Strategies to advance road safety in Australia

Abstract

As part of a review of the 2011 Australian National Road Safety Strategy research was undertaken to both assess new developments in road safety, including new and improved countermeasures, and to analyse crash and other data to identify any necessary changes in the priority areas for reducing road trauma. The research consisted of three components; a literature review, stakeholder consultation and data analysis. The literature review included recent publications, national and international strategies and current research in Australia and overseas. Strategies from the most successful road safety countries were of particular interest. The major areas covered were vehicle technologies, vulnerable road users, innovative infrastructure treatments, integration of road safety with other society goals and communication with the community. Consultation was carried out with a range of stakeholders and road safety experts. They were asked to identify significant countermeasures implemented in the last three years, to suggest where major problems still exist and to discuss where further progress could be made. Analyses were carried out using crash data and hospital injury data to help in understanding patterns of crashes and injury and focus countermeasures to the most relevant crash types, locations, driver behaviours and road user types. Other data sources used included speed surveys, reviews of the composition and safety of the vehicle fleet and exposure data. This paper will bring together the different components of the project to discuss new developments in road safety and help set strategic directions for the future.