CRICOS No J Road Safety in Queensland: Successes and challenges Professor Barry Watson Road Safety Decade of Action: Queensland Launch – 11 May 2011

Long-term trend in Queensland road fatalities: CRICOS No J No. Year Fatalities in 1954 = 273 Pop. = 1.32 million Fatality rate = 20.6 per 100,000 Fatalities in 1973 = 638 Pop. = 1.98 million Fatality rate = 32.2 per 100,000 Fatalities in 2010 = 249 Pop. = 4.52 million Fatality rate = 5.51 per 100,000 Source: Qld Transport & Main Roads

2010 road fatality rate by jurisdiction: per 100,000 population CRICOS No J Source: Qld Transport & Main Roads Fatality rate 3rd

2009 fatality rates for OECD and Australian jurisdictions: per 100,000 pop CRICOS No J Source: BITRE, th5th

Road safety countermeasures: at a glance  Graduated driver licensing  Traffic law enforcement eg. RBT, speed cameras  Public education  Improved emergency services  Improved trauma management and rehabilitation systems  Improved primary safety eg. breaking systems  Australian Design Rules  New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP)  Improved secondary safety eg. occupant protection – seat belts, restraints, airbags  Helmets  Design improvements to allow access by emergency services  ITS crash reporting systems  Improved road design & maintenance standards  Crash ‘blackspot’ programs  Road safety auditing  Separation of traffic eg. divided roads  Roadside barriers  Removal of hazardous roadside objects  Emergency/break-down lanes Note: Figure based on the Haddon Matrix

Challenges for the next decade (1)  Fatalities are only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ and we are having less success in reducing serious and minor injuries

Road casualties in Queensland: Source: Qld Transport & Main Roads

Challenges for the next decade (2)  The impact of economic recovery & growth on road transport use  The need to cope with the influence of broader community trends: −the wide availability of alcohol (and other drugs) in the community and increased binge drinking −the proliferation of mobile phones and their impact on driver distraction  People ‘drive as they live’ −the need to more effectively manage recidivist offenders

Challenges for the next decade (3)  The need to maintain community interest in the road safety issue: −to fully understand the impact of road crashes on the community −to support further road safety initiatives  The Decade of Action represents a means of focusing community attention on road safety

Closing thoughts: How well does the community understand the magnitude of the road safety problem?

Community perceptions relating to the magnitude of the road toll Estimated number of road fatalities in Queensland in 2006 (N = 883) (Actual number = 336) Source: Fleiter & Watson, unpublished % 41.1% 57.7%