPMENT of a long-term transport plan.

The RAA is also critical of drivers' backlash against speed limits which are not properly explained or don't make sense.

"RAA is concerned that the strategy does not include sufficient emphasis on the need to communicate the benefits of appropriate speed limits and travel speeds to the community," the letter states.