Australian Road Fatalities Lower Than Ever Before
GUEST POST
Driving on Australian roads is safer than ever before. Despite today’s much larger population, the number of road fatalities per capita has fallen dramatically.
Over the course of the 20th century the number of vehicles and registered drivers on the road increased substantially. This boom in road use had serious consequences – safety standards for roads, cars and driving habits had to change in order to make everyone safer.
Happily, these changes achieved much safer roads: Australia’s national annual road fatality rate declined from 30.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 1970 to just 6.9 in 2009[i]. In this article we’ll explore how that dramatic change was brought about and what more can be done to lower the number even further.
This is an interactive map. Select the criteria from the drop box then click on each state for individual stats:
Australia’s worst year for road fatalities was 1970, when 3,798 deaths were reported. Compared to 1,465 in 2008 this number seems staggeringly high, but it pays to remember how vastly different roads and vehicles were in 1970.[ii] Car manufacturers had not yet standardized seat belts, and those cars that had them at all were likely using lap belts only, not the three-point system we have today. Additionally, seat belt use was not compulsory. In fact, the devastating road fatalities of 1970 prompted Victoria, Australia to make history with the one of the world’s first seat belt use law that same year, making three-point belt use mandatory for both rear and front passengers..[iii]
Beyond seat belts modern cars also have airbags as well as ABS and stability control that cars of the time largely did not have. Roads were similarly underdeveloped, with fewer markings, guard rails and pavement than Australian roads today. It was a less regulated time when speed limits were unclear or not set at all and less enforceable in rural areas.[iv]
Technology for detecting drunk drivers was similarly limited in 1970. Instead of the breathalyzer tests we have today, police had to rely on roadside tests of balance and coordination to tell if a driver was too drunk to be on the road. Beyond that, culturally the act of drinking and driving was far less stigmatized than it is today: there were fewer laws and regulations around it and it was more socially acceptable for a person to have a few drinks and go home.
Infrastructure & Technology Today
While the number of road fatalities has fallen fairly steadily since 1970, they took a steeper dive after 1990. The country’s infrastructure caught up to its growing population, putting traffic lights, lower speed limits and improved roadways into place. Laws surrounding impaired driving and speeding grew more stringent and easier for law enforcement to enforce.
One unfortunate exception to the decreasing national average of road fatalities is the Northern Territory. While there are still questions surrounding Northern Territory road fatalities, some patterns have emerged in the last few years. A ten year study from 2002-2011 determined that roughly 50% of fatalities were alcohol related, 51% of drivers and passengers killed were not wearing seatbelts, and 55% of all fatal crashes were single vehicles run off the road or overturned. Additionally, young drivers (under 25), Indigenous people, and men were over represented in fatalities.[v]
What Steps Can Be Taken In Future?
How can Australia, and in particular the Northern Territory, continue the decreasing trend of road fatalities? The Northern Territory tried to implement speed limits on roads that previously had none however this measure did not decrease road fatalities. In fact, in the six years after the speed limits were implemented, more people died on NT roads than in the six years before the change. Now controversy over whether to maintain the speed limits at all or to lower them even further rages in NT government.[vi]
Some transport experts believe that Northern Territory roads could be improved by building better pavement and maintaining roadside safety measures like guardrails. Others believe that the crash statistics that over represent young, Indigenous and male drivers and passengers points to a cultural issue that could be remedied by stronger educational measures about the dangers of impaired driving and not wearing seat belts.
Whatever steps the Northern Territory chooses to take will no doubt be a lesson to the country as a whole. Although Australia has achieved a momentous decrease in its road fatalities most would agree that zero fatalities would be ideal. Families who have lost loved ones continue to lobby for stronger laws and enforcement to ensure that no one suffers the same pain.
Making Safer Roads For All
The road fatalities that still occur every year are a sobering reminder of the dangers of modern life. But the silver lining is Australia has already successfully decreased road accidents and fatalities substantially. With nearly eighty years of road fatality data Australia can identify which measures have worked to decrease accidents and fatalities and which have not. The work of previous generations to regulate roads and driver registration has paved the way for future generations to continue to make Australian roads as safe as possible for drivers, passengers, pedestrians and every other road user.
We often yearn for a simpler yesteryear, whereas kids we sat on our parent’s lap or without a seat belt in the back as they drove, there were no booze buses or hidden speed cameras around to catch folks in a “compromised driving moment”. All the modern complexity of rules and policing we’ve added often feels like a real drag. Well, there is some upside. Less people in absolute and relative terms are dying on our roads compared with 30 years ago. These driving “guard rails” enforced upon us are actually saving something quite precious …. our lives. We still have a long way to go and particularly in less developed regions of Australia like the Northern Territory, but as a culture that actually embraced the introduction of random breath tests in 1976 for the greater community good, we are seeing dividends in the form of much fewer road fatalities.
Author: Simon Lindsay
Simon is Country Manager of Progressive Australia, a provider of easy, low cost car insurance for Australian drivers. Simon was part of the passionate team that brought The Progressive Corporation, the 4th largest car insurer in the United States, to Australia. Progressive launched its 100% Online Car Insurance business in Australia in December 2009.
[i] “Measures of Australia’s Progress: Road Safety.” Retrieved July 26, 2013: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0~2010~Chapter~Road%20safety%20%284.9.2%29
[ii] “Measures of Australia’s Progress: Road Safety.” Retrieved July 26, 2013
[iii] Drivers Technology “Seat Belts: A Potted History” Retrieved July 26, 2013: http://www.driverstechnology.co.uk/seatbelts.htm
[iv] Powell, Graeme. “A declining annual road toll is still too high.” Retrieved July 26, 2013: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-05/fatigue2c-speed-and-alcohol-killers-on-the-road/4354262
[v] “Northern Territory Road Injury Statistical Summary.” Retrieved July 26, 2013: http://www.transport.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/33103/NT-Road-Crash-Statistical-Summary-2012-.pdf
[vi] Hall, Sam. “Open speed limits for Territory?” Retrieved July 26, 2013: http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/open-speed-limits-for-territory-20130508-2j6zy.html
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