Prepared Road Safety Trends for NSW Including Child and Youth Issues Road Safety Education Workshop 2010 March 2010

Overview General Road Toll Trends Trends for Child & Youth Casualties Characteristics for Child & Youth Casualties o Class of Road User o Gender o Time Period o Behavioural Risk Factors Progress with State Plan Road Safety Targets Audit Office Inquiry Into Safety in School Zones

Road Toll in 2009 The final road toll for 2008 was 374 fatalities, lowest annual total since 1944 However, provisional total for 2009 was 460 killed, up by 86 (23%) on 2008

Motor Vehicle Travel in 1944 v – Petrol Rationing, Second World War continues – no new private vehicles. Vehicles had cross ply tyres, no seat belts, no crumple zones, no freeways, only 1 in 5 people had a drivers licence, the family car had a top speed of 130 km/h Holden Commodore - seat belts, air bags (driver, passenger, side & curtain), ABS, ESP, TCS, crumple zones, extensive sections of major highways with dual carriageways, 2 out of 3 people had a drivers licence, the family car had a top speed of 210+ km/h

Road Toll, Population, Licenses and Motor Vehicles since 1944 Comparison of 2009 v 1944 Population x 2.5 Licence Holders x 11 Vehicles x 15

Historically Low Fatality Rates per Population 2008 fatality rate per population (5.4) lowest since records started back in 1908 In 2009 the fatality rate increased to 6.5 fatalities per 100,000 population

Injury Trends * Note: The discontinuity in the data arises from problems associated with the changes to Police accident data capture procedures in the figure for 1997 is believed to be an under-estimate of the actual injuries for that year Despite the fatality increase in 2009 estimated injuries were down again.

Trends for Fatalities Since 1990 Downward trend since 1990 with the majority of fatalities occurring on country roads but the 2009 increase largely on rural country roads

Behavioural Factors for Fatalities The four major risk behaviours involved in fatalities are speed, alcohol, driver fatigue and seat belt non-usage Speed was the main contributor to the 2009 road toll increase

2009 Road Toll - Increases Summary Economic data (GDP, unemployment levels) indicate that there was mild economic growth in 2009 – contrary to expectations in early 2009 of a severe recession ? However, the magnitude of the NSW road toll increase in 2009 (+23%) was in stark contrast to the small decrease for the Rest of Australia (-2%) Provisional drivers/riders in 2009 were close to 2008 levels of involvement Largest increases – Country rural areas and the Hunter, South West and Western RTA Regions – Speed / Inappropriate Speed – Passengers and pedestrians – Sundays, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays – Weekday Mornings and Afternoon to Early Evenings – Male (young to middle aged) motor vehicle controllers

Trends for Young Casualties Over the Last Ten years All age groups have shown improvements over the last ten years Reductions amongst year olds have been more modest but more recent

Casualty Risks for Children in NSW Casualty rates for young children relatively low but rates rise quickly for 15 to 19 year olds

Characteristics of Child and Youth Casualties in NSW Age Group / Class of Road User Gender / Class of Road User Time Period / Age x Class of Road User Factors / High Risk Behaviours

0 to 4 Year Olds Almost entirely passengers or pedestrians

5 to 9 Year Olds The majority are still passengers or pedestrians, but now around one in twelve are pedal cyclists

10 to 14 Year Olds The majority are still passengers or pedestrians, but now one in six are pedal cyclists

15 to 19 Year Olds More than half of all casualties in this age group are drivers or motorcycle riders

Passengers Under 20 Years Slightly more females than males in the older age groups

Pedestrians Under 20 Years More males than females across all age groups

Pedal Cyclists Under 20 Years Significantly more males than females across all age groups

Drivers Under 20 Years More males than females in the applicable age group, even more pronounced amongst fatalities

Motorcyclists Under 20 Years Significantly more males than females in the applicable age group

Time Period - 0 to 4 Year Olds

Time Period - 5 to 9 Year Olds

Time Period - 10 to 14 Year Olds

Time Period - 15 to 19 Year Olds

Passengers - Seat Belt Non Usage Seat belt non-usage highest amongst very young casualties or 15 to 19 year olds

Passengers - Seat Belt Non Usage Seat belt non-usage even higher amongst fatalities, particularly for 15 to 19 year olds

Pedal Cyclists - Helmet Non Usage At least one-third of all child aged pedal cycle casualties were not wearing a helmet

Pedal Cyclists - Helmet Non Usage After increasing since the early 1990’s, the non-usage of helmets has been levelling off over the last few years, particularly for children

Drivers - Risk Factors Young drivers are more likely to speed or be fatigued than older drivers

Motorcyclists - Risk Factors Young motorcycle riders are more likely not to be wearing a helmet

NSW State Plan S7 : Safer Roads Progress Towards Target Revised Targets in 2009 Primary target - reduce the fatality rate per 100,000 population to 4.9 Secondary target – reduce the fatality rate per million vehicle km to 0.70 by 2016

Auditor-General’s report Performance Audit Improving Road Safety: School Zones Audit of the Road Safety Performance of School Zones in NSW undertaken in March 2009 by the Audit Office of NSW Two lines of inquiry were 1 Are there practical approaches to address road safety around schools ? 2 Have these approaches contributed to improved road safety around schools ? Covering school zones up to the end of 2008 Report tabled in Parliament in February 2010

Auditor-General’s report Performance Audit Improving Road Safety: School Zones Conclusions Reduction in casualties associated with school zones, for both school aged pedestrians and older pedestrians Despite use school zone signs with flashing lights and fixed speed cameras motorists continue to exceed the 40 km/h speed limit in school zones Motorists awareness of school zones – some signs are poorly located / poor condition, fail to see signs and line markings, confused as to the operating times Inadequate enforcement of speed other than the fixed speed cameras Observed unsafe or illegal parking behaviours occurring in school zones

Auditor-General’s report Performance Audit Improving Road Safety: School Zones Reduction in casualties associated with school zones, for both school aged pedestrians and older pedestrians Based on study of around 820 school zones in Sydney and South West Regions Crash analysis covered the period 1998 to 2008, comparing with road safety performance in the sample school zones pre 40 km/h zones (1998 to 2000) and post 40 km/h zones (2004 to 2008) School Zones During School Zone Times in Sydney and South West RTA Regions – Pedestrians aged 5 to 16 years – 46% decrease – All Pedestrians – 45% decrease School Zones Outside School Zone Times in Sydney and South West RTA Regions – Pedestrians aged 5 to 16 years – 48% decrease – All Pedestrians – 30% decrease Total crashes decreased by 35% with pedestrian (-45%) and vehicle opposing (-47%) crashes improving by the largest degree. Congestion type crashes improved at about the average rate – parking (-37%), rear end (-35%) and manoeuvring (-15%) crashes.

Auditor-General’s report Performance Audit Improving Road Safety: School Zones Recommendations RTA should retain existing school zone facilities Improve awareness of school zones Improve compliance Ensure effectiveness through risk assessment, zone speed limits are applied consistently and information provided to the public Determine and publish progress on commitment made with regard to the revenue raised from school zone cameras Determine and publish status of mobile speed cameras in school zones All organisations should co-operate to ensure new schools are built on roads where risk is minimal and school operating hours are standardised wherever possible. RTA response included in the report Audit Office Report can be found on the Audit Office website at

Questions ?