There has been an 11 % increase in road fatalities in Victoria during 1995 from the previous year. This increase has been driven by rises in the number of pedestrian fatalities in Melbourne, and rises in the number of drivers and pedestrians killed in rural Victoria. The largest increases have occurred for pedestrians killed in Melbourne with BAC above 0.15g/100ml, Melbourne pedestrian fatalities aged 4059, drivers killed in rural Victoria with BAC above 0.15g/100ml and driver fatalities aged 30-39 in rural Victoria. Suggested explanations for these increases may lie with the reduced random breath testing in rural Victoria during 1995, and reductions in unemployment rates in both Melbourne and rural Victoria during 1995. There are also indications from the lodgement of TAC claims of an 8% increase in the overall number of pedestrian claims lodged in 1995 compared to the previous year. Further, the number of Police-reported serious injuries in 1995 have risen by 3% on the 1994 frequency. These increases warrant further analysis of Police reported casualty crashes in 1995 to determine if the increase in fatalities has also occurred for serious and other injury crashes, particularly casualty crashes involving pedestrians in Melbourne and drivers in rural Victoria. This will increase the crash frequency and therefore increase the statistical reliability of the findings, which will lead to more definitive conclusions regarding factors which have contributed to the increase in the 1995 road toll from the previous year.
Abstract