While the road toll has come down over the decades, it’s largely a result of fewer car occupants dying. Pedestrian deaths have barely changed for a decade, but they remain a road safety blind spot.
The push for 30km/h speed limits is not about revenue-raising or anti-cars. Even a seemingly small decrease from 40km/h to 30km/h makes a huge difference to the safety and liveability of local streets.
Laura Fruhen, The University of Western Australia; Isabel Rossen, The University of Western Australia, and Lisette Kanse, The University of Western Australia
Passing distance laws do change driver behaviour. But new research suggests not all the changes are positive.
Electric vehicles can have more than one source of power, meaning they can be controlled better.
Electric scooters have become a popular way to get around since their introduction to U.S. cities about three years ago. But fatalities are mounting.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Electric scooter rides soared from zero to 88 million a year between 2017 and 2019. But launching e-scooters in cities without safe infrastructure or clear rules of the road can be deadly.
Incidents of road accidents are on the rise in Ghana.
Wikimedia Commons
Authority culpability as a facet of road accidents has been overlooked in Ghana.
Onlookers gather on Queen Elizabeth bridge to look at a public transport bus that drove over the side of the bridge in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mujahid Safodien/AFP via Getty Images
Delivery riders are paying the ultimate price for the fact that our cities, their infrastructure and the rules governing them make cycling much more dangerous than it should be.
It’s important patients taking prescribed medicinal cannabis products are not unduly penalised. But it’s equally important we minimise the chance drivers put themselves or other road users at risk.
Drivers and cyclists develop distinct identities of themselves and others in ways that mirror the formation of ethnic identities. And on-road segregation runs the risk of reinforcing this process.
Coronavirus has necessitated a global public health response. But what does ‘public health’ actually mean? Three key examples give us an idea of what public health looks like in action.
E-scooters are increasingly used for urban transport, but the road rules treat them as recreational devices and their users as pedestrians.
haireena/Shutterstock
Most people do not know the right-of-way rules, but a starting point should be that pedestrian needs and safety take priority. Current road rules are biased towards driver convenience
Trials found that 5% of offending drivers used a mobile phone with both hands while the vehicle was moving.
NSW Transport
Bike helmet laws are meant to be about safety. But the hefty penalties and huge number of fines are causing resentment – made worse by some police abusing the law to stop, question and search riders.
The clearest change following the introduction of 24-hour public transport was that people were observed to be getting more intoxicated.
bbernard/Shutterstock
A program aimed at getting people home safely has cost A$300 million but has had little impact, aside from increased intoxication in CBD venues. Rates of assaults and road crashes are much the same.
Road deaths are 8th biggest killer worldwide.
Fredy Thuerig