Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicl ....Safety in the Heavy Vehicle Industry: A Collaborative Response. The management and regulation of heavy vehicles, particularly in relation to safety, is recognised as an urgent issue at all levels of government across Australia. In the absence of research that identifies the key determinants of heavy vehicle crashes, countermeasures will continue to be based on anecdote. The proposed study will determine the role key risk factors, namely scheduling and sleep-related factors, play in heavy vehicle crashes and will identify cost-effective strategies to reduce the growing economic burden associated with these crashes.Read moreRead less
The influence of visible traffic enforcement on the incidence of other crime: Implications for intelligence-driven crime prevention. This project marks the first scientific investigation in Australia examining the potential for visible traffic enforcement to reduce other crime. It will: (i) examine the effect of routine traffic enforcement [deployed via traffic specific intellegence] on general crime rates (study 1); and (ii) determine whether the targeting of visible enforcement at crime "hots ....The influence of visible traffic enforcement on the incidence of other crime: Implications for intelligence-driven crime prevention. This project marks the first scientific investigation in Australia examining the potential for visible traffic enforcement to reduce other crime. It will: (i) examine the effect of routine traffic enforcement [deployed via traffic specific intellegence] on general crime rates (study 1); and (ii) determine whether the targeting of visible enforcement at crime "hotspots" can heighten this effect (study 2). The results of the studies will be examined in light of relevent theoretical perspectives pertaining to crime prevention, such as "broken windows" and deterence theories. The research complements a national move to increase intelligence-driven enforcement activities and will inform policing policy and crime prevention strategies worldwide.Read moreRead less
Improving child safety in cars. This study aims to reduce the number of children killed and injured as passengers in car crashes. These deaths and injuries currently impose huge social and emotional costs on the community and the families involved. Any injury will compromise child health and development, and many result in temporary or long-term disability and care needs. From an economic viewpoint alone, child passenger fatalities and injuries have been conservatively estimated to cost in ex ....Improving child safety in cars. This study aims to reduce the number of children killed and injured as passengers in car crashes. These deaths and injuries currently impose huge social and emotional costs on the community and the families involved. Any injury will compromise child health and development, and many result in temporary or long-term disability and care needs. From an economic viewpoint alone, child passenger fatalities and injuries have been conservatively estimated to cost in excess of $400 million per year. Thus, this research will contribute to both social and economic savings and contribute to better health outcomes for the nation's childrenRead moreRead less
Speeding recidivism, crash risk and the impact of penalties and sanctions on speeding behaviour. Road traffic crashes make up one quarter of deaths due to injury (ATSB 2004) with speeding a major contributing factor. It has been estimated that the yearly cost of speed related crashes alone amounts to $1 billion (MUARC 1993). We aim to examine the effect of increased penalty regimes on speeding offenders and its relationship to their traffic and criminal histories. Results will reveal relationshi ....Speeding recidivism, crash risk and the impact of penalties and sanctions on speeding behaviour. Road traffic crashes make up one quarter of deaths due to injury (ATSB 2004) with speeding a major contributing factor. It has been estimated that the yearly cost of speed related crashes alone amounts to $1 billion (MUARC 1993). We aim to examine the effect of increased penalty regimes on speeding offenders and its relationship to their traffic and criminal histories. Results will reveal relationships between high level speeding, speeding recidivism and crash involvement, and to what extent they are associated with other anti-social and illegal behaviour. Based on the results and relevant theory, a model will be developed to inform policymakers on speed prevention education and legislation.Read moreRead less
Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will des ....Improving Road Safety and Driver Security: The Case of High Risk Fleet (Taxi) Drivers in Australia. Road crashes constitute a major cause of death and injury in Australia and taxis have a 22 times higher crash rate compared to private passenger vehicles. In addition to their high crash risks, 1/3 of all taxi drivers have experienced physical assaults. This innovative study will examine the circumstances that contribute toward taxi crashes and assaults on drivers and more importantly, it will design, implement and evaluate a program of countermeasures to improve the safety and security of taxi drivers, which will contribute significantly toward reducing the truma related to road crashes in Australia and assaults on public transport drivers.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882942
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,000.00
Summary
Advanced Driving Simulator for Injury Prevention Research. Tragically road crashes are still the major cause of traumatic death and injury in Australia with an economic and social burden estimated at over $17 billion per year. This internationally recognised research team proposes to use a world leading advanced driving simulator for experimental studies to reduce the carnage and loss on Australian roads. It is vital that Australian researchers are granted access to the highest possible standa ....Advanced Driving Simulator for Injury Prevention Research. Tragically road crashes are still the major cause of traumatic death and injury in Australia with an economic and social burden estimated at over $17 billion per year. This internationally recognised research team proposes to use a world leading advanced driving simulator for experimental studies to reduce the carnage and loss on Australian roads. It is vital that Australian researchers are granted access to the highest possible standard of driving simulator technology to facilitate state-of-the-art research that could not otherwise be undertaken on open road settings due to ethical and safety reasons and cost limitations. This advanced driving simulator will support regulations regarding automotive safety.Read moreRead less
Hazard Perception and Cognitive Ageing in Older Drivers: Investigation and Development. Older road users have high fatal crash rates that cost the Australian economy $500 million each year. However, driving cessation is associated with depression and reduced social participation among older adults. The present study will benefit older road users and the wider community by identifying which traffic hazards pose the greatest difficulty for older drivers and providing information that may lead to a ....Hazard Perception and Cognitive Ageing in Older Drivers: Investigation and Development. Older road users have high fatal crash rates that cost the Australian economy $500 million each year. However, driving cessation is associated with depression and reduced social participation among older adults. The present study will benefit older road users and the wider community by identifying which traffic hazards pose the greatest difficulty for older drivers and providing information that may lead to adaptation of roads, and vehicles to reduce crash risk among older Australians. This will reduce injury and healthcare costs and allow older Australians to maintain higher levels of social participation.Read moreRead less
Intermittent reinforcement scheduling: Improving methods for deploying speed enforcement resources. Road crashes cost Australia $6 billion a year and excessive speed is a major cause of severe traffic crashes. The innovative research will compare the impact of 'intermittent reinforcement scheduling' and 'fixed reinforcement' programs on the target behaviour. This research offers a rare opportunity to vary speed camera deployment to determine the optimal learning and deterrence mechanisms for spe ....Intermittent reinforcement scheduling: Improving methods for deploying speed enforcement resources. Road crashes cost Australia $6 billion a year and excessive speed is a major cause of severe traffic crashes. The innovative research will compare the impact of 'intermittent reinforcement scheduling' and 'fixed reinforcement' programs on the target behaviour. This research offers a rare opportunity to vary speed camera deployment to determine the optimal learning and deterrence mechanisms for speed control. This research will develop a parsimonious model of "best practice" in speed camera enforcement that will be used at the state, national and international levels to improve traffic enforcement and road user safety in metropolitan, rural and remote communities.Read moreRead less
Developing Contemporary Driving Risk Assessment Tools to Improve Fleet Safety. The development of effective driving risk management tools will provide valuable insight into methods to reduce a significant community and national problem, as work-related road crashes cost Australia $15 billion a year. Importantly, the project has the potential to benefit both urban and rural areas of Queensland and Australia, as road crashes are a national problem. The research study also has the potential to cr ....Developing Contemporary Driving Risk Assessment Tools to Improve Fleet Safety. The development of effective driving risk management tools will provide valuable insight into methods to reduce a significant community and national problem, as work-related road crashes cost Australia $15 billion a year. Importantly, the project has the potential to benefit both urban and rural areas of Queensland and Australia, as road crashes are a national problem. The research study also has the potential to create business cost savings from reductions in productivity loss and medical expenses, as well as flow through to the general population in terms of better (a) fleet management, and (b) driver attitudes and behaviour.Read moreRead less