Summary

This report forms part of a series published by the Federal Office of Road Safety (FORS) on women and road safety. It presents national road crash statistics for women, and in particular, women drivers involved in fatal crashes and crashes resulting in hospitalisation. There are two other reports in this series: a review of published female driver research and an analysis of attitudes and driving behaviours of young and middle-aged women obtained through a recent survey of women from across Australia.

Summary

Records of all reported road crashes occurring in Western Australia between 1987 and 1995 were linked with records of all drink-driving arrests in the sameperiod. All drink-driving arrests and all road crashes experienced by each driver over the period were identified. An "alcohol-related" crash was defined as being one that resulted in a drink-driving arrest. About 7% of all drink-driving arrests were made as a result of a crash.

Summary

Frontal crashes are the cause of the majority of deaths and injuries on the roads. In 1995, the Federal Office of Road Safety (FORS) introduced Australian Design Rule (ADR) 69 for full frontal crash protection which sets head, chest and leg injury criteria which has seen the majority of passenger cars fitted with at least driver's side airbags.

Summary

Rollover crashes, especially in the country, are usually very destructive events. About 15% of passenger cars in fatal crashes in Australia have overturned. Between about 13% and 16% of all passenger-car occupants killed in Australia died primarily as a result of injuries received in a rollover. Vehicle damage often includes deformation of the roof and its supporting structures. Head and neck injury are common, and associated with roof deformation.

Summary

This monograph is composed of excerpts from FORS CR179 Women Behind the Wheel: Driver Behaviour and Road Crash Involvement, and focuses on young driver behaviour.

The relevance of gender to road safety has long been recognised and it has been the contribution of male drivers to fatal and serious crashes which has, to date, attracted the most attention. Historically, men have tended to be overrepresented in road crash fatalities. In 1996, 1,413 men were killed on Australian roads compared with 564 women.

Summary

Overview

• Consistent with previous waves, this latest survey of community attitudes towards road safety issues again shows that speeding, in particular, and drink driving are considered to be the principal factors that lead to crashes. Each of these factors is spontaneously mentioned by more than half of the population as a major reason for road crashes.
• While both of these factors are clearly the most important, speed still dominates as the one single factor that people mention first when thinking about crash causes.

Summary

There have been many interventions implemented around the world in an attempt to deter drink drivers. However, high risk offenders who repeatedly drink and drive are difficult to target. If high risk drivers could be identified prior to receiving convictions for drink driving, or prior to being involved in a crash, they could then be targeted for a brief road safety intervention. For example, such an opportunity would occur when a road user was in hospital receiving treatment for an alcohol-related problem.