Need Some Help on Road Safety Info - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Aussie Pete · 10-27-2003, 19:51

I'll be involved in a roundtable discussion with the visiting Professor Alan Buckingham and a host of others including reps from Staysafe, Police, Road Angel, and others (I already note with admiration the ability of the RTA and TAC to avoid open debate).

One of the things I am preparing is a longer term statistical chart from ATSB data. A while back RussellW and others (?) posted charts similar in purpose but what I can't for the life of me remember is what major safety initiatives were introduced in the late eighties and early nineties. So, if anyone can think of this please post asap.

Also, if you have any major points to make feel free to let me know (until Wed morning 29-Oct).

Wish us luck.

Also, please see separate thread on media coverage of speed camera issues this week.

Mr Sparkle · 10-27-2003, 19:58

Good luck AP!!!

What's going to be your main focus or plan of attack? I'd be guessing you'd be primarily dealing with the statistics themselves, but wouldn't hurt to throw a few punches regarding the conflict of interest that arises from government funded research!!

I for one will be eagerly awaiting your results!!

FordHawk · 10-27-2003, 20:06

Good luck AP, stick it right up 'em. Better you than me I think :s6:

Perana XR8 · 10-27-2003, 20:17

Good Luck AP

dave_au · 10-28-2003, 00:38

Good luck. Wasnt the anti-drink driving campaign the main thrust of the 80s ?

FTEfan · 10-28-2003, 01:44

Apart from topics like speed, drink driving, driver training and the condtion of the roads. Will the subject of dayrunnig lights and the correct usage of lights, including aiming of them, be raised?

MMTX5 · 10-28-2003, 02:16

Hey AP, do you know Jeremy Pritchard, the 'Motorist's Advocate' who posts on aus.cars? He's right up to speed (pardon the pun) with all this sort of stuff and would probably be very interested in helping out. If you don't know him, his email is m.a@idx.com.au, and he posts on aus.cars under the name 'Mot Adv' - do a google.

Edit: Good luck as well!

XR6ST · 10-28-2003, 03:48

AP,

In addition to the items mentioned previously, don't forget to include the massive improvement in vehicle safety (both passive & active) over the past 20 years including better side intrusion bars, much better tyres, suspension & brakes, ABS, more suitable (useable) steering wheels, power steering becoming more or less standard, better glass (and more window tinting which holds the glass together if smashed), crumple zone improvement, passenger safety cells (stronger from "A" pillar to "C" pillar), greater use of (and better quality) plastics in the interior of vehicles (less likely to cause injury in most cases than the previous steel dashboards etc), Air bags (driver, passenger & side), traction control, stability control, more reliable & tractable engines & drivelines, and no doubt many others i've forgotten!

I write this with the recent experience of just having gotten back into driving a 1981 XD Falcon (as my work hack) after several years of driving much newer cars (my other car is an AU series 3 XR6ST VCT) and have found it amazing how different the two are even though the basic car philosophy has stayed the same (4 door sedan, 6 cyl "family" oriented car). Not only does the XR6 go, stop & steer MUCH better, it is also much quieter, has ABS, IRS, Air bags, much better tyres, more supportive seats, and a whole host of other improvements which make for a safer drive. I know which one I would rather be driving in the event of an emergency situation on the road, both prior to and (hopefully not) after the accident that results if all the "preventative" measures fail to stop the crash.

Good luck!

Aaron_EF8 · 10-28-2003, 04:05

also, I think you might have actually pointed me to this page, www.aussiemotorists.com

Aussie Pete · 10-28-2003, 14:39

ADR69 measures were introduced in 1995 but many car makers started introducing some of these measures from 1990. It's hard to point to this as a huge step due to the rollout time of these measures into the vehicle fleet and our average vehicle age of 10 years.