This paper outlines the first stage of an investigation by ARRB of the role of road and environment features in fatal accidents. This initial stage consisted principally of summarising the data collected on ARRB's Fatal Accident Report Form and stored in the Fatal Accident Database. The number of features examined in this first stage was very large, and it is only possible to present a subset of the results here. Tables of site data for South Australian urban and rural fatal accidents from 1983 to 1987 are presented, and various difficulties in the interpretation of these tables are discussed. Examination of supplementary information such as sketch plans and photographs supplied with Fatal Accident Report Forms revealed that loss of control on unsealed shoulders is a substantial problem in rural driving. This problem is known to have contributed to at least 19 per cent of single vehicle accidents on sealed roads with unsealed shoulders, but the true figure is probably considerably higher. It is concluded that the Fatal Accident Report Form provides valuable data for the investigation of the role of road and environment factors in fatal accidents, and that such data could not be supplied by other methods. In the second stage of the investigation, the site data held in the Fatal Accident Database will be combined with the driver and vehicle data contained in state accident databases. This will allow greater disaggregation of accidents, and the linking of particular types of accident with particular road and environmental conditions (A).
Abstract