FATAL FIVE SPEEDING This section will focus on speeding, however speed related offences usually go hand in hand with dangerous driving offences. Such as Police Pursuit Dangerous Driving Dangerous driving causing death Dangerous driving causing GBH Drive in a manner dangerous Predatory driving Speed dangerous to the public 'Hoon' Offences Furious Driving Menacing Driving Burnouts Negligent Driving Negligent driving causing GBH Negligent driving causing death

SPEEDING IS THE BIGGEST KILLER Speeding remains the greatest cause of death and injuries on our roads 40% of the road toll is from speeding related crashes. Statistics from speed-related crashes from 2012 to 2016 showed: About 695 were killed Average 8,000 people were injured each year WHY? The time to react and avoid a crash decreases The stopping distance increases The impact of a crash is more severe Every 5km/h over the 60km/h limit. Your risk of crashing doubles. Source: NSW Centre For Road Safety 2012: 39.6% 2013: 42% 2014: 41.4% 2015: 41.7% 2016: 41.8% 2017 figures not yet finalised – but road toll went up

PLEASE PLAY THE AUDIO BY CLICKING ON THE SPEAKER IN THE PRESENTATION Pay attention here to the vehicle speed as opposed to the actual traffic speed. Notice that the risk of crashing is never 0, as the risk of having a crash is always present. Look for the speed limits in your local area. What is it? 50km/h? Compare your risk of crashing if you were to travel at just 40km/h (in that same zone) what happens to the crash risk? Do you think this had an impact on the decision to reduce speed zones around schools? What happens if we add 10km/h in speed, or 15km/h, so now you are travelling at 65km/h in a 50km/h zone. What happens to your crash risk?

Statistics show that speeding causes about twice as many deaths as fatigue-related crashes. There are about twice as many deaths and injuries from speed-related crashes as there are from alcohol-related crashes. The link between speeding, crashes and road trauma is undeniable—the faster you are travelling the more likely you are to have a collision and the more likely you are to be injured or killed. This chart shows the link between collision speeds and fatality risk for three distinct crash types: pedestrian/cyclists collisions, side impact collisions and head on collisions: A pedestrian/cyclist is vulnerable because they are an unprotected road user. While generally surviving impacts at low speeds, the risk of death escalates for pedestrians when impacts occur at 30km/h or above. This is the reason for lower speed limits in high pedestrian areas like outside schools and shopping centres. For a driver or passenger in a side collision (e.g. t-boned at an intersection) the risk of death dramatically increases from impacts at around 50km/h and above. For drivers and passengers in head on crashes the risk of death escalates from impacts at around 70km/h and above. A crash at 100km/h or higher is considered unsurvivable.

STOPPING DISTANCES Consider the example of one car travelling at 40 km/h, another at 50 km/h. Both drivers see a child about 27 metres ahead, recognise the danger and brake. The car travelling at 40 km/h will stop safely after 26 metres, avoiding the child. The car travelling at 50 km/h will take an extra nine metres to stop, and will still be travelling at 41 km/h when it hits the child. Even a small difference in vehicle speed can make a large difference to the danger of serious injury. If a car hits a pedestrian at 50 km/h, the driver is twice as likely to kill the pedestrian than if the car had been travelling at 40 km/h. These results have been tested repeatedly using the following assumptions: On average it takes a driver approximately 1.5 seconds to react to a hazard Friction tests using modern, well maintained vehicles with good brakes and tyres show that, under braking, a car will wipe off speed at approximately 7 m/s2. These distances are standardised and may be influenced by a number of factors including: Driver: Fatigue, impairment, attention, vision, experience and hazard perception ability Vehicle factors: Age, brakes and tyre conditions, safety features fitted eg. Automated Braking Systems (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), vehicle weight including anything being towed Environmental: Road condition, weather, downhill momentum etc Drivers need to adjust their behaviour in bad weather. To avoid the increased risk of crashes in wet weather, drive to the conditions and slow down. For safe braking, allow extra distance to the vehicle in front. Have your headlights on, and get rid of all distractions. The key message here is that traffic conditions are not predictable and that 5km/h makes a difference to the outcome should you have to stop in an emergency situation

SPEED RELATED FATALATIES We saw on the last page that 40% of all hospitalisations aged under 25years of age are for speeding related injuries. That’s not just related to crash hospitalisations. That is all hospitalisations across the age group. Meaning that crash injuries from speeding, outweigh hospitalisation for drug use and violet offences such as fighting or knife attacks. Look now at the information in this graph. What stands out to you? Is it that 82% of traffic fatalities are caused by males? Now take a closer look at the slide on the right. 48.8% of those fatalities are caused by males under the age of 30. These drivers have been driving for less that 13 years. What factors do you think may impact this? Inexperience? showing off? Have a think about that and we will come back to this point later.

DISCUSSION Why does reducing speed make such a difference to the outcome of a crash? Why are you more vulnerable in the event of a side impact crash than a head on crash? There are 2 factors that influence the distance it takes you to stop in an emergency. What are they? Q. Why does reducing speed make such a difference to the outcome of a crash? A. If an unexpected event occurs (e.g. a vehicle pulling out in front of you) lower travel speed provides an opportunity for the driver to avoid the crash by providing: More time to assess the hazard. A shorter distance travelled while reacting to the hazard. Reduced braking distance. Increase in control of the vehicle. If the driver fails to avoid a crash, the lower collision speed will still help by reducing the impact forces and the risk of death, injury and vehicle damage. Q. Why are you more vulnerable in the event of a side impact crash than a head on crash? Due to the lack of safety features that can contribute to a reduction in the impact of the crash e.g: Crumple zones Airbags Automated breaking systems or stability controls Even seatbelts aren’t as effective in lateral movements There are 2 factors that influence the distance it takes you to stop in an emergency. What are they? Your personal reaction times? Stopping ability/distance of the vehicle   What factors affect your reaction times: Driver distractions – mobile phones, other passengers, loud music. Something unexpected happening – in an experiment the subject was waiting for the particular event to happen. Being tired (fatigued). Being under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Age / health What Factors affect your braking distance? Reaction time. Visibility. Mechanical movement time. Condition of tyres. Condition of and type of brakes. Road surface condition (wet/dry, loose surface, etc.). Driver awareness/alertness. Age of driver

MISTAKES This video can be found in the additional reading material or at the following link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzt6rAOnK8M Please watch this video as it will help answer some questions in your assessments.

DISCUSSION How do you interpret this ad? Have you ever made a similar mistake on the road e.g picked an incorrect gap or been just over the speed limit? What messages is this ad trying to get across? How do you interpret this ad? Two drivers both making a mistake of the road that compound to have fatal consequences. Both drivers made poor decisions at a very common intersection highlighting that fatal crashes occur all over the road network and not necessarily at high speeds. Have you ever made a similar mistake on the road e.g picked an incorrect gap or been just over the speed limit? Yes or no, discuss. What messages is this ad trying to get across? When the unexpected happens on the road - the speed that you're travelling at matters. 'Just a bit over' can be the difference between being able to stop in time or not at all. If the worst happens and there is a crash, any extra speed means extra impact force – and the human body can only tolerate so much before death or serious injury is all but inevitable. We all need to be compliant and responsible when on the road, but all road users can make mistakes. A mistake should never cost someone their life or their long term well-being.