This publication provides information on the incidence and characteristics of bus crashes in Australia. It examines the number of bus occupants fatally injured or hospitalised within Australia. The relative safety of bus occupants was also compared with other vehicle occupant safety. Additionally, the report examines crash site and temporal characteristics of bus crashes, and the characteristics of people involved in bus crashes.
Data sources
The data used in this publication was extracted from three Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) databases: the Casualty Crash Database (1990 to 1998), the Fatality Crash Database (1990 to 1998) and the Monthly Crash Database (1990 to 2000). All three databases were utilised as they contain different levels of information.
The Monthly Crash Database contains the most recent information on fatal crashes. The Casualty Crash Database contains information for both hospitalisation and fatal crashes. Both these databases are compiled by the ATSB using fatal and hospitalisation data forwarded by police and transport authorities in each State and Territory.
The Fatality Crash Database contains more detailed crash information regarding vehicles, road users and crash characteristics than both the Monthly Crash Database and the Casualty Crash Database, but only for fatal crashes that occurred in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998. This database is coded by the ATSB from coronial documents and police reports.
Bureau of Transport Economics data on passenger kilometres travelled was used to derive fatality and hospitalisation rates.
Type: Research and Analysis Report
ISBN: 0 642 27478 9
Topics: Bus coach
Publication Date: 01/11/01