Latest news with #AustralasianCollegeofRoadSafety
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Nominations Now Open – Recognising Excellence In Road Safety Reporting
Press Release – Australasian College of Road Safety This initiative reflects the Australasian College of Road Safetys commitment to promoting informed, evidence-led public dialogue as a key driver of road safety for all. Do you know a journalist or media outlet making a real difference through powerful reporting on road safety? The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) is now accepting nominations for the 2025 ACRS Road Safety Reporting Award. This prestigious award recognises outstanding journalism that raises awareness, drives public dialogue, and contributes to the reduction of road trauma across Australia, New Zealand, and the region. Award highlights: Open to individuals or teams working across print, broadcast, or digital media Recognises reporting that informs, educates, and promotes road safety Winner announced at the annual Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) Opportunity to showcase your work to leading road safety experts and policymakers Submissions must have been published or aired between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. Those submitting are invited to showcase how their work incorporates credible research, amplifies stakeholder voices, raises public awareness, and advocates for change to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. This initiative reflects the Australasian College of Road Safety's commitment to promoting informed, evidence-led public dialogue as a key driver of road safety for all. If you or someone you know has published compelling journalism that advances public understanding of road safety, we encourage you to nominate now (terms & conditions apply). The winner of the Road Safety Reporting Award receives:
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Nominations Now Open - Recognising Excellence In Road Safety Reporting
Do you know a journalist or media outlet making a real difference through powerful reporting on road safety? The Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) is now accepting nominations for the 2025 ACRS Road Safety Reporting Award. This prestigious award recognises outstanding journalism that raises awareness, drives public dialogue, and contributes to the reduction of road trauma across Australia, New Zealand, and the region. Award highlights: Open to individuals or teams working across print, broadcast, or digital media Recognises reporting that informs, educates, and promotes road safety Winner announced at the annual Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) Opportunity to showcase your work to leading road safety experts and policymakers Submissions must have been published or aired between 1 May 2024 and 30 April 2025. Those submitting are invited to showcase how their work incorporates credible research, amplifies stakeholder voices, raises public awareness, and advocates for change to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. This initiative reflects the Australasian College of Road Safety's commitment to promoting informed, evidence-led public dialogue as a key driver of road safety for all. If you or someone you know has published compelling journalism that advances public understanding of road safety, we encourage you to nominate now (terms & conditions apply). The winner of the Road Safety Reporting Award receives:
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Widespread belief about speed limits on Aussie roads busted: 'People don't realise'
When Australian councils announce they're considering lowering speed limits in areas with high pedestrian activity, there's often immediate backlash from the public. Many people, while agreeing more needs to be done to minimise road trauma, argue it shouldn't come at the cost of increasing congestion, which they say can happen as a result of lower speeds. In recent times, numerous local governments across the country have reduced limits in areas popular with pedestrians, cyclists and children, in a bid to increase safety. The City of Yarra council in Melbourne, for example, reduced local limits to 30 kilometres per hour, around several popular suburbs including Fitzroy and Collingwood, just this month. With the country's population steadily growing, some say slower speeds will simply add to the problem. But according to Dr Ingrid Johnston, CEO of the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS), that simply isn't the case. Speaking to Yahoo, Johnston debunked this common misconception and reiterated the fact that the lower speeds mean higher chances of survival in crashes. "We know very clearly that to avoid people being killed or seriously injured in a crash, or better still, to avoid the crash happening in the first place, you need to be controlling the amount of energy which is in that crash," she said. Push to reduce speed limits to 30km/h for millions Renewed calls for major road rule change Aussie drivers explode over city's speed limit plan "We know that if a vehicle collides with the pedestrian, then if that vehicle is going at any more than about 30 kilometres per hour, that pedestrian's chances of survival plummet. And actually, if you've got reasonably heavy traffic, and if you slow that traffic down, it can travel more smoothly overall — and that's actually more efficient." Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Dr Jonathan Spear cited the fact that a pedestrian struck by a car travelling at 50km/h has an 85 per cent chance of dying. However, at 30km/h, the risk drops to 10 per cent, he said. According to Transport Accident Commission data, 48 pedestrians and 12 cyclists lost their lives in road accidents in the state last year — grim figures mirrored all over the country. Older people continue to face a higher risk of fatal traffic accidents, while road trauma remains a leading cause of death for children aged one to 14. Slowing down traffic can reduce stop-and-go driving, which in turn minimises fuel consumption and emissions. It also ensures vehicles move at a steady, consistent pace, making the journey safer and reducing wear and tear on both vehicles and road infrastructure. While it may seem counterproductive, Johnston pointed out that this approach actually leads to faster travel times overall. "When you look at the difference in travel times, it's usually only a matter of seconds—something that isn't consequential, but it feels counterintuitive, so people don't realise the benefits," she said. Johnston emphasised that across the country, people of all ages walk to school, parks, shops, and bike to work, creating a mix of traffic. In these areas, it's essential to prioritise safety for everyone, not just drivers. "We've built our system on cars," she said. "In new suburbs, roads are the first thing to be constructed — if you're lucky, there might be footpaths, but rarely bike paths, bus stops, or train stations. We design for cars, and that's what we need to stop doing, because we don't only and always travel in them." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Common myth about Aussie road deaths exposed: 'Something serious is going on'
A collaborative effort from both the public and the authorities is desperately needed to curb the skyrocketing number of deaths on Australian roads, one of the country's leading safety experts has urgently warned. It's a widely held belief in the country among some drivers that Australia's death toll on roads is merely a reflection of our rising population. Many have argued that as our population increases, it's only natural that more people will be killed on roads as a result. And while it's true that population increases do in part contribute to official figures, the argument oversimplifies the issue and ignores key statistical and contextual factors. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Dr Ingrid Johnston, CEO of the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) said that if road deaths were purely a result of population growth, the rate of deaths per 100,000 people would remain steady. However, Australia's road toll is rising at a faster rate than population growth, meaning something else is driving the increase. "Since 2020, the death rate per 100,000 people has gone from 4.3 to 4.4 to 4.5 to 4.7 to 4.8 and for the year to date, in 2025, it's 4.9," she explained. "It's been consistently trending upwards for the last four years, and it's looking like it's going to be another year again." Johnston said the situation hasn't been this bad since the 1960s, which is particularly troubling given the fact that was prior to compulsory seat belts and random breath testing. "It was before improvements in vehicle standards, before we really started getting serious about this whole problem," she said. "We made really good progress for a few decades, we were implementing really big changes, and Australia was even a world leader. We were the first ones to bring in a lot of really fundamental things. "But in the last decade or so, it started to plateau, and now we've seen a consistent increase for the first time since the 60s. People sometimes say, 'oh, maybe it's something to do with Covid, maybe it's a bit of a blip' — no, we're way past that. Now, something really serious is going on, and it needs to be taken seriously if it's going to be addressed." Urgent warning over deadly trend on Aussie roads Push to reduce speed limits to 30km/h for millions Push for more speeding cameras amid driver crackdown As to what's the driving force behind these fatalities, Johnston said it's "complex". "There are always multiple reasons for any crash occurring," she said. "We also know that enforcement levels in some jurisdictions are down on what they used to be, and you're constantly getting a new lot of drivers coming through." Johnston said new drivers who rarely encounter roadside breath tests or speed cameras may not develop the mindset that safe driving is always necessary. We must reinforce the message that checks can happen anytime, and it's crucial to improving road safety, she added. "There's a statistic that's often thrown around that says, if you survey people, 80 per cent of us think we are above-average drivers," she said. "Now, if you think that through, it's impossible, and it means that we'll often look at crashes or community awareness campaigns and think, 'those bad drivers really need to lift their game, lucky that's not me'. "We all think that we are better at driving than we actually are, and I think we see driving as a right in this country, but we need to be considering it much more as a privilege and as a massive responsibility." Johnston called for lower speed limits in areas with high pedestrian and cyclist activity, noting that fatalities are increasing in these areas. She also stressed the need for Australia to "catch up" to Europe in vehicle safety standards, where cars come equipped with life-saving features like automatic crash alerts and driver drowsiness detection—technologies still lacking in many Australian vehicles. Additionally, she called for tougher penalties for offenders, greater public awareness and education, and a stronger focus on pedestrian-friendly spaces and improved public transport. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Car brands 'saving a few dollars' leave Aussie drivers at risk: 'Not acceptable'
Vehicle safety standards are slipping in Australia, falling far behind our European counterparts when it comes innovative technology advancements that have not only been proven to save lives, but have already been in place for many years. While we are making some progress, in order to combat the soaring number of fatalities taking place on our roads, drastic measures are urgently needed, including among both vehicle manufacturers and government divisions. Dr Ingrid Johnston, CEO of the Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS), said Australia "used to be a leader" in this space, but in recent years, has trailed behind many other developed countries. Speaking to Yahoo, she said we can do much better and called for authorities to "catch up". "Vehicle safety standards (known as the Australian Design Rules) are falling well behind the highest in the world, which is Europe," she said. "And what that means is that we have vehicles which are legally allowed for sale in this country that get a zero safety star rating. "In fact, we've had a model that arrived in our country having had safety features removed, because they're not required here. So you might think that you've got an identical vehicles to what's being sold in Europe, but the Australian version is going to have had safety features removed. It's just not acceptable." When it comes to advanced technology in the Northern Hemisphere, there's a whole range of initiatives that can easily be implemented on home soil, Johnston said. "There's a lot that Europe is doing that we are nowhere near talking about," she said. "Europe, for many, many years, has had what they termed eCall — which means if your vehicle is in a crash, it will automatically call the emergency services with a geo-locator. New Aussie road regulation set to see popular car models scrapped Major change means certain cars are no longer available Millions urged to 'thoughtfully consider' car purchases amid trend "This saves incredibly valuable time in letting the emergency services know that there's a crash they need to attend and letting them know exactly where it is. We could implement that, but we haven't." Similar technology already exists in many smart phone models, meaning it's readily available, but just inadequately used. Not only that, there's also equipment that can detect drowsiness in drivers by monitoring eye movement. "When you're driving your car it will be monitoring if your eyes are maintaining contact with the road the way they should be and whether you're holding the steering wheel properly," Johnston said. "It alerts you if it thinks that your attention is distracted, or it thinks that you might be tired. Again, we don't mandate those things. We just rely on them filtering through from other countries. "But the manufacturers don't always do that. They say it's not mandatory. In Australia, they'd rather save a few dollars and leave it out." Johnston said as other nations push forward with stricter regulations and advanced technology, Australia continues to fall behind. The consequences of this lag are becoming increasingly evident, with road fatalities rising at an alarming rate. The reality is that without urgent action, she said, more lives will be lost unnecessarily. Strengthening vehicle safety standards, enforcing smarter road policies, and ensuring that cutting-edge technology is implemented should not be optional — it should be a national priority. "There's a lot that we could be doing, absolutely, a lot. But there just hasn't been the leadership shown from state and federal governments around the country to make it happen, and there needs to be." Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
