This report presents the results of a comparison of pedestrian and bicycle accidents in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Cross-tabulations were provided by the road authorities in the three States. Variables which were used in the cross tabulations included accident type, age group of pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers, day and time, light conditions, type of vehicle, accident location and degree of urbanisation. Pedestrian fatality rates are similar for New South Wales and Victoria, with Queensland being noticeably higher. All three States have similar patterns of pedestrian crashes in terms of time of day (highest in the 3.00 to 6.00 pm period), day of week (highest on Friday and lowest on Sunday) and type of crash. Fewer rural pedestrian crashes result from crossing the road and more from playing on or walking along the road. The rate of bicyclists killed per 100,000 population is much lower in New South Wales and the rate admitted to hospital in Queensland is much higher than in the other two States. All three States showed similar patterns of accidents across the week, with fewer accidents at weekends and more accidents during the week; although New South Wales had a higher proportion of accidents on a Sunday and slightly lower proportions on weekdays. All States showed a marked morning and evening peak, and had highest accident rates among the 13 to 17 year old group. The distribution of accident-types was remarkably similar across all three States, the most frequent types of accidents being cross traffic, right near, right through, and rear end. (Author/publisher)
Abstract