Centre for Automotive Safety Research reports

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Alcohol, illicit drugs and prescription medications used by severely injured drivers, riders and pedestrians before and after the crash
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2022) Baldock, M.; Wundersitz, L.; Raftery, S.; Edwards, S.; Lifetime Support Authority (LSA)
This project was concerned with examining substance use both before and following involvement in road crashes causing serious injury. It was comprised of two data analysis studies, one on fatal crashes and one on hospital admission cases, a literature review on substance use by those with injury types included within the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS), and a discussion of potential studies to look at post-injury substance use among seriously injured road users in South Australia. Substance use was found to be involved in a large proportion of hospital admission and fatal injury crashes. A direct contribution to fatal crashes of substance use was found in 36% of cases. An illegal BAC and illicit drug use were found in similar proportions of cases, while combinations of multiple substance types were common. The literature review revealed that post-injury substance use often replicated pre-injury substance use and often results in worse outcomes. Management of pain is a critical issue post-injury for the injury types within the LSS. Opioids are frequently prescribed to treat chronic pain but alternative therapies need to be explored to avoid some of the negative effects of long term opioid use.
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Annual performance indicators of enforced driver behaviours in South Australia, 2005
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2008) Wundersitz, L.; Baldock, M.; Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This report was produced to quantify performance indicators for selected enforced driver behaviours (drink driving, speeding and restraint use) in South Australia for the calendar year 2005. Note that there were considerable problems with data on police enforcement operations and detections in 2005. Consequently, some 2005 data were not available for this report. The level of random breath testing (RBT) in South Australia in 2005 was slightly lower than in 2004. The abolition of the requirement for mobile RBT to be conducted only during ‘prescribed periods’ in mid 2005 was responsible for an increase in the proportion of tests conducted using mobile RBT. The increase in mobile testing led to an increase in the overall detection rate. However, interstate comparisons suggest the level of testing and the proportion of testing using mobile RBT should be increased further in South Australia. The proportion of mobile testing is expected to be more comparable with other states in 2006, when mobile methods would have operated on an unrestricted basis for 12 months. There was a marked increase (34%) in number of hours spent on speed detection in 2005, despite three months of speed camera inactivity. The detection rate (per hour of enforcement and per 1,000 vehicles passing speed cameras) continued to decrease in 2005 to the lowest of all years since records began in 2000. The finding of a low detection rate combined with an increase in the hours of speed detection in 2005 suggests the possibility of the positive effects of increased levels of speed enforcement. Urban and rural speed surveys were conducted in 2005. They revealed that reductions in speeds on 50 km/h urban roads in 2003 were maintained in 2005 but speeds on 60, 100 and 110km/h rural roads increased. The number of restraint offences in 2005 was slightly lower than the number in 2004. The amount of publicity supporting restraint use increased by 27 per cent in 2005 and involved a new mass media campaign in both metropolitan and rural areas.
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Annual performance indicators of enforced driver behaviours in South Australia, 2006
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2008) Wundersitz, L.; Baldock, M.; Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This report was produced to quantify performance indicators for selected enforced driver behaviours (drink driving, speeding and restraint use) in South Australia for the calendar year 2006. The level of random breath testing (RBT) in South Australia in 2006 increased by 7 per cent to its highest ever level. The detection rate based on evidentiary testing decreased in 2006 from the previous year but remained at a relatively high level, while the detection rate for screening tests increased to the highest level since recording commenced in 2003. There was an increase in the proportion of tests conducted using mobile RBT, which is due to the operation of unrestricted mobile RBT for the entire year for the first time. Detection rates in South Australia were comparable with those in other states. There was an increase (7%) in the number of hours spent on speed detection in 2006 compared to 2005, partly due to three months of speed camera inactivity in 2005. Apart from an increase in speed camera detections, red light/speed camera detections also increased (by 30%) in 2006, most likely due to the expansion of the program. The detection rate (per hour of enforcement and per 1,000 vehicles passing speed cameras) increased for the first time since 2001 but remained at a relatively low level. No urban speed surveys were conducted in 2006 but rural surveys revealed a decrease in travel speeds on rural roads. The number of restraint offences in 2006 was 13 per cent higher than the number in 2005. Males were charged with more restraint offences and were more likely to be unrestrained in fatal and serious injury crashes than females, indicating that males remain an important target for restraint enforcement. Publicity expenditure supporting restraint use decreased in 2006, most likely because an existing media campaign was used.
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Annual performance indicators of enforced driver behaviours in South Australia, 2007
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2009) Wundersitz, L.; Hiranandani, K.; Baldock, M.; South Australian Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This report was produced to quantify performance indicators for selected enforced driver behaviours (drink driving, drug driving, speeding and restraint use) in South Australia for the calendar year 2007. The level of random breath testing (RBT) in South Australia in 2007 decreased slightly but remained at a relatively high level. The proportion of tests conducted using mobile RBT continued to increase. The detection rate based on evidentiary testing increased in 2007 to the highest level on record, while the detection rate for screening tests decreased. Detection rates in South Australia were comparable with those in other states. Just over 12,000 drug tests were conducted during 2007, the first full year of random drug testing. Relative to other Australian jurisdictions supplying comparative data, South Australia had the highest testing rate per head of population. Around 24 drivers per 1,000 tested were confirmed positive for at least one of the three prescribed drugs with methylamphetamine the most commonly detected drug. Of the fatally injured drivers who were drug tested in 2007, 25 per cent tested positive for illicit drugs. There was a slight decrease in the number of hours spent on speed detection in 2007. Nevertheless, the total number of speed detections increased, with increases observed for speed camera and red light/speed cameras, the latter most likely due to the expansion of the program. The detection rate (per hour of enforcement and per 1,000 vehicles passing speed cameras) increased by around 30 per cent. Data from systematic speed surveys, introduced in 2007, indicated that travelling speeds on South Australian roads were increasing. The number of restraint offences in 2007 decreased by 14 per cent. Males were charged with more restraint offences and were more likely to be unrestrained in fatal and serious injury crashes than females, indicating that males remain an important target for restraint enforcement. The 2007 publicity campaign focused on the consequences of not using restraints rather than increasing the perceived risk of detection.
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Best practice criteria in practical driving tests of medically referred drivers
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2008) Baldock, M.; Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
Section 80 of the Motor Vehicles Act empowers the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to require drivers to undergo a practical test of their driving ability. These practical driving assessments (PDAs) are chiefly administered by Safety Education Officers (SEOs) employed by the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. Given the importance of licensure for a person’s mobility and independence, PDAs must be of an excellent standard, producing valid and reliable outcomes for those who are assessed. Specifically, they must be structured so that they reliably produce the appropriate recommendations regarding each driver’s medical fitness to hold a driver’s licence. This report provides a review of the literature published prior to 2006 concerned with the best methods for assessing medical fitness to drive. This enables comparisons between the methods used in South Australia and the best-practice methods described in the literature, which, in turn, enables the identification of possible improvements that could be made to the South Australian system. Possible improvements to South Australian practice include the greater involvement of occupational therapists in the assessment process, the use of an interview and functional testing prior to the on-road test, the use of a dual controlled vehicle provided by the testing agency, a longer duration of the on-road test, the presence of a third party in the vehicle during an on-road test to take detailed scoring notes, and the provision of counselling and advice when necessary at the completion of an assessment.
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Crashes involving road users who have recently arrived in South Australia
(Centre for automotive Safety Researchy, 2023) Thompson, J.; Lindsay, V.; Baldock, M.; This research was funded via a deed with the South Australian Government
There have only been a limited number of previous road safety studies of recent arrivals (tourists and migrants) in Australia. The present report examined crashes in South Australia in which a road user (car driver, motorcycle rider, bicycle rider or pedestrian) who had recently arrived in Australia (i.e. country of birth was other than Australia and had been in Australia for one year or less) was injured and admitted to hospital. Records from the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) in South Australia for 56 injured recently arrived road users from May 2014 to October 2017 were linked with police-reported crash data and results of forensic blood tests for alcohol and drugs. They comprised 2.7% of the total 2,037 crash-involved road users who were admitted to the RAH during this period, which indicates that they constitute only a small part of the road trauma in South Australia. Characteristics of the sample of recently arrived road users and their crashes were examined and comparisons made to 1,837 road users who were either born in Australia or had been in Australia for more than one year and who were admitted to the RAH over the same period. Recent arrivals were younger and more likely to be at-fault for their crashes. They did not differ from longer-term Australian road users in the likelihood of testing positive for alcohol and were less likely to test positive for a proscribed drug. Some of their crashes may have been due to unfamiliarity or confusion with either the road environment or the road rules in South Australia. Also, recently arrived car drivers were more likely to crash in rural areas and areas with high speed limits, to be involved in departed lane/off path type crashes, to experience longer delays in the arrival of medical care to the scene of their crashes, and to have been more severely injured. This report provided an important update on the road safety of a group of road users who have been largely overlooked by recent research. Countermeasures to improve their safety are discussed with reference to these findings.
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Developing measures to reduce unlicensed driving
(Austroads, 2013) Baldock, M.; Royals, J.; Raftery, S.; Bailey, T.; Lydon, M.; Austroads
This report considers countermeasures to reduce the incidence of unlicensed driving on Australian roads. Unlicensed motorists pose a problem to road safety authorities as they are operating independently of the established licensing system and are known to have higher than average crash rates. By operating beyond the licensing system, unlicensed motorists reduce the ability of authorities to monitor and manage driver behaviour and reduce the impact of the sanction of licence loss. The report is based on a review of Australian and international literature, with an emphasis on articles with the greatest relevance to Australia and discussions with stakeholders. It identifies the countermeasures most likely to be effective and feasible in Australia and provides a path to their implementation.
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Examination of the effectiveness and acceptability of mobile phone blocking technology among drivers of corporate fleet vehicles
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2016) Ponte, G.; Baldock, M.; Thompson, J.; Motor Accident Commission
There is technology available that can block mobile phones while driving. The aim of this research was to determine if mobile phone blocking technology is an effective and acceptable method for reducing driver distraction among drivers of corporate fleet vehicles. Two different technologies were assessed: one required software to be installed on mobile phones, while the other technology used software in addition to external Bluetooth hardware that paired with the phones. A sample of 104 study participants who regularly drove a corporate fleet vehicle were recruited through SA Power Networks, a major corporation in South Australia. Each participant experienced one of the two technologies, and their opinions on the technology and phone use while driving were assessed using pre- and post-trial questionnaires. A majority of participants reported that phone blocking was not reliable but a majority nonetheless considered the technology they trialled to be an effective way of preventing phone use while driving. The results of this trial suggest that phone blocking products may provide a useful method of changing mobile phone use behaviour while driving. However, the reliability and usability of the products need to improve to reach higher ratings of user acceptance and approval.
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In-depth research into rural road crashes
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2008) Baldock, M.; Kloeden, C.; McLean, J.; Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This report was produced under an agreement between Transport SA and the Road Accident Research Unit formed in the late 1990s. Due to various delays in the publication of this report, Transport SA has since become the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure and the Road Accident Research Unit has become the Centre for Automotive Safety Research. The report describes a series of 236 rural road crashes investigated between 1 March 1998 and 29 February 2000 in South Australia. Investigations began with immediate attendance at the scene of the crash. The information collected for each crash included: photographs of the crash scene and vehicles involved, video record of the crash scene and vehicles in selected cases, examination of the road environment, a site plan of the crash scene and vehicle movements in the crash, examination and measurements of the vehicles involved, interviews with crash participants, interviews with witnesses, interviews with police, information on the official police report, information from Coroner’s reports, and injury data for the injured crash participants. The report provides an overall statistical summary of the sample of crashes investigated, followed by a detailed examination of the road infrastructure issues contributing to the crashes. This is done on the basis of crash type, with separate sections concerned with single vehicle crashes, midblock crashes and crashes at intersections. A section is also provided that examines the role of roadside hazards in the crashes.
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Motorcycle protective clothing in the ACT
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2022) Baldock, M.; Thompson, J.; 2021 ACT Road Safety Community Grants Program
This study involved an investigation of the use of protective clothing by motorcyclists in the ACT, encompassing both commuting (n=33) and recreational (n=45) riders. Rider knowledge about MotoCAP, the star rating scheme for protective clothing that operates in Australia and New Zealand, was also examined. Rates of wearing of protective clothing among ACT motorcyclists was found to be high, especially for jackets and gloves. Gains could still be made through the promotion of the importance of wearing protective motorcycle pants, especially garments fitted with armour. Only a minority of riders were aware of MotoCAP and only a small proportion had ever visited the website. The high importance placed by riders on physical protection when riding suggests that there is a big market for the resources provided by MotoCAP and expanding publication of star ratings beyond the website may assist with reaching them, something which MotoCAP is currently pursuing.
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Random breath testing in South Australia: operation and effectiveness 1997
(Office of Road Safety, SA Department of Transport, 1998) Baldock, M.; Bailey, T.; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
The number of drivers tested at South Australian Random Breath Testing (RBT) stations in 1997 represented an increase of 91 per cent from the previous record year of 1996. This was coupled with greater emphasis on RBT operations in the early hours of the morning when drink driving rates are higher and the targeting of specific locations where higher rates of drink driving are expected. These changes in the extent and patterns of RBT operations resulted in the highest level of detection of drink drivers in all the years 1989-1 997. The effectiveness of RBT operations, however, is still restricted by having to be conducted only in the 'static' mode. The introduction of 'mobile' RBT would considerably increase the coverage of RBT operations in such a way that rural RBT would be greatly enhanced.
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Review of the literature on cannabis and crash risk
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2007) Baldock, M.; Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
A review of the literature published prior to 2005 concerning cannabis and road crash involvement was conducted, with emphasis given to studies documenting the relative crash risk associated with driving after use of cannabis. Case-control studies that have been conducted into cannabis and road crashes have been characterised by methodological flaws that make the interpretation of the results difficult. Partly as a response to the difficulty of conducting case-control studies, some researchers have used culpability studies to determine whether cannabis use contributes to crash involvement. However, as for case-control studies into cannabis and crash involvement, many culpability studies are difficult to interpret because of methodological problems. There have been two recent Australian studies that have analysed the relationship between THC (tetrahydrocannabinol - the psychoactive component of cannabis) measured in the blood and crash culpability. These two studies produced contradictory results. In summary, the risk of crash involvement associated with driving under the influence of cannabis remains to be determined. To resolve the issue, it is necessary to conduct a case-control study similar to those that have been conducted for alcohol. That is, it is necessary to compare the incidence of cannabis in crash-involved drivers with the incidence in non-crash-involved drivers matched for potential confounding factors, such as age, gender, time of day, day of week, and direction of travel.
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Severe and fatal car crashes due to roadside hazards: a report to the Motor Accident Commission
(Road Accident Research Unit, 1999) Kloeden, C.; McLean, J.; Baldock, M.; Cockington, A.; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
The NHMRC Road Accident Research Unit (RARU) was funded by the Motor Accident Commission in 1997 to investigate the role of roadside hazards in road accidents resulting in death or serious injury to a car occupant in South Australia. The main aim of this project was to document the extent to which roadside hazards contribute to severe and fatal car crashes in South Australia and to comment on the opportunities that exist to make our roadsides safer. A secondary aim of the project was to conduct investigations in such a way as to provide for the training of engineers from Transport SA in the recognition of hazardous roadside features and an appreciation of their importance in road safety. The study was based on information contained in the Traffic Accident Reporting System data base on road accidents reported to or by the Police and on information in Coronial records of fatal crashes. Some roadside hazard crashes were also investigated at the scene.
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The relative contribution of system failures and extreme behaviour in South Australian fatal crashes, 2008-2009
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2015) Wundersitz, L.; Baldock, M.; Raftery, S.; Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (SA)
Within the road system, there are compliant road users who may make an error that leads to a crash, resulting in a ‘system failure’, and there are also road users who deliberately take risks and display dangerous or ‘extreme’ behaviours that lead to a crash. Crashes resulting from system failures can be addressed through improvements to road system design more readily than crashes resulting from extreme behaviours. The classification of crash causation in terms of system failures or extreme behaviour is important for determining the extent to which a Safe System approach (i.e. improvements to road system design to serve compliant road users) is capable of reducing the number of crashes. This study examined the relative contribution of system failures and extreme behaviour in South Australian crashes as identified from information in Coroner’s investigation files (2008-2009) for 189 fatal crashes. The results were compared with data from CASR’s in-depth crash investigations for 272 nonfatal metropolitan injury crashes and 181 non-fatal rural crashes. The analysis found that that very few non-fatal crashes (3% metropolitan, 9% rural) involved extreme behaviour by road users and, even in fatal crashes, the majority (54%) were the result of system failures. Fatal crashes resulting from system failures were more likely than those resulting from extreme behaviour to occur during the day, on weekdays, in rural areas and on roads with high speed limits. Findings from the current study suggest that improvements to the road transport system (i.e. forgiving road infrastructure, appropriate speed limits, and safe vehicle design) can be expected to be much more effective in reducing crashes than concentrating on preventing extreme behaviours. Such a strategy could reduce the incidence and severity of a large proportion of crashes in South Australia.
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Vehicle improvements to reduce the number and severity of rear end crashes
(Centre for Automotive Safety Research, 2008) Anderson, R.; Baldock, M.; Motor Accident Commission of South Australia; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This report reviews vehicle technology developed to reduce the incidence of rear end crashes and the whiplash injuries that may result. Chapters cover: crash avoidance measures, passive safety measures built into improved seat and head restraint designs, assessment procedures that have been developed to assess the efficacy of various seat and head restraint designs in rear impacts, testing and assessment programs that are used to inform consumers of the relative performance of the seats in different models of vehicle and includes up-to-date information on the recently released EuroNCAP proposal to assess whiplash protection measures, the uptake of both seat-based whiplash countermeasures and also brake assistive technologies in Australia, and research on the costs and benefits of vehicle based measures to reduce rear end crashes and whiplash injury. Commentary is given on the opportunities for increasing the awareness of consumers in relation to vehicle based rear-end crash and whiplash countermeasures.
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Window tinting and night driving: A dual task investigation
(Office of Road Safety, SA Department of Transport, 2004) Baldock, M.; Kloeden, C.; McLean, J.; Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR)
This study was designed to test the implications for night driving of a proposal put forward by a window tinting lobby group to reduce the required minimum visible light transmittance (VLT) of front side windows of cars from 70% to 35%. A sample of 24 young (aged under 30 years) and 24 elderly (aged 59 or over) subjects were required to complete target detection and reaction time tasks using peripheral vision. These tasks were performed both through a clear or tinted front side window and both in the presence and absence of a concurrent visual tracking task performed on a computer screen directly in front of the subject. The contrast value of the targets to be detected also took two different values. It was found that the elderly performed worse on the task overall, producing 178 of the 179 target detection failures in the study and also registering longer reaction times than the young group. Reaction times recorded for the elderly group were also found to be longer when they were required to view the targets through the tinted window. Similar effects were found for the elderly resulting from the dual task manipulation (longer reaction times when performing the concurrent task) and from the target contrast manipulation (longer reaction times when reacting to the low contrast target). As this study was very conservative in nature, it is concluded on the basis of significantly longer reaction times for the elderly subjects when looking through the tinted window that industry pressure to lower the minimum VLT of front side windows should be resisted and that these windows should be required to allow 70% of incident visual light to pass through to the eyes of the driver.

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