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VICTORIA has traditionally been a leader in road safety.
It led the world in instilling behavioural change among drivers through high-risk, high-impact advertising that showed people they would die if they drove drunk or without seat belts.
Despite this profound success, Victoria has fallen behind Europe in creating safer infrastructure that will “be forgiving” to drivers who do drive fatigued, slide off the road or make errors.
Trauma experts say we cannot eradicate human error so we must place a greater emphasis on how technology can reduce error and save lives.
The following areas are key factors that global road agencies are trying to address in a bid to wipe-out road trauma.
TECHNOLOGY
Experts and road authorities agree technology is the future when it comes to safe driving.
The Danish Road Safety Authority’s Jesper Solund says passive and active safety in cars will bring new ways of supporting and safeguarding road users.
Europe is leading the world in embracing safe cars – The Danish Road Safety Commission remains determined progress in new road safety technology must be quickly and widely implemented into new vehicles.
“A positive trend in technological aids can counter the errors that all road users make, to a greater or lesser extent,” the Danish road safety plan reads.
This sentiment is echoed by the TAC which acknowledges humans will always make errors.
Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) senior research fellow Dr David Logan said while Victoria had for decades been at the forefront of behavioural change, other European countries had led the world in providing safer roads and safer cars.
“We have to acknowledge that humans are humans,” Dr Logan said.
“We need to create a road system that is supporting and forgiving – it needs to be more robust.”
EDUCATION
Both Denmark and Victoria have acknowledged the importance of ensuring young drivers are equipped with the ideas of responsibility, education and driving ability to not become a liability on the roads.
In both countries young people continue to be over-represented in the road toll – with Denmark outlining under 24 year-olds as significantly vulnerable.
Denmark is engaging children while they are in primary school by seeking out young people who are living life with disabilities as a result of road trauma.
“We trained these victims they are educated in road safety and go out and meet the high-risk groups in schools,” Mr Solund said.
“It seems to be a very effective tool.”
They believe this has had a significant impact on changing driver behaviour early and the results of this would be seen in the future.
Mr Solund said authorities sometimes faced difficulties in funding programs for primary school-aged children because the success of the programs could not be accurately measured.
The Victorian Government is increasing its investment in young drivers and has committed to develop a road safety education complex – where young children, potentially through their school curriculum, will learn evidence-based best practices of driving.
BEHAVIOUR
Both countries can claim success in effectively changing driver behaviour.
Denmark has reduced the number of alcohol related fatalities by 80 to 90 per cent since the late 1990s.
”Drunk driving is clearly (an area of focus) which has been very effective,” Mr Solund said.
”The figures have been decreasing, decreasing, decreasing.”
Mr Solund said the success had been achieved through a combination of education and enforcement.
Ms Cockfield said Victoria’s success in road safety was underpinned by its ground breaking drink driving messages.
“(We) achieved this (success) primarily through behavioural change.
“We have a really good uptake in terms of driving and fatigue message – the things we are asking people to differently.”
COMMUNITY
One of the major difference between Victoria’s and Denmark’s road safety plan is the role of local council.
Denmark’s 98 municipalities individually engage with schools to promote educate at a local level and to ensure advertisements are targeted towards the particular “black spots” or issues impacting that region.
Because of the set-up of the road network, individual municipalities are responsible for for a large part of the Danish road network.
In 2012, 77 of the 98 municipalities had a specific road safety plan 84 had education programs in school.
Municipalities are also urged to develop their own advertising to complement national advertising.
SPEED
Denmark has copied Victoria’s extremely successful Wipe Off Five campaign while the TAC has adopted a new approach urging Victorians to ReThink speed, by ensuring they think about the road conditions, the weather and congestion and adapt their speed limit to suit.
But leading innovators say technology will have the biggest impact on speed.
The TAC has committed to installing roadside barriers to reduce the likelihood of head on collisions.
Experts from Sweden suggest to get to a zero road toll all roads with a speed of 100 km/h must have road dividers or else the speed limit must be reduced.
