Australia records highest road toll in over a decade

[Franco Cozzo]

Australia records highest road toll in over a decade

Australia’s states and territories can’t begin sharing their road safety data fast enough, according to the peak body for local motoring groups, as the national road toll has reached a sobering marker.

Data released by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) shows 1310 people died on Australian roads between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024.

This is not only an additional 132 deaths over the May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023 period, but it’s also the highest 12-month death toll figure since 30 November 2012, which had an identical number of fatalities.

Road deaths surged 31.2 per cent in New South Wales, 35.3 per cent in the Northern Territory and 12.4 per cent in Victoria.

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-new...-over-a-decade

What a conundrum,

Current strategy doesn't work at all, but big *** hole in the economy which needs filling, and the current strategy helps prop it up.

Its still low - 1270 deaths nationally out of 26M people, compared to how many trips Australian drivers make, its good odds.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-new...-over-a-decade

What a conundrum,

Current strategy doesn't work at all, but big *** hole in the economy which needs filling, and the current strategy helps prop it up.

Its still low - 1270 deaths nationally out of 26M people, compared to how many trips Australian drivers make, its good odds.

How serious are governments on a plan when they won’t even share road trauma data.
It would be interesting to know the breakdown of Single Vehicle Accidents vs multi car crashes
how many pedestrians, motor bikes, trucks ect…..how do you target issues without that?
Queensland does this, so a start… https://cars.tmr.qld.gov.au/Static/d...ort_Latest.pdf



By comparison the USA had 40,990 road fatalities last year and 42,514 in 2022.
Yes they have like 340 million population but that fatality figure is x32 of ours
and they have a big issue with mobile phone use while driving.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases...er%20of%202022.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by jpd80

How serious are governments on a plan when they won’t even share road trauma data.
It would be interesting to know the breakdown of Single Vehicle Accidents vs multi car crashes
how many pedestrians, motor bikes, trucks ect…..how do you target issues without that?
Queensland does this, so a start… https://cars.tmr.qld.gov.au/Static/d...ort_Latest.pdf



By comparison the USA had 40,990 road fatalities last year and 42,514 in 2022.
Yes they have like 340 million population but that fatality figure is x32 of ours
and they have a big issue with mobile phone use while driving.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases...er%20of%202022.

Thats because it'll show up whose strategy is bullshit and doesn't work.

[roKWiz]

No doubt people falling asleep at the wheel of these boring modern air fryers.

Remember when you actually drove the car using the right and left foot, both hands and eyes, no relying on electronics to beep at you while you take your eyes off the road looking at a giant TV monitor in the middle of the dashboard.

[Itsme]

Not surprise with higher road tolls with many drivers these days with poor driving skills and ignoring basic road rules.

[prydey]

What was the percentage of cars on the road compared to previous years?

I think you'll find if all the factors are correlated it will show that the death toll is fairly static.

Population increases. More cars on the roads.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

No doubt people falling asleep at the wheel of these boring modern air fryers.

Remember when you actually drove the car using the right and left foot, both hands and eyes, no relying on electronics to beep at you while you take your eyes off the road looking at a giant TV monitor in the middle of the dashboard.

Having cars from both sides (high tech and no tech) i agree with you, younger drivers being 'bought up' driving these cars with all the tech then relying on it. Seen a few driving company cars with the lane departure warning light in the mirror. They (instructor cars, instructors) are part of the problem imo. Those features should be turned off/disabled during lessons/tests, or use cars that dont have it.
Although i dont know how much they contribute to the toll, but im sure google would tell me if i bothered.

[383hq]

No doubt they'll consider more fines, higher fines, and more police

Vicpol's social dividend was only $404 million from camera issued speeding fines in 21-22.

I'd be very surprised if agendas did not exist to increase cash flow, all in the name of safety, of course.
I doubt GOvCO would issue friendly reminders to "slow down"...


https://www.vic.gov.au/revenue-fines

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prydey

What was the percentage of cars on the road compared to previous years?

I think you'll find if all the factors are correlated it will show that the death toll is fairly static.

Population increases. More cars on the roads.

Curious to compare 'per capita' stats - would cover exactly what you're saying.

Even then, cars are a lot safer in crashes now than 20 years ago, so if the death toll stays the same, cars are a lot better at protecting their occupants so its not ideal.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Even then, cars are a lot safer in crashes now than 20 years ago, so if the death toll stays the same, cars are a lot better at protecting their occupants so its not ideal.

The govt will never come out and credit car safety improvements with lowering or helping to lower the road toll as it would be basically admitting to fraud, however it's my personal belief that car safety is almost 100% responsible for any reduction in road toll.
In fact I believe there are statistics out there to show that while deaths are trending down (you'll have years that increase but overall it's trending down) road related trauma is actually increasing. The number of crashes hasn't reduced. People are just surviving crashes that once would have been fatal.
This is purely down to safer cars.

Anyone who thinks human behaviour can be changed to reduce the road toll is living in a fantasy land ie.. Govco. A large majority of crashes are caused by impatience and irrational behaviour and have been since cars were invented. (likely before then too but horses don't tend to run in to each other) These human traits can not be eradicated.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by prydey

The govt will never come out and credit car safety improvements with lowering or helping to lower the road toll as it would be basically admitting to fraud, however it's my personal belief that car safety is almost 100% responsible for any reduction in road toll.
In fact I believe there are statistics out there to show that while deaths are trending down (you'll have years that increase but overall it's trending down) road related trauma is actually increasing. The number of crashes hasn't reduced. People are just surviving crashes that once would have been fatal.
This is purely down to safer cars.

Anyone who thinks human behaviour can be changed to reduce the road toll is living in a fantasy land ie.. Govco. A large majority of crashes are caused by impatience and irrational behaviour and have been since cars were invented. (likely before then too but horses don't tend to run in to each other) These human traits can not be eradicated.

I find attitudes on the road around Melbourne are significantly worse than other places I've driven.

Did an interstate trip for work recently (as in last weekend), was driving in both VIC and NSW, people in NSW are significantly more courteous on the road to other road users than Victorians, thats for sure.

I did a bit over 600km escorting an oversize load from Cootamundra region back into central VIC, and the people in NSW were way more willing to create space for the truck than the VIC section of the trip.

Especially worse when you go out to northern or western suburbs of Melbourne - I go out to die instead of pilot when I'm doing those runs.

[prydey]

Every day I drive in traffic where people can't see past their windscreen.

I'd love to jump on the 'young kids these days' bandwagon however from my observations poor driving is across the board. When it comes to laziness or aggressive behaviour it's generally an older driver or tradie.

In peak hour traffic with traffic lights every few hundred metres people still try to kill themselves to get one car space further in the queue.

One thing that boggles my mind here is people that nearly run in to traffic signs blocking a lane off during road works, even though there has been warning signs for the previous km. I drive through road works ever night. Even with only 2 or 3 cars on the road, massive neon flashing signs, arrows etc, there'll still be cars that don't seem to register that their lane is ending.

The only thing that surprises me with the road toll is that it isn't much higher.

[whynot]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Although i dont know how much they contribute to the toll, but im sure google would tell me if i bothered.

A good source of traffic safety reports is the Accident Research Centre based in Monash University. A list of there reports is here

https://www.monash.edu/muarc/researc...ations-by-year

This paper might be worth a read.

https://www.monash.edu/__data/assets...-361-final.pdf

Report No.361
Report Date: April 2021
Release Date: November 2022
ISBN ISSN 978-1-925413-31-1 1835-4815 (On-Line)
Pages: 76


Title and sub-title:
VSRG Research Program: Benefits of additional vehicle safety technology to novice drivers - Australia and New Zealand

Author(s)
Budd, L., Keall, M., & Newstead, S.

Sponsoring Organisations - This project was funded as contract research by the following organisations:

Transport for New South Wales, New South Wales State Insurance Regulatory Authority, Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, NRMA Motoring and
Services, Victorian Department of Transport (VicRoads), Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia, Transport Accident Commission, New Zealand
Transport Agency, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Royal Automobile Club of Queensland, Royal Automobile Association of
South Australia, South Australian Department of Infrastructure and Transport , Accident Compensation Corporation New Zealand, the Australian
Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, and the Road Safety Commission of Western
Australia.

Abstract:

Recent years have seen the increased availability of a number of new driver-assist systems that have been proven to reduce crash risk.

Furthermore, previous research has shown that young drivers are at a high risk of injury crash involvement and would possibly benefit from driverassist systems.

Three vehicle safety systems becoming commonly available and likely to provide young driver benefits were investigated: autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist / lane departure warning (LKAA/LDW) and electronic stability control (ESC).

Novice and experienced driver crash profiles were compared using crash data from five Australian jurisdictions over the crash years 2006 to 2017, and New Zealand over the crash years 2008 to 2018. The effectiveness of ESC, AEB and lane keeping systems were sourced from literature and used to estimate the crashes saved through current and 100% fitment. These savings were adjusted to reflect the relative effectiveness of each technology associated with driver experience which was estimated through generalized linear regression of the light vehicle set of crashed vehicles manufactured from 2013.

Based on literature sourced real-world effectiveness alone, a greater proportion of crashes were estimated to be saved for Australian young
drivers than for experienced drivers under current fitment scenarios of ESC, AEB and LDW, with large savings when fitment was maximised.

Overall, the estimated additional proportion of young driver injury crashes saved under 100% fitment was 14%, which is 75% higher than that for
experienced drivers. Compared with effectiveness in the experienced driver crashes of the same type, AEB was found to be up to 60% more effective in young driver targeted crashes depending on the vehicle type, crash severity and crash type. This greater effectiveness of AEB for young drivers corresponded to a further 2% of injury crashes to be saved for this group. Given current fitment rates of the technologies studied in the New Zealand crashed vehicles of novice and non-novice light passenger vehicles, around 2% of recent injuries arising from non-novice crashes would be expected to have been prevented by the three technologies. A somewhat smaller proportion can have been expected to be prevented in young drivers’ crashes, around 1.7%. This is largely due to a higher prevalence of older vehicles driven by young drivers, which do not have the safety technologies fitted. The additional proportion of injuries preventable by 100% fitment for non-novice vehicles was estimated to be 24%, 18% and 16% for fatal, serious and minor injuries respectively. For young drivers, the equivalent estimates were 28%, 23% and 21%.

Although ESC, AEB and LKAA/LDW have clear safety benefits for all drivers, this report presents evidence of greater benefits for young drivers which supports policies that encourage uptake or mandate these technologies for young drivers.

Key words: ESC, AEB, LDW; Autonomous Automatic Emergency Braking; young drivers

[Tonz]

If this offends or upsets you I do appologise but how many ofthe single car crashes are accidents and not an attempt of destroying ones life.

Over here agroup of us are keenly aware of accidents and deliberate crashes

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Tonz

If this offends or upsets you I do appologise but how many ofthe single car crashes are accidents and not an attempt of destroying ones life.

Over here agroup of us are keenly aware of accidents and deliberate crashes

Would be minimal I reckon, like single digits, maybe low double digits tops.

My source is I pulled it out of my ***.

[XR Martin]

Unless someone leaves a note, you can't know for sure if it was an accident or deliberate. But I think the latter is far more common than you think or is reported.


Oh BTW the road toll is anyone who's died on a road or road related area. You trip on the gutter and hit your head and die? You go on the road toll. Jump off pedestrian bridge and land on the road? You go on the road toll.

[Falcon SXR8]

Phones are my main gripe. Take notice of people as they pass you and you will be amazed at how many have their faces in their laps. Give me someone a few ks over but watching where they are going over someone looking at their phone any day.

[Citroënbender]

IMO an excessive amount of policing is post-factum, and this emboldens rule-breakers.

There’s so much technology available to improve responsiveness, it’s just not employed - or often not even trialled. What became of the “Passbox” after its brief trial? Five years later, cyclists are no safer.

Why don’t mobile speed cameras have live oversight in an operations room, so if the potentially offending plate is identifiable there’s either an immediate flag put on the rego or if the owner has phone contact details with the registration authority they get a text to present themselves and explain ASAP, within a minute or two?

Why is it acceptable to prosecute littering on a stat dec, yet a driver failing to stop for pedestrians can’t be similarly fined?

Where is the option to “seal” a dash camera and its mounting, so its contents are legally admissible?

And I also believe - the safety campaigns need more real carrot. Imagine being snapped by a speed camera while below the speed limit or correctly stopped at lights and that being noted on your driving record, plus legally admissible as evidence of generally responsible conduct.

Why are the fines for holding a phone in a vehicle with inbuilt Bluetooth, not cripplingly higher than for vehicles delivered without? Why are custodial parents or guardians of school age children, not fined double for speeding in school zones?

And at least in NSW, the Police Assistance Line is all but useless. Wait times are so bad, people don’t bother holding.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by franco cozzo

its still low - 1270 deaths nationally out of 26m people, compared to how many trips mistakes australian drivers make, its good odds.

fify

2345

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Curious to compare 'per capita' stats - would cover exactly what you're saying.

Even then, cars are a lot safer in crashes now than 20 years ago, so if the death toll stays the same, cars are a lot better at protecting their occupants so its not ideal.

most of that information is available in the public domain. BITRE and CrashStats are two examples. Sometimes you need to dig a bit. For example, the ABS runs a motor vehicle census every year. Take the raw BITRE data from here

https://www.bitre.gov.au/statistics/...crash_database

and divide by the ABS data here

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/in...data-downloads

and you have exactly what you are asking for. I've been doing a lot of this, for my own interest.

example

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by whynot

A good source of traffic safety reports is the Accident Research Centre based in Monash University.

yeah nah. MUARC get their funding from government agencies. The next time one of their reports contradicts government policy, will be the first.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by simon varley

most of that information is available in the public domain. BITRE and CrashStats are two examples. Sometimes you need to dig a bit. For example, the ABS runs a motor vehicle census every year. Take the raw BITRE data from here

https://www.bitre.gov.au/statistics/...crash_database

and divide by the ABS data here

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/in...data-downloads

and you have exactly what you are asking for. I've been doing a lot of this, for my own interest.

example

image

The introduction of seatbelts resulted in an obvious trend downward. Not as obvious, but still there is the introduction of passive and active safety systems to mainstream cars in the mid 90's. ABS, airbags, stability control etc.

I note you have the introduction of speed cameras listed however I would suggest that would be a case of correlation not equalling causation.

[simon varley]

my point on adding speed cameras, is that yes, there was an immediate small improvement in road safety, but that the 30 years haven't really shown any more, despite the roads now being flooded with 'safety' cameras.

It's just about impossible to point to one or even two specific things that have contributed to the ongoing reduction in fatalities year on year, but my belief is that it is the engineering improvements, rather than enforcement, or infrastructure changes imposed externally.

I did another graph with a zoom. There's no step change apparent. What looks like a reduction in 2010/11 is really just a statistical correction on the high 2009 numbers

[prydey]

Originally Posted by simon varley

It's just about impossible to point to one or even two specific things that have contributed to the ongoing reduction in fatalities year on year, but my belief is that it is the engineering improvements, rather than enforcement, or infrastructure changes imposed externally.

Agree 100%

I vaguely recall Mercedes Benz coming out and saying something similar many years ago.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

IMO an excessive amount of policing is post-factum, and this emboldens rule-breakers.

There’s so much technology available to improve responsiveness, it’s just not employed - or often not even trialled. What became of the “Passbox” after its brief trial? Five years later, cyclists are no safer.

Why don’t mobile speed cameras have live oversight in an operations room, so if the potentially offending plate is identifiable there’s either an immediate flag put on the rego or if the owner has phone contact details with the registration authority they get a text to present themselves and explain ASAP, within a minute or two?

Why is it acceptable to prosecute littering on a stat dec, yet a driver failing to stop for pedestrians can’t be similarly fined?

Where is the option to “seal” a dash camera and its mounting, so its contents are legally admissible?

And I also believe - the safety campaigns need more real carrot. Imagine being snapped by a speed camera while below the speed limit or correctly stopped at lights and that being noted on your driving record, plus legally admissible as evidence of generally responsible conduct.

Why are the fines for holding a phone in a vehicle with inbuilt Bluetooth, not cripplingly higher than for vehicles delivered without? Why are custodial parents or guardians of school age children, not fined double for speeding in school zones?

And at least in NSW, the Police Assistance Line is all but useless. Wait times are so bad, people don’t bother holding.

Something that makes me laugh is back in the day my older sister used to drive around with no licence, was in her late 20s before she bothered getting her Ps.

Ran a red and t-boned someone, oops.

Anyway, went to court for driving no licence, paid something like $80 for court costs and that was it - magistrate imposed no fine.

When she got her licence renewal she got a discount on good driving history, because she had no licence when she stacked the car driving no licence it didn't count

Driving no licence now carries massive fines/penalties, especially if you've got a suspended/cancelled licence.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

Phones are my main gripe. Take notice of people as they pass you and you will be amazed at how many have their faces in their laps. Give me someone a few ks over but watching where they are going over someone looking at their phone any day.

Yep, have done this and it's amazing there are so few accidents for all the occularly-joined people out there staring into a small screen. While driving.

[Sprintey]

Really interesting that the 1930s were far more dangerous than the late 1920s, wonder what happened there? Moonshine runners? (hang on it's Australia)

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

Really interesting that the 1930s were far more dangerous than the late 1920s, wonder what happened there? Moonshine runners? (hang on it's Australia)

ACT had prohibition early on.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Something that makes me laugh is back in the day my older sister used to drive around with no licence, was in her late 20s before she bothered getting her Ps.

Ran a red and t-boned someone, oops.

Anyway, went to court for driving no licence, paid something like $80 for court costs and that was it - magistrate imposed no fine.

When she got her licence renewal she got a discount on good driving history, because she had no licence when she stacked the car driving no licence it didn't count

Driving no licence now carries massive fines/penalties, especially if you've got a suspended/cancelled licence.

Pointless though, most people driving around with no licence don't care about the fines. They'll just keep racking up the fines, and keep driving anyway.

If I do 145 in a 100 zone, they'll impound my car. (Or crush it)
If I drive without my licence or drunk, I still keep the car.
The reason why a drunk driver keeps their car? Because to keep their licence they are required to have an interlock device. No car? No interlock and licence cancelled.
Maybe instead of impounding a speeder's car, they should instead limit the car to 100kmh or something.

[roKWiz]

With all the electronics and automatics gearboxes fitted to modern vehicles, I guess it will be only a matter of time before they are speed limited by GPS.

Us still driving around in our drug money old sh*tboxes will be getting all the fines to legislate us off the roads.