NRMA to research link between drugs and alcohol & pedestrian crashes

Crashes involving pedestrians affected by drugs and alcohol will be the focus of new research project commissioned by the National Roads and Motorists' Association Limited (NRMA).
Chair of NRMA's Public Policy Committee, Mr Mark Coyne, said the
$50,000 project would be undertaken by research consultants AMR
Interactive.In Sutherland today at Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club for
NRMA's Commmunity Forum on roads and transport, Mr Coyne also
presented findings from NRMA's survey of 300 local residents on
roads, public transport, road safety and parking issues."Our research shows that 86 per cent of Sutherland residents
consider alcohol-affected pedestrians to be most at risk of getting
hurt on the roads," Mr Coyne said."Alcohol has a dangerous impact on our ability to judge the
speed of vehicles and distances. During 2000 in NSW, almost 30 per
cent of pedestrians killed in crashes were under the influence of
alcohol. Of these, about 75 per cent had a BAC of 0.15 or more."We need to know more about crashes involving pedestrians
affected by alcohol and drugs if we are going to address the
problem and help prevent tragedy."The first stage of the project will analyse data to develop a
profile of pedestrian crashes and casualties. The project, which
will also include qualitative research with 'higher risk' male
pedestrians and a community attitude survey, is expected to be
completed by September.Mr Coyne said NRMA's study of 300 residents found strong support
for improvements to local roads and public transport
facilities."Locals want better road conditions (98 per cent), improvements
to road safety (96 per cent), reduced congestion (95 per cent),
affordable transport (95 per cent), less air pollution (91 per
cent) and better public transport (88 per cent)," Mr Coyne
said."As a local resident, I share the community's concerns about the
quality of roads, the frequency and cost of public transport
services and the increasing lack of parking."Today's forum is titled Growing Pains to reflect the fact that
the population of Sutherland Shire has increased by more than 21
per cent in the past 20 years, with more than 210,000 residents now
living in the region. NRMA has almost 55,000 members in this region
alone.""Sutherland is the fourth fastest-growing LGA in NSW, with 11.3
per cent growth in residential housing from 1996 to 2001. In the
same period, multi-unit dwellings in Sutherland have grown by 31.7
per cent, far outstripping single dwellings (4.4 per cent)."Almost half of all households own two or more vehicles - 16 per
cent own three or more. Between 1991 and 1999, car ownership
increased by 30 per cent, overtaking the Shire's population growth
of 8 per cent in the same period."All of this growth points to a serious issue for the Shire if
roads and public transport are not upgraded to meet the
unprecedented demand of the future. Parking is a huge concern for
residents, with 93 per cent wanting more parking spaces created and
91 per cent wanting increased parking near train stations."Mr Coyne said he was concerned by some community attitudes about
road safety."Our research tells us that just under half of Sutherland
residents believe they will not be caught drink driving in their
local area," Mr Coyne said."More than seven in ten people don't believe they will be caught
not wearing a seatbelt, despite 71 per cent of residents
identifying people who don't wear seatbelts as vulnerable."This is disturbing - there were 1,553 fatal and injury crashes
in the Shire between 1998 and 2000, amounting to one fatality per
month."Young drivers are over-represented in crashes in the Sutherland
area, making up only 14 per cent of the population but around 30
per cent of casualties."Mr Coyne said the survey also found 55 per cent of residents
believed they would not be detected speeding through 40km/hr school
zones."This confirms NRMA's recent audit of five 40km/hr school zones
in NSW, which found more than half of all motorists surveyed
breaking the speed limit," Mr Coyne said."NRMA is continuing to work closely with the NSW Ministerial
Taskforce on Road Safety to consider options for tackling
compliance in 40km/hr school zones."Mr Coyne was joined at the Community Forum by NRMA President, Mr
Nicholas Whitlam and NRMA CEO, Mr Rob Carter.Other speakers at the forum included the Mayor of Sutherland
Shire Council, Cr Tracie Sonda, Stephen Alchin (Transport NSW),
Kerry Nash (Sutherland Shire Council), Associate Professor Soames
Job (Australian College of Road Safety), Darryl Mellish (Bus and
Coach Industrial Asssociation) and John Cox (Sutherland Chamber of
Commerce).-->