ROAD FATALITIES IN RURAL NEW SOUTH WALES: WEIGHING THE CAUSES

The major concern in a study of untimely death in a country region of New South Wales was: what caused fatal motor vehicle accidents? We examined coroners' records over a three-year period to obtain information on road conditions and driver ability, paying particular attention to the influence of alcohol. Age-specific fatality rates, compared with coroners' data from the Sydney metropolitan area, revealed elevated rates for all age groups, especially among those aged from 15 to 29 years. The most vulnerable age group was 15 to 19 years, for which the death rate was more than four times as high as for their metropolitan counterpart. Alcohol was a major contributing factor. The driver's inability to handle his vehicle outweighed the condition of country roads as the primary cause of fatal crashes.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0025729X
• Corporate Authors:

  Australasian Medical Publishing Company

  71-79 Arundel Street
  Glebe, New South Wales 2037,   Australia 
• Authors:
  • Renwick, M Y
  • Olsen, G G
  • Tyrrell, M S
• Publication Date: 1982-4-3

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 291-294
• Serial:
  • Medical Journal of Australia
  • Volume: 1
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Australasian Medical Publishing Company
  • ISSN: 0025-729X
  • Serial URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13265377

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Crash causes; Drivers; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Fatalities; Rural areas; Teenage drivers
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver age
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00384685
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-035 733
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Apr 30 1984 12:00AM