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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
JUN-05
JUN-06
JUN-07
JUN-08
JUN-09
JUN-10
JUN-11
DEC-01
DEC-02
DEC-03
DEC-04
DEC-05
DEC-06
DEC-07
DEC-08
DEC-09
DEC-10
DEC-11
JUN-12
DEC-12
0
2
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)
5
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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
6
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.
7
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
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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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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.
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