11 May 2015

Weekend Road Toll Commentators Should Know the Science

“Commentators on the rising road toll should check out the science into traffic crashes,” Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

Mr O’Connor was commenting after a horror weekend on New Zealand roads which saw ten people killed.

“Because we all drive, we think we are experts. Much of the ill-considered commentary, particularly those dismissing speed on rural roads as the major cause, flies in the face of worldwide evidence,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Everyone believes other drivers should be policed more heavily, but not themselves. However it should be remembered that enforcement is only one tool for achieving safer roads.

“Worldwide evidence shows that speeding, road engineering, and driver education are significant factors in traffic accidents. If we are to have safer roads we need evidence based policies based on science.”

Mr O’Connor called on those commenting on the road toll to at least check out the World Health Organisation - report on road traffic injury prevention which refers to some of the science he mentioned.

“No police officer wants to be seen as over-policing the roads, but they tend to be driven by their experience of attending horrific crash scenes where preventable deaths and injuries have occurred. So it’s up to policy makers to ensure that all aspects road safety are being considered when making decisions that may affect the road toll.”

ends

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