Road safety over holiday periods

ROAD SAFETY E OVER HOLIDAY PERIODS Willoughby 5 STEPS TO STAY SAFE ON THE ROAD Step 1: Stay Sober Drinking affects your driving ability'. The legally allowed BAC (blood alcohol content) for full licence holders in Australia is 0.05 g/dl, but estimating your BAC based on the number of standard drinks you have had is often inaccurate. Many drinks come in non-standard sizes, and BAC can vary according to gender, weight, or other individual characteristics. Step 2: Slow Down Keep to the speed limits – they are in place for a reason. Speeding increases the likeli- hood of a crash, while slowing down saves lives. Also, speeding only saves you a little time: on a 10km journey, you would save 46 seconds by increasing your average speed from 60km/h to 65km/h, but double your chances of being involved in a car crash. Step 3: Take Breaks Make sure to take regular breaks from driving in order to stay alert. Fatigue becomes a risk factor in all trips that occur during normal sleep times, or in the case of previous sleep deprivation – especially if you are taking medication or driving alone". Step 4: Focus on the Road Driving requires all of your attention, so steer clear of anything that might distract you from what's happening on the road ahead of you. One in ten accidents on public roads is related to distraction", such as using a mobile phone, eating and drinking, or adjusting your GPS while driving. Step 5: Buckle Up Wearing a seat belt doubles your chances of surviving a serious crash, so always buckle up as soon as you get in the car - this goes for the driver and also for passengers in front and rear seats! Don't think you only have to wear a seat belt when you travel very fast: a crash at 40km/h is like falling from a two-storey building onto concrete. OPERATION CROSSROADS Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads is an ongoing nationally coordinated initiative of Police Commissioners in Australia and New Zealand to reduce road trauma over the holiday periods. Christmas Fatalities 60 Targeting the "Big Five Christmas fatalities on Australian roads were found to involve higher proportions of vehicle passengers, Targeting the 'big five' causes of road trauma - drink/drug females and children under 15 years of age'. driving, speeding, fatigue, distraction and not wearing seat belts - Operation Crossroads runs annually Alcohol over the 12-day Christmas and New Year as well as In Australia, alcohol causes Easter holiday period. more road crashes than any other factor. Random breath testing results show that on average one in 300 drivers tested for alcohol exceeds the Males legal limit". Drivers who have driven even when they believed they might have been over the legal alcohol limit are more likely to be male, in a single or defacto relationship, working full-time or self-employed, and drink alcohol at least once a month". RESULTS 2011 & 2012 Random breath tests administered 1,203,687 1,075,959 753,091 Drink driving offences 686.535 Christmas 2012 Easter 2012 4,479 1,919 Christmas 2011 Easter 2011 3,736 2,323 Christmas Easter 2012 Christmas Easter 2012 2011 2011 Drug tests (Roadside) 5,448 3,562 Drug tests positive 3,324 2,677 Christmas 2012 Easter 2012 290 175 Christmas 2011 Easter 2011 261 122 Christmas Easter 2012 Christmas Easter 2012 2011 2011 Speeding Offences 60 Vehicle impound 65,629 916 li 822 li li 57,558 43,078 749 35,057 601 Christmas Easter 2012 Christmas Easter Christmas Easter Christmas Easter 2012 2011 2011 2012 2012 2011 2011 FIND MORE RESULTS ON WWW.ANZPAA.ORG.AU INTERNATIONAL ROAD SAFETY INITIATIVES LIK The THINK! Campaign runs in the UK over holiday periods. It is a combination of marketing as well as enforcement activities to increase road safety for motorists, cyclists and horse riders, targeting drink and drug driving, fatigue, mobile phones, speeding and seat belts. http://think.direct.gov.uk EU Europe is pushing towards the introduction of a wireless "emergency call" (eCall) system for cars. While connecting the driver to a European emergency call centre, USA "Operation Safe Holiday" is an initiative of the U.S. state Georgia, aiming to educate, remind and warn about the dangers of drink and drug driving. The campaign comes with increased police presence on the roadways2. the eCall device sends the exact GPS coordinates which pinpoints the location of the accident on the map, cutting emergency services response time significantly3. 1 Drug & Alcohol Services South Australia, Alcohol and Driving. http://www.dassa.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=121 2 NSW Govermment, Transport Roads & Maritime Services, The effects of alcohol on driving. http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/alcoholdrugs/bac/drinkinfoabouto_05.html 3 Vicroads, Speeding & Safety, http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/SafetyAndRules/Safetylssues/Speed/SpeedingandSafety.htm 4 Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety - Oueensland, Fatigue – State of the Road, http://www.carsq qut edu.au/publications/corporate/fatigue_fs.pof 5 Allianz Australia, Eyes Forward, http://drivesafely.allianz.com/en/road-safety/road-safety-tips/drive-safely-tip-21.html Government of South Australia, Department of Planning. Transport and Infrastructure, Road Safety: Seatbelts & Children Restraints, http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/roadsafety/Safer_behaviours/seatbelts 7 Australian Govemment - Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Characteristics of Fatal Road Crashes During National Holiday Periods. http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/2006/pdf/Holiday_fatalities pof, p. VI 8 ANZPAA, Police announce Australian figures from Christmas/New Year road safety operation, http://www.anzpaa.org.au/corporate-news-and-publications/news/8682 9 ANZPAA, Operation Crossroads, https://www.anzpaa.org.au/current-initiatives/operation-crossroads 10 DrinkWise Australia, Drink Driving, http://www.drinkwise.org.au/you-alcohol/alcohol-facts/drink-driving/ 11 DrinkWise Australia, Drink Driving, http://www.drinkwise.org.au/you-alcohol/alcohol-facts/drink-driving/ 12 The Reporter, Montgomery County, PennDOT launch "Operation Safe Holiday, warning motorists against impaired driving around the holidays, http://www.thereporteronline.com/article/20121211/NEWS01/121219887/montgomery-county-penndot-launc h-operation-safe-holiday--warning-motorists-against-impaired-driving-around-the-holidays 13 European Commission, Digital Agenda: Commission takes first step to ensure life-saving emergency call system for road accidents in place by 2015, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-1010_en.htm?locale=en BROUGHT TO YOU BY Allianz m ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA Search for "Allianz infographics" for more!