RAC WA Police Road Crash stats 2012.pdf

7/21/2019 RAC WA Police Road Crash stats 2012.pdf

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20I2SUMMARY

FATALANDSERIOUSINJURIESONWA ROADS


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Over the past four decades major advances have been made inreducing the number of deaths on Western Australian roads.

In 1970 Western Australias road toll was 351, representing a fatalityrate of 35.4 deaths per 100,000 head of population. In 2012 there

were 186 deaths on our roads, representing a fatality rate of 7.7.

While we have made significant progress over the journey, WesternAustralia still lags behind other States in reducing road trauma.

There have been many turning points in the battle to reducethe number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads: the

introduction of compulsory seatbelts in the 1970s and RandomBreath Testing and speed cameras in the 1980s are obvious

examples of policy advances which delivered significant benefits.

Since 2000, however, the rate of improvement in reducingthe fatality rate has slowed, indicating that breakthroughadvances such as these are proving harder to come by.

This third edition of the annual analysis of Western Australiasroad deaths and injuries shows that more than half of the

deaths in 2012 were attributed to deliberate road userchoices: alcohol, speed, drugs and reckless behaviour.

We need to continue to build a safe system which, as faras is humanly possible, provides the greatest chance of

survival, even when road users have made poor choices.

By presenting the cold, hard facts on road trauma, thispublication continues to seek to dispel some of the myths

that have arisen around road trauma and allows us to makeinformed decisions about how to make our roads safer.

It will also hopefully send a message to road users thatgovernment agencies and road safety advocates can only doso much in keeping people safe on our roads and that somepersonal responsibility must be accepted if we are to reduce

the human suffering which results from road trauma.

The public debate onroad safety needs to be

based on facts nottheories and assumptions

Hon. Liza Harvey MLA

Minister for Police; Road Safety

Tim ShanahanPresident, RAC

P

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WA and national ten year trends

For WA to match the national fatality rate, annual fatalities in WAwould need to decrease to approximately 140.

The national fatality rate has declined from 9.5 fatalities per 100,000 personsin 2000 to 5.7 fatalities per 100,000 persons in 2012. As the figure above

shows, Western Australias (WA) fatality rate in the period 2001 to 2005followed national trends. However, since 2006 WAs fatality rate has lagged wellbehind the national rate. For WA to approach the current national fatality rate,

the annual State fatalit y count would need to decrease to approximately 140.Efforts to reduce fatalities on WA roads must be increased if WA is to progress

toward the national rate and the National Road Safety Strategy target.

DEC-00

JUN-01

JUN-02

JUN-03

JUN-04

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JUN-07

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DEC-01

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DEC-09

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DEC-11

JUN-12

DEC-12

0

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4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

FATALITIES PER 100,000 PERSONS

WA Austral ia NRSS Ta rget 2001 -2010 NRSS Ta rget 2011 -2020

4

WA in the long term

National long term trends are also reflected inWestern Australias fatality count.

The figure shows the fatalit y count for WA from 1965 to 2012. The strongdownward trend since the early 1970s is attributed by recent Bureau of

Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) research to theintroduction of compulsory seatbelts in the 1970s, Random Breath Testing inthe 1980s and the introduction of speed cameras.

In 1971 the WA population reached one million. Currently WA has a population

of 2.34 million. WA has experienced annual population growth rates of up to3.3%, whilst licensed drivers have been increasing at approximately 3.6% per

year. Licensed vehicles are increasing at an average rate of 4.5% per year overthe past 5 years.

BITRE research indicates the distance travelled has increased at a rate of 3.2%

per annum in Australia during the 1965 to 2010 period. This is approximately aquadrupling of total kilometres travelled from 1965 to 2010.

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1957

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

2011

2012

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

FATALITIES IN WA 1965 TO 2012

252

256236

220

243

228 230

242

207

2 09 2 09

223

201 205

191193

247

196

235

253

196 200

179

304

334

358

238

293

279

345

290

203

213

340351

311

320

332

162

179

165

213

180

218211

308

179

186

Fatalities Linear (Fatalities)

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20l2 fatalities andserious injuries

There were 186 fatalities in 2012.

For a fatality to be included it must meet a set of criteria (see notes). A small

number of fatalities each year are reclassified because further investigation

determines that they meet or no longer meet the criteria. Hence, the official2012 fatality count may change at a later date.

The 2012 count is lower than the five year average (201). As a comparison, the

162 fatalities recorded in 2005 was equal to a fatality rate of 8.06 per 100,000persons. The 2012 count is equal to a fatalit y rate of 7.65 per 100,000 persons.

A lower fatality rate of 7.63 was recorded in 2011.

Currently the fatality rate is one quarter of the peak levels reached in 1968and 1970.

There were 206 serious injuries in 2012.

There were 206 serious injuries in 2012 according to the WA Police definition of

serious injury. There are a number of definitions utilised by agencies for serious

injury. The WA Police definition is based on grievous bodily harm. The termgrievous bodily harm means any bodily injury of such a nature as to endanger,

or to be likely to endanger life, or to cause, or be likely to cause, permanent

injury to health.

0

400

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

WA FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES 2007-2012

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

235

302

205

349

191

366

193

290

179

244

186206

Fatalities Serious Injuries

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0

40

80

120

160

200

20

60

100

140

180

FATALITY COUNT METROPOLITAN AND REGIONAL WA 2007-2012

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

109102

126

103

80

111

77

116

79

91 95

100

Metro Regional WA

Contrary to the widely held perception that WAs high regional fatality and

serious injury rate is attributable to the number of kilometres travelled inRegional WA, recent BITRE research provides guidance on relative kilometres

travelled within the whole state and within the capital city based on fuel sales.

On the basis of this data it is estimated that 65% of vehicle kilometres travelledoccur within the Perth metropolitan area.

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0

40

80

120

160

200

20

60

100

140

180

SERIOUS INJURIES BY METROPOLITAN AND REGIONAL WA 2007-2012

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

165

137

191

158

193

173

159

131

141

103 99 107

Metro Regional WA

PhotocourtesyofWestAustralianNewspapers


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GENDER

Fatalities by Gender Metro Regional WA State

Female 33% 29% 31%

Male 67% 71% 69%

Total 100% 100% 100%

Males are more likely thanfemales to be killed on our

roads. The ratio of more

than two male fatalities toeach female fatality

continued in 2012 and is

consistent with the longer term trends. The male over-representation is greatestin the age groups 30-39 and 50-59. The male over-representation is generally

attributed to a higher propensity toward high risk behaviours such as alcohol

consumption and speed in combination with higher exposure based ondistance travelled.

AGE

Whilst the younger age groups (17-19, 20-24) continue to be over-representedin fatalities, the next two age groups (25-29, 30-39) were also significantly over-represented. In 2011, the 70+ age group were over-represented, the

over-representation has declined in 2012.

DISTRICTS

The figure below shows the count of fatalities and serious injuries byWA Police Districts, grouped by Police Regions.

Longer term (2007-2011) Police District fatality rates follow a pattern ofRegional WA districts being above the State rate and metropolitan ratesbeing below the State rate.

A comparison of 2012 with 2011 fatality rates shows a number of features:

Central (6.02) and South East Metropolitan (6.35) district fatalityrates increased in 2012, albeit from a relatively low base in 2011. All

metropolitan districts were below the State fatality rate in 2012.

Wheatbelt (49.14) improved slightly in 2012, however it remains morethan six times the State fatality rate. It is also four times the fatality rateof South West (12.36) and Great Southern (11.98), districts with whichit shares similar geographic and demographic features.

Great Southern (11.98) and Kimberley (13.69) have both shown afatality rate improvement in 2012. Kimberley has declined from a rateof 30.82 in 2011 to a 2012 rate of 13.69. It should be noted howeverthe Kimberley is relatively volatile given it has the smallest districtpopulation and a variable fatality count. Great Southern is down from18.06 in 2011 to 11.98 in 2012.

49.14

20.22

19.05

16.30

13.69

12.36

11.98

7.65

6.90

6.60

6.35

6.02

4.10

3.41

2.16

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

DISTRICT FATALITY RATE PER 100,000 PERSONS, 2012

Peel

Central Metropolitan

South West

Wheatbelt

Kimberley

Great Southern

Pilbara

Mid West-Gascoyne

Goldfields-Esperance

Western Australia

South East Metropolitan

East Metropolitan

North West Metropolitan

West Metropolitan

South Metropolitan

8 9

0-16 17-19 20-24 25-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70+

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

PERCENTAGE OF FATALITIES AND POPULATION BY AGE GROUPS 2012

22%

4% 4%

7% 7%

11%

8%

13%14%

21%

14%

16%

10%

8%

9%

7%

11%

13%

% Population % Fatalities

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Central Metropolitan

South West

Wheatbelt

Kimberley

Great Southern

Pilbara

Mid West-Gascoyne

Goldfields-Esperance

Peel

South East Metropolitan

East Metropolitan

North West Metropolitan

West Metropolitan

South Metropolitan

FATALITIES AND SERIOUS INJURIES BY POLICE DISTRICTS 2012

24

17

19

11 12

15

21

26

10 22

13 12

10 11

10

5 9

10

14

29

8

9 6

8

7

23

7

24

Fatalities Serious Injuries

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ROAD USERS

Fatalities by Road User Role Metro Regional WA State

Motor vehicle driver 40% 56% 48%

Motor vehicle passenger 12% 24% 18%

Motorcycle rider 26% 6% 16%

Pedestrian 16% 12% 14%

Motorcycle passenger 3% 1% 2%

Cyclist 2% 1% 2%

Total 100% 100% 100%

In 2012, 14% offatalities (26) were

pedestrians, this is a

continuation of therelatively high number

recorded in 2011.

Motorcycle ridersand passengers

continued to be a

highly vulnerablegroup in 2012. In metropolitan WA, 30% of fatalities were motorcycle riders or

passengers. State-wide, 18% of fatalities were motorcycle riders or passengers (34).

Fatal injuries for motorcyclists in 2012 were disproportionately caused by issues suchas speed and carelessness. The majority of motorcycle rider fatalities were male (90%).

The motorcycle rider and passenger fatalities need to be considered in the contextof growth in motorcycle registrations. Motorcycles are now 5.5% of licensed motorised

vehicles. Also relevant is the kilometres travelled by different road user groups with

motorcycles tending to have lower annual distances travelled than other roaduser groups.

Motorcycle fatalities are most common on metropolitan roads zoned 60 kph. Right

angled (33%) and hit object (40%) crashes were the dominant crash types formotorcycles with almost 75% of fatalities occurring in these ways.

The five year comparison data in combination with the 2012 data provide an

interesting comparison between broad road user types. Motor vehicle driver andpassenger fatalities show a fairly strong declining trend, motorcycle fatalities show a

much weaker declining trend, whilst the pedestrian trend is not improving.

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CAUSES

Fatalities by selected Crash Causes Metro Regional WA State

Alcohol 13% 17% 15%

Speed 13% 12% 13%

Inattention 10% 14% 12%

Careless 10% 9% 10%

Alcohol/speed 6% 11% 8%

Fatigue 3% 12% 7%

Fail to give way 13% 2% 7%

Reckless 12% 0% 6%

Animals 0% 5% 2%

Turn infront 1% 3% 2%

These primary causal features are determined by the Attending Officer at the

scene. There is often considerable difficulty in determining causes in singlevehicle run off road type crashes. These crashes are often caused by

distraction, inattention and fatigue, but allocating a single causal feature is

difficult at this early stage of a crash investigation.

Alcohol and speed continue to be dominant fatal crash causes with 36% offatalities attributed to these causes (where the cause is known). Alcohol and

speed are more prevalent causes in Regional WA, making up 41% of fatalinjury crash causes.

The 2012 fatal crash primary cause analysis is notable for the increase incrashes attributed to reckless behaviour. The five year average is 2% whereas

6% are attributed to reckless behaviour in 2012. This is concentrated in the

metropolitan area where 12% are attributed to reckless behaviour. The following

table shows crash causes aggregated by similarities in underlying issues. Fromthis table it can be seen that at least 50% of fatal crashes in 2012, where thecause has been determined, were attributed to deliberate driver choices such

as alcohol, speed, drugs, reckless or careless behaviours.

11

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

TRENDS IN FATALITIES BY ROAD USER TYPE 2007-2012

Motor Vehicle Pedestrian Linear (Motorcycle)

Motorcycle Linear (Motor Vehicle) L inear (Pedestrian)

15%

8%

13% 13% 13%

15%

12% 12%

4%

1%

7% 7%

3%2%

6%

2%

6%

7%

10%

8%

0%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

8%

6%

4%

2%

PROPORTION OF FATALITIES BY SELECTED CRASH CAUSES2012 AND FIVE YEAR AVERAGE

Reckle

ss

Inexpe

rience

Alcoho

l/Drug

s

Failto

givew

ayFat

igue

Inatten

tion

Carele

ssSpe

edAlc

ohol

Alcoho

l/Speed

2012 Five Year Average

Description of underlying issue Aggregated selected crash causes 2012

Behavioural Alcohol/speed/drugs 37%

Behavioural Contravene sign/signals/turn in front 13%

Behavioural Reckless/careless 16%

Behavioural-safe system Inattention/fatigue 19%

Safe vehicles Mechanical/tyres/load 2%


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CRASH NATURE

Fatalities by Crash Nature Metro Regional WA State

Hit object 30% 41% 36%

Right angled 26% 9% 17%

Hit pedestrian 18% 12% 15%

Head on 9% 17% 13%

Non collision 10% 14% 12%

Rear end 6% 3% 4%

Sideswipe- same direction 0% 2% 1%

Hit animal 0% 2% 1%

Passenger fell 1% 0% 1%

Sideswipe- opposite direction 1% 0% 1%

Total 100% 100% 100%

Single vehicle run

off road crashes (hitobject and non-

collision) accounted

for 48% of fatalities,higher in Regional

WA (55%) than the

metropolitan area(40%). This is lower

than 2011 (55%), the

reduction is a

reflection of thedecline in this crashtype in Regional WA

down from 71% in

2011 to 55% in 2012.

In 2012, vehicle on vehicle crashes were responsible for 36% of fatalities,

higher in the metropolitan area (41%) than in Regional WA (31%).Fifty six per

cent of fatalities happened on straight roads, while 25% occurred on curves,while T junctions and four-way intersections were the site for 15% of fatalities.

SEATBELTS

Fatalities by Seatbelt Use Metro Regional WA State

Not Worn 28% 34% 31%

Worn 72% 66% 69%

Total 100% 100% 100%

Seatbelt non-use

remains an issue.

The proportion of

fatalities where

seatbelt use is known

and not used islargely consistent with 2011 and the longer term ratio. The non-use rate is higher in

Regional WA at 34%. Seatbelt non-use, like many high risk behaviours, tends not to

occur in isolation. Drivers exhibiting high risk behaviours such as carelessness,

recklessness, speeding and alcohol consumption prior to driving also displayed

higher rates of seatbelt non-use.

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LICENSING

Drivers in Fatal Crashes Metro Regional WA State

Licensed 86% 82% 84%

Unlicensed 14% 18% 16%

Total 100% 100% 100%

The proportion ofunlicensed drivers andriders in fatal crasheshas increased afterthree years of decline.In 2007, the proportionof unlicensed drivers in

fatal crashes peaked (20%), the rate declined to 10% in 2011 but has increasedin 2012 (16%). Regional WA remains the most critical area, almost one in fivedrivers in a fatal crash in 2012 was unlicensed.

The improvement prior to 2012 has been attributed to the vehicle impoundment

strategy. In 2012, 7,598 vehicles were impounded at the roadside for unlicenseddriving type offences.

SPEED ZONE

Fatalities by Speed Zone Metro Regional WA State

40 1% 0% 1%

50 16% 8% 12%

60 33% 6% 19%

70 12% 3% 8%

80 15% 7% 10%

90 7% 6% 6%

100 6% 4% 5%

110 10% 66% 39%

Total 100% 100% 100%

There is a difference

between metropolitanand Regional WA in the

speed zones with most

fatalities. Two of everythree Regional WA

fatalities occurred in

110kph zones. Incontrast, 50 and 60kph

zones dominated inmetropolitan WA, with

almost half metropolitan

fatalities occurring in

these two lower speed zones. This needs to be balanced by the distribution ofspeed zones in WA and the millions of kilometres travelled within each speed zone.

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14

NOTES

Based on WA Police data as collected by the Attending Officer at the scene

and subject to later change.

The 2012 data is accurate as at 7/01/2013, with the exception of a reclassified

fatality following a Coroners report on 21/01/2013. Previous year totals are

accurate as at end of the reporting period.

The counts may be amended as Coronial and crash investigation findings

are determined. Typically the road toll falls slightly at the end of each year as

fatalities are excluded. Fatalities are excluded when they do not satisfy the

criteria for inclusion in the road toll (eg, it is determined the fatality was as a

result of prior death or injury heart attack).

Serious injury counts are provisional and subject to revision. Thereforecounts in this Summary may differ from counts extracted at other dates

and published in other documents. There have been a series of systemic

changes to the process of determining serious injury status which may

impact on time series comparability of serious injury counts. Historic serious

injury counts have been recast into current WA Police boundaries and differ

from previous editions.

Comparison with long or longer term data refers to the five calendar years

2007 to 2011.

Unknown and incomplete data has been excluded from calculations in tables.

Small percentage variations in totals and selected sub-totals are due to

rounding error.

The Seatbelt table has been limited to drivers and passengers, unlike

previous editions in this series which included motorcyclists under the title

Restraint Use.

Population data used in rate calculations is sourced from relevant ABS

publications including 3105.0 and 3101.0.

National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) target data sourced from NRSS 2001-

2010 and NRSS 2011-2020.

Districts and Regions are defined by WA Police boundaries. District fatality rates are based on 2010-11 WA Police District population data.

This population data is older than the State population used in the 2012

Summary calculation and accounts for the small variation

The criteria for including a fatality in the fatality count includes a range of

factors relating to the nature of the fatality and the nature of the crash. Fatality

factors include: occurring within 30 days of the crash, not being premeditated

and the fatality being a direct result of the crash as opposed to the cause.

Nature of the crash factors include: involving at least one vehicle, involving

vehicle movement, and occurring on a road that meets specified conditions.

This document has been prepared by the Royal Automobile Club of WA, in

collaboration with WA Police and the Office of Road Safety.

PhotocourtesyofWAPolice.

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RAC WA Police Road Crash stats 2012.pdf

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