Road Safety Stats

G'day Brian,

I fully agree with you that statistical figures can be interpreted in a number of ways and the ATSB acknowledge this fact by stating that there are various factors 'left out' of the compiled data especially in the stats relating to fatal crashes involving non-compatible vehicles. For instance, in the case of a small car being struck side on by a 4wd, the stats only reflect on the incompatibility of the 2 vehicles whereas the cause of the fatalities may have been a combination of all sorts of errors.

Jeff

There will always be someone saying that 4wd's are evil because the 'us & them' syndrome has come into effect between the 2 major players in vehicle ownership, that is 4wd's and small cars.

The problem of non-compatibility between vehicles is a very real problem which will become bigger as time goes by. The legislation decision makers need to take a closer look at where the "real' problem is, the 4wd or the 'death trap' small car.

The government makes a lot of revenue from 4wd sales and I doubt if we will ever be prevented from buying them. Using them as we do now could well be a different story.

Jeff

You're right there Mike - they twist the stats to boost the sensationalism of the story and never let the truth stand in the way.

Jeff

G'day Des,

The stats on pedestrian fatalities are most interesting especially in relation to age groups. I would have thought that the most predominant groups would have been the very young and the very old, but the stats indicate that middle age (39 - 60) have the highest fatality rate.

The stats also indicate that passenger cars and buses are the main offenders well ahead of 4wd's on a pro rata basis. What the stats don't say are the causal factors for the fatalities, i.e why did it happen? Did the pedestrian just step in front of the striking vehicle?, was the pedestrian blind drunk?, etc.

Jeff

G'day Andrew,

You are absolutely right about the chances of survival in a crash today compared to 10 years ago and the improvement of car design to meet ADR's has helped to reduce the fatality rate. The biggest problem we are facing on the roads today is non-compatibilty of vehicle sizes in the event of crashes.

Since 1970 (the worst year for fatalities - 3,798), we have seen a lot of changes with improved ADR's and strict enforcement of road rules especially in relation to speeding and drink driving, but have we reached an 'acceptable' level of fatalities. The national road toll seems to have reached a stagnation point over the past few years at around about the 1700 mark and even though the authorities have set a goal of capping the toll at 1600, it may not be achievable without some road users having to change their ways.

Heavy trucks account for approximately 300 fatalities per year with driver fatigue being the major causal factor, but a recent proposal by the ATSB that each state & territory implement better fatigue management strategies was met with a lot of opposition especially by the livestock transport companies who are more concerned about the welfare of the stock they are carting than other road users.

Rollover fatalities are definitely an area of concern with 4wd's and yet the fatality rate could be reduced if vehicle manufacturers integrate a ROPS (rollover protection system) in the vehicle at the assembly stage. It has worked in the agricultural industry - you can't buy a new tractor these days without ROPS and it has certainly reduced the fatality rate in tractor rollovers.

Jeff