Summary

This report examines the amount which Australian car buyers are willing to pay for vehicle safety features that protect occupants in the event of a crash. A series of questionnaires, targeted at private car buyers, fleet managers and car renters, were developed to determine the amount that new car buyers are willing to pay for a package of safety features including an air bag, and a package of the same safety features, but without an air bag. Across all surveys the willingness to pay for the air bag and non-air bag packages was found to be high.

Summary

Lap belts, fitted to centre seats of Australian cars for the past fifteen years, have come under criticism as being injurious to children. The weight of evidence is that they provide substantial protection, though less than three point belts. A specific injury, the seat bell syndrome (SBS), to abdominal viscera and/or lumbar spine, has been associated with lap belts, an association confirmed by two studies in Melbourne. The incidence of SBS was calculated from Transport Accident Commission claims.

The Australian International Shipping Register (AISR) has been established to provide a competitive registration alternative for Australian shipowners and operators who predominantly engage in the international trades. Key features of the AISR include access to the income tax exemption and other tax incentives, as well as mixed crewing arrangements.

Summary

In sum, the results of the three studies reported here suggest some interesting trends warranting further exploration in larger and more diverse samples of children and their parents. The major goal of this pilot project, to develop and validate instruments to be used in such a large-scale project, were for the most part achieved.

Summary

This report describes the influence of non-road safety factors on the level of fatal road crashes. Economic, social and meteorological factors were analysed as independent processes, each capable of influencing the number of fatal crashes. Various statistical models were fitted to determine the power of each factor to predict crash trends. This report's findings are summarised in report CR 109.

Summary

This report examines youth's attitudes to drink driving, risk taking, role modelling and drink driving countermeasures. The study was conducted in Western Sydney, NSW. Field interviews and a questionnaire were used to identify adolescents knowledge and experience of drink driving, and they perceived to be effective. The results suggest that risk taking such as excessive drinking, drink driving and speeding are serious problems experienced by youth, with males having greater incidence of risk taking than females.

Summary

This report presents a review of the literature and reports the results of an investigation of the acute and hangover effects of ethanol on driving related skills, as well as focussing on "event-related potential" data recorded in a sub-group of subjects participating in the project. An earlier study had noted an impairment of a relatively simple reaction time task 3 hours after a dose of alcohol, and the current study was attempting to determine whether this effect would be observed in the more typical "morning after" situation.

Summary

Benefit cost analysis is often used in setting road safety priorities. The concept of Harm was developed for assessing injury mitigation benefits from vehicle safety improvements. This study builds upon previous work in the area. Harm reductions were determined for a range of vehicle safety measures for front seat occupants involved in frontal crashes.

Summary

As part of a $1 million standards development program, the Federal Office of Road safety crash tested ten cars at General Motors Holden's facility in Victoria. All aspects of this program are reported in FORS Report OR 12 - "Review of Passenger Car Occupant Protection - Main Report". Seven cars were standard Australian mass-produced vehicles. The remaining three were vehicles fitted with improved restraint systems which included emerging technology such as airbags, webbing clamp retractors, buckle pretensioners and energy absorbing steering wheels.