Road Safety Strategies - the most fruitful directions

1. Road Safety Strategies- the most fruitful directions Ian Johnston Director Monash University Accident Research Centre

2. S.A.: 1950-2000

3. We have come a long wayBUThow well will our current strategies serve us in the future?

4. We have done most of the easy thingsANDwe are not even talking about the hard things

5. Why is there such a large gap between road safety knowledge and action? • fundamentally because we value personal time/mobility far above community safety • which has created a personal transport milieu that is ultimately incompatible with a minimal road toll

6. Exhibit 1- Community acceptance of a ‘quantum’ of road toll • the single largest cause of death in the first five decades of life • we value personal safety, not community safety • but we worry only about departures from the norm

7. Exhibit 2- The “human failure” myth • our system of blame • lack of understanding of system design role • aided and abetted by “sectional interest”

8. Exhibit 3- The “regulatory stick” era • mandated protection - seat belts - helmets • tough laws • intense enforcement • high penalties

9. Great valuebut • alcohol - still 20-25% • 97% belt wearing but … • more ‘anti-social’ in a smaller road toll

10. What’s left in the regulatory kit bag? • drugs? possibly • fatigue? unlikely • speed? absolutely, but

11. Exhibit 4 - The speed management controversy • speed or speeding? • enforcement tolerances • camera rage • revenue raising

12. Exhibit 5- The illusion of vehicle safety • excellent gains in crashworthinessBUT only modest levels of absolute protection • 30 km/h for pedestrians • 30-50 km/h for side impacts • 65-70 km/h for “head on”

13. Exhibit 6 - The market dominance of power and performance • we design, build and market cars with performance potential way beyond what is legal or even feasible in traffic

16. Red Zone

17. Exhibit 7 - The illusion of safe road infrastructure • long lengths per taxpayer mean cost premium • little of road stock at high design standard • almost none at high roadside safety standard

18. Exhibit 8- Our failure to deal with “run off road” • 4 in 10 deaths • alcohol, fatigue, distraction, speed • causes not consequences • the 80:20 rule

19. What have we done? • improved alignment • sealed shoulders • tactile edgelines but these are ‘spot’ treatments not system wide approaches

22. Hope beyond standards? • NCAP • AusRAP BUT consumer leadership is still in its infancy

23. We need a sea change • We have most of the benefits from the “regulatory stick” • Crashworthiness gains are fewer and smaller • We don’t have the benefits of road infrastructure safety, particularly roadside safety

24. My “Big ” 5 • two for now • three for the future

25. NOW • Reduce urban travel speeds by 3-5 km/h • how? • value of forcing social change

26. NOW • Programmaticimprovement in rural roadside safety

27. FUTURE • Confront the “car culture” • the way cars are marketed • the way driving is viewed

28. FUTURE • Strengthen the institutional accountabilities • to provide a safe infrastructure • have to break down the ‘blame’ mentality

29. FUTURE • Develop real leadership • by government / industry • analogous to environment? • a ‘social responsibility’ model