Rural and remote road safety study : final report

• Introduction: Concern and action for rural road safety is relatively new in Australia in comparison to the field of traffic safety as a whole. In 2003, a program of research was begun by the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) and the Rural Health Research Unit (RHRU) at James Cook University to investigate factors contributing to serious rural road crashes in the North Queensland region. This project was funded by the Premier’s Department, Main Roads Department, Queensland Transport, QFleet, Queensland Rail, Queensland Ambulance Service, Department of Natural Resources and Queensland Police Service. Additional funding was provided by NRMA Insurance for a PhD scholarship. In-kind support was provided through the four hospitals used for data collection, namely Cairns Base Hospital, The Townsville Hospital, Mount Isa Hospital and Atherton Hospital.----- The primary aim of the project was to: Identify human factors related to the occurrence of serious traffic incidents in rural and remote areas of Australia, and to the trauma suffered by persons as a result of these incidents, using a sample drawn from a rural and remote area in North Queensland.----- The data and analyses presented in this report are the core findings from two broad studies: a general examination of fatalities and casualties from rural and remote crashes for the period 1 March 2004 until 30 June 2007, and a further linked case-comparison study of hospitalised patients compared with a sample of non-crash-involved drivers.----- • Method: The study was undertaken in rural North Queensland, as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) statistical divisions of North Queensland, Far North Queensland and North-West Queensland. Urban areas surrounding Townsville, Thuringowa and Cairns were not included. The study methodology was centred on serious crashes, as defined by a resulting hospitalisation for 24 hours or more and/or a fatality. Crashes meeting this criteria within the North Queensland region between 1 March 2004 and 30 June 2007 were identified through hospital records and interviewed where possible. Additional data was sourced from coroner’s reports, the Queensland Transport road crash database, the Queensland Ambulance Service and the study hospitals in the region.----- This report is divided into chapters corresponding to analyses conducted on the collected crash and casualty data.----- Chapter 3 presents an overview of all crashes and casualties identified during the study period. Details are presented in regard to the demographics and road user types of casualties; the locations, times, types, and circumstances of crashes; along with the contributing circumstances of crashes.----- Chapter 4 presents the results of summary statistics for all casualties for which an interview was able to be conducted. Statistics are presented separately for drivers and riders, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. Details are also presented separately for drivers and riders crashing in off-road and on-road settings. Results from questionnaire data are presented in relation to demographics; the experience of the crash in narrative form; vehicle characteristics and maintenance; trip characteristics (e.g. purpose and length of journey; periods of fatigue and monotony; distractions from driving task); driving history; alcohol and drug use; medical history; driving attitudes, intentions and behaviour; attitudes to enforcement; and experience of road safety advertising.----- Chapter 5 compares the above-listed questionnaire results between on-road crash-involved casualties and interviews conducted in the region with non-crash-involved persons. Direct comparisons as well as age and sex adjusted comparisons are presented.----- Chapter 6 presents information on those casualties who were admitted to one of the study hospitals during the study period. Brief information is given regarding the demographic characteristics of these casualties. Emergency services’ data is used to highlight the characteristics of patient retrieval and transport to and between hospitals. The major injuries resulting from the crashes are presented for each region of the body and analysed by vehicle type, occupant type, seatbelt status, helmet status, alcohol involvement and nature of crash. Estimates are provided of the costs associated with in-hospital treatment and retrieval.----- Chapter 7 describes the characteristics of the fatal casualties and the nature and circumstances of the crashes. Demographics, road user types, licence status, crash type and contributing factors for crashes are presented. Coronial data is provided in regard to contributing circumstances (including alcohol, drugs and medical conditions), cause of death, resulting injuries, and restraint and helmet use.----- Chapter 8 presents the results of a comparison between casualties’ crash descriptions and police-attributed crash circumstances. The relative frequency of contributing circumstances are compared both broadly within the categories of behavioural, environmental, vehicle related, medical and other groupings and specifically for circumstances within these groups.----- Chapter 9 reports on the associated research projects which have been undertaken on specific topics related to rural road safety.----- Finally, Chapter 10 reports on the conclusions and recommendations made from the program of research.---- • Major Recommendations : From the findings of these analyses, a number of major recommendations were made: + Male drivers and riders - Male drivers and riders should continue to be the focus of interventions, given their very high representation among rural and remote road crash fatalities and serious injuries.----- - The group of males aged between 30 and 50 years comprised the largest number of casualties and must also be targeted for change if there is to be a meaningful improvement in rural and remote road safety.----- + Motorcyclists - Single vehicle motorcycle crashes constitute over 80% of serious, on-road rural motorcycle crashes and need particular attention in development of policy and infrastructure.----- - The motorcycle safety consultation process currently being undertaken by Queensland Transport (via the "Motorbike Safety in Queensland - Consultation Paper") is strongly endorsed. As part of this process, particular attention needs to be given to initiatives designed to reduce rural and single vehicle motorcycle crashes.----- - The safety of off-road riders is a serious problem that falls outside the direct responsibility of either Transport or Health departments. Responsibility for this issue needs to be attributed to develop appropriate policy, regulations and countermeasures.----- + Road safety for Indigenous people - Continued resourcing and expansion of The Queensland Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Driver Licensing Program to meet the needs of remote and Indigenous communities with significantly lower licence ownership levels.----- - Increased attention needs to focus on the contribution of geographic disadvantage (remoteness) factors to remote and Indigenous road trauma.----- + Road environment - Speed is the ‘final common pathway’ in determining the severity of rural and remote crashes and rural speed limits should be reduced to 90km/hr for sealed off-highway roads and 80km/hr for all unsealed roads as recommended in the Austroads review and in line with the current Tasmanian government trial.----- - The Department of Main Roads should monitor rural crash clusters and where appropriate work with local authorities to conduct relevant audits and take mitigating action. - The international experts at the workshop reviewed the data and identified the need to focus particular attention on road design management for dangerous curves. They also indicated the need to maximise the use of audio-tactile linemarking (audible lines) and rumble strips to alert drivers to dangerous conditions and behaviours.----- + Trauma costs - In accordance with Queensland Health priorities, recognition should be given to the substantial financial costs associated with acute management of trauma resulting from serious rural and remote crashes.----- - Efforts should be made to develop a comprehensive, regionally specific costing formula for road trauma that incorporates the pre-hospital, hospital and post-hospital phases of care. This would inform health resource allocation and facilitate the evaluation of interventions.----- - The commitment of funds to the development of preventive strategies to reduce rural and remote crashes should take into account the potential cost savings associated with trauma.----- - A dedicated study of the rehabilitation needs and associated personal and healthcare costs arising from rural and remote road crashes should be undertaken.----- + Emergency services - While the study has demonstrated considerable efficiency in the response and retrieval systems of rural and remote North Queensland, relevant Intelligent Transport Systems technologies (such as vehicle alarm systems) to improve crash notification should be both developed and evaluated.----- + Enforcement - Alcohol and speed enforcement programs should target the period between 2 and 6pm because of the high numbers of crashes in the afternoon period throughout the rural region.----- + Drink driving - Courtesy buses should be advocated and schemes such as the Skipper project promoted as local drink driving countermeasures in line with the very high levels of community support for these measures identified in the hospital study.------ - Programs should be developed to target the high levels of alcohol consumption identified in rural and remote areas and related involvement in crashes.----- - Referrals to drink driving rehabilitation programs should be mandated for recidivist offenders.----- + Data requirements - Rural and remote road crashes should receive the same quality of attention as urban crashes. As such, it is strongly recommended that increased resources be committed to enable dedicated Forensic Crash Units to investigate rural and remote fatal and serious injury crashes.----- - Transport department records of rural and remote crashes should record the crash location using the national ARIA area classifications used by health departments as a means to better identifying rural crashes.----- - Rural and remote crashes tend to be unnoticed except in relatively infrequent rural reviews. They should receive the same level of attention and this could be achieved if fatalities and fatal crashes were coded by the ARIA classification system and included in regular crash reporting.----- - Health, Transport and Police agencies should collect a common, minimal set of data relating to road crashes and injuries, including presentations to small rural and remote health facilities.----- + Media and community education programmes - Interventions seeking to highlight the human contribution to crashes should be prioritised. Driver distraction, alcohol and inappropriate speed for the road conditions are key examples of such behaviours.----- - Promotion of basic safety behaviours such as the use of seatbelts and helmets should be given a renewed focus.----- - Knowledge, attitude and behavioural factors that have been identified for the hospital Brief Intervention Trial should be considered in developing safety campaigns for rural and remote people. For example challenging the myth of the dangerous ‘other’ or ‘non-local’ driver.----- - Special educational initiatives on the issues involved in rural and remote driving should be undertaken. For example the material used by Main Roads, the Australian Defence Force and local initiatives.

Multi-victim sexual assault : a case study in rural Australia

Objective: There is a paucity of information regarding cases of multi-victim sexual assault of children. The reported incidence suggests that these cases are rare. The aim of this paper is to provide practitioners with information about effective intervention strategies arising out of the direct experience of managing a case of multi-victim sexual assault in an Australian rural community. --------- Method: A descriptive, case-report methodology summarizing the investigation and intervention in a case of multi-victim sexual assault is reported. A community based intervention arising out of the disclosures of 21 male children is described. The intervention occurred at an individual, group, and community level using a coordinated multi-disciplinary team and natural helping networks. ---------- Results: The coordination of police and welfare services increased the communication flow to victims, their families, and the community. The case also demonstrated the utility in regularly briefing political and bureaucratic authorities as well as local officials about emergent issues. Coordinating political and bureaucratic responses was essential in obtaining ongoing support and sufficient researching to enable the effective delivery of services. ---------- Conclusions: Interventions were focused at an individual, group, and community level using a coordinated multi-disciplinary team and natural helping networks. This provided a choice of services which were sensitive to the case setting. Recommendations are offered for practitioners who are confronted with similar events. While this paper describes an approach for intervening in a case of multi-victim sexual assault, further empirical research is needed to enable service deliverers to efficaciously target interventions which offer choice to victims and their families.

That's how it was, this is how it is

Research Background : Young people with negative experiences of mainstream education often display low levels of traditional literacy. These young people tend to display considerable cultural and social resources developed through their repeated experiences of adversity. Education research has a duty to provide these young people with opportunities to showcase, assess and translate their social and cultural resources into symbolic forms of capital. This creative work addresses the following research question. How can educators encourage disengaged youth to showcase their social and cultural capital through non-traditional literacy practices?----- Research Contribution : This DVD production of a music video affords the young participants opportunities to display their artistic, technical, social and cultural resources through a popular cultural format. In doing so it requires education institutions to assess alternative student outputs that demonstrate the skills these young people acquire as they re-engage in flexible learning environments. The new knowledge derived from this research centres on the retention and certification benefits for disengaged young people using popular culture and social enterprise as authentic learning activities.----- Research Significance : This research is significant because it aims to maximise the number of tangible outcomes related to a school-based arts project. The young participants gained technical, artistic, social and commercial skills during this project. The video sold at numerous youth festivals in SE QLD. It was distributed and downloaded via creative commons licences at the Australian Creative Resource Archive. It also contributed to their certified qualifications and acted as pilot research data for two competitively funded ARC grants (DP0209421 & LP0883643)

National practices in investment decision making in road sector

This document provides the findings of a national review of investment decision-making practices in road asset management. Efforts were concentrated on identifying the strategic objectives of agencies in road asset management, establishing and understanding criteria different organisations adopted and ascertaining the exact methodologies used by different sate road authorities. The investment objectives of Australian road authorities are based on triple-bottom line considerations (social, environmental, economic and political). In some cases, comparing with some social considerations, such as regional economic development, equity, and access to pubic service etc., Benefit-Cost Ratio has limited influence on the decision-making. Australian road authorities have developed various decision support tools. Although Multi-Criteria Analysis has been preliminarily used in case by case study, pavement management systems, which are primarily based on Benefit Cost Analysis, are still the main decision support tool. This situation is not compatible with the triple-bottom line objectives. There is need to fill the gap between decision support tools and decision-making itself. Different decision criteria should be adopted based on the contents of the work. Additional decision criteria, which are able to address social, environmental and political impacts, are needed to develop or identify. Environmental issue plays a more and more important role in decision-making. However, the criteria and respective weights in decision-making process are yet to be clearly identified. Social and political impacts resulted from road infrastructure investment can be identified through Community Perceptions Survey. With accumulative data, prediction models, which are similar as pavement performance models, can be established. Using these models, the decision-makers are able to foresee the social and political consequences of investment alternatives.

Review of international procurement procedures

Contractor selection is a crucial element in construction procurement (Drew & Skitmore 1993, p. 363). Contractors are selected through the tender process, which varies according to country, state and contracting organisation and is subject to individual differences. This paper reviews a range of international tender processes, highlighting the ethical features that govern these guidelines. The paper is part of a project to develop ethical guidelines for procurement for major contracting authorities. By reviewing tender guidelines we are able to gain an indication of the type of ethical standards reserved for procurement. The need for good business ethics in the tender process stems from the belief that ‘good ethical practice’ is critical in meeting organisational goals (Vee & Skitmore 2003, p. 125). Hence, an ethical tender process will select ethical contractors who are viewed as beneficial to the contracting authority.

Streamlining local government : evaluating an eGovernment initiative in south east Queensland

Recent initiatives around the world have highlighted the potential for information and communications technology (ICT) to foster better service delivery for businesses. Likewise, ICT has also been applied to government services and is seen to result in improved service delivery, improved citizen participation in government, and enhanced cooperation across government departments and between government departments. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) (2006) identified local government development assessment (DA) arrangements as a ‘hot spot’ needing specific attention, as the inconsistent policies and regulations between councils impeded regional economic activity. COAG (2006) specifically suggested that trials of various ICT mechanisms be initiated which may well be able to improve DA processes for local government. While the authors have explored various regulatory mechanisms to improve harmonisation elsewhere (Brown and Furneaux 2007), the possibility of ICT being able to enhance consistency across governments is a novel notion from a public policy perspective. Consequently, this paper will explore the utility of ICT initiatives to improve harmonisation of DA across local governments. This paper examines as a case study the recent attempt to streamline Development Assessment (DA) in local governments in South East Queensland. This initiative was funded by the Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund (RRIF), and championed by the South East Queensland (SEQ) Council of Mayors. The Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund (RRIF) program was created by the Australian government with the aim to provide incentives to local councils to reduce red tape for small and medium sized businesses. The funding for the program was facilitated through a competitive merit-based grants process targeted at Local Government Authorities. Grants were awarded to projects which targeted specific areas identified for reform (AusIndustry, 2007), in SEQ this focused around improving DA processes and creating transparency in environmental health policies, regulation and compliance. An important key factor to note with this case study is that it is unusual for an eGovernment initiative. Typically individual government departments undertake eGovernment projects in order to improve their internal performance. The RRIF case study examines the implementation of an eGovernment initiative across 21 autonomous local councils in South East Queensland. In order to move ahead, agreement needed to be reached between councils at the highest level. Having reviewed the concepts of eGovernment and eGovernance, the literature review is undertaken to identify the typical cost and benefits, barriers and enablers of ICT projects in government. The specific case of the RRIF project is then examined to determine if similar costs and benefits, barriers and enablers could be found in the RRIF project. The outcomes of the project, particularly in reducing red tape by increasing harmonisation between councils are explored.

Final report : a software diagnostic tool for evaluating distress mechanisms in bridges exposed to aggressive environments

Durability issues of reinforced concrete construction cost millions of dollars in repair or demolition. Identification of the causes of degradation and a prediction of service life based on experience, judgement and local knowledge has limitations in addressing all the associated issues. The objective of this CRC CI research project is to develop a tool that will assist in the interpretation of the symptoms of degradation of concrete structures, estimate residual capacity and recommend cost effective solutions. This report is a documentation of the research undertaken in connection with this project. The primary focus of this research is centred on the case studies provided by Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR) and Brisbane City Council (BCC). These organisations are endowed with the responsibility of managing a huge volume of bridge infrastructure in the state of Queensland, Australia. The main issue to be addressed in managing these structures is the deterioration of bridge stock leading to a reduction in service life. Other issues such as political backlash, public inconvenience, approach land acquisitions are crucial but are not within the scope of this project. It is to be noted that deterioration is accentuated by aggressive environments such as salt water, acidic or sodic soils. Carse, 2005, has noted that the road authorities need to invest their first dollars in understanding their local concretes and optimising the durability performance of structures and then look at potential remedial strategies.

Test architecture for prototyping automated dynamic airspace control

The automation of various aspects of air traffic management has many wide-reaching benefits including: reducing the workload for Air Traffic Controllers; increasing the flexibility of operations (both civil and military) within the airspace system through facilitating automated dynamic changes to en-route flight plans; ensuring safe aircraft separation for a complex mix of airspace users within a highly complex and dynamic airspace management system architecture. These benefits accumulate to increase the efficiency and flexibility of airspace use(1). Such functions are critical for the anticipated increase in volume of manned and unmanned aircraft traffic. One significant challenge facing the advancement of airspace automation lies in convincing air traffic regulatory authorities that the level of safety achievable through the use of automation concepts is comparable to, or exceeds, the accepted safety performance of the current system.

Regulation of human stem cell research in Australia

Australia is currently well placed to contribute to the global growth of human stem cell research. However, as the science has progressed, authorities have had to deal with the ongoing challenges of regulating such a fast moving field of scientific endeavour. Australia’s past and current approach to regulating the use of embryos in human embryonic stem cell research provides an insight into how Australia may continue to adapt to future regulatory challenges presented by human stem cell research. In the broader context, a number of issues have been identified that may impact upon the success of future human stem cell research in Australia.

Comparative study : health research on traffic noise pollution vs. Technical research on traffic noise mitigation

Community awareness and the perception on the traffic noise related health impacts have increased significantly over the last decade resulting in a large volume of public inquiries flowing to Road Authorities for planning advice. Traffic noise management in the urban environment is therefore becoming a “social obligation”, essentially due to noise related health concerns. Although various aspects of urban noise pollution and mitigation have been researched independently, an integrated approach by stakeholders has not been attempted. Although the current treatment and mitigation strategies are predominantly handled by the Road Agencies, a concerted effort by all stakeholders is becoming mandatory for effective and tangible outcomes in the future. A research project is underway a RMIT University, Australia, led by the second author to consider the use of “hedonic pricing” for alternative noise amelioration treatments within the road reserve and outside the road reserve. The project aims to foster a full range noise abatement strategy encompassing source, path and noise receiver. The benefit of such a study would be to mitigate the problem where it is most effective and would defuse traditional “authority” boundaries to produce the optimum outcome. The project is conducted in collaboration with the Department of Main Roads Queensland, Australia and funded by the CRC for Construction Innovation. As part of this study, a comprehensive literature search is currently underway to investigate the advancements in community health research, related to environmental noise pollution, and the advancements in technical and engineering research in mitigating the issue. This paper presents the outcomes of this work outlining state of the art, national and international good practices and gap analysis to identify major anomalies and developments.

Decision - Support Software Tool Handbook

The road and transport industry in Australia and overseas has come a long way to understanding the impact of road traffic noise on the urban environment. Most road authorities now have guidelines to help assess and manage the impact of road traffic noise on noise-sensitive areas and development. While several economic studies across Australia and overseas have tried to value the impact of noise on property prices, decision-makers investing in road traffic noise management strategies have relatively limited historic data and case studies to go on. The perceived success of a noise management strategy currently relies largely on community expectations at a given time, and is not necessarily based on the analysis of the costs and benefits, or the long-term viability and value to the community of the proposed treatment options. With changing trends in urban design, it is essential that the 'whole-of-life' costs and benefits of noise ameliorative treatment options and strategies be identified and made available for decisionmakers in future investment considerations. For this reason, CRC for Construction Innovation Australia funded a research project, Noise Management in Urban Environments to help decision-makers with future road traffic noise management investment decisions. RMIT University and the Queensland Department of Main Roads (QDMR) have conducted the research work, in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Public Works, ARUP Pty Ltd, and the Queensland University of Technology. The research has formed the basis for the development of a decision-support software tool, and helped collate technical and costing data for known noise amelioration treatment options. We intend that the decision support software tool (DST) should help an investment decision-maker to be better informed of suitable noise ameliorative treatment options on a project-by-project basis and identify likely costs and benefits associated with each of those options. This handbook has been prepared as a procedural guide for conducting a comparative assessment of noise ameliorative options. The handbook outlines the methodology and assumptions adopted in the decision-support framework for the investment decision-maker and user of the DST. The DST has been developed to provide an integrated user-friendly interface between road traffic noise modelling software, the relevant assessment criteria and the options analysis process. A user guide for the DST is incorporated in this handbook.

Certainties and uncertainties : ethics and professional identities of early childhood educators

This study is an inquiry into the professional identity constructions of early childhood educators, where identity is conceptualised as social and contextual. Through a genealogical analysis of narratives of four Queensland early childhood teachers, the thesis renders as problematic universal and fixed notions of what it is to be an early childhood professional. The data are the four teachers’ professional life history narratives recounted through a series of conversational interviews with each participant. As they spoke about professionalism and ethics, these teachers struggled to locate themselves as professionals, as they drew on a number of dominant discourses available to them. These dominant discourses were located and mapped through analysis of the participants’ talk about relationships with parents, colleagues and authorities. Genealogical analysis enabled multiple readings of the ways in which the participants’ talk held together certainties and uncertainties, as they recounted their experiences and spoke of early childhood expertise, relational engagement and ethics. The thesis concludes with suggestions for ways to support early childhood teachers and pre-service teachers to both engage with and resist normative processes and expectations of professional identity construction. In so doing, multiple and contextual opportunities can be made available when it comes to being professional and ‘doing’ ethics. The thesis makes an argument for new possibilities for thinking and speaking professional identities that include both certainty and uncertainty, comfort and discomfort, and these seemingly oppositional terms are held together in tension, with an insistence that both are necessary and true. The use of provocations offers tools through which pre-service teachers, teachers and teacher educators can access new positions associated with certainties and uncertainties in professional identities. These new positions call for work that supports experiences of ‘de-comfort’ – that is, experiences that encourage early childhood educators to step away from the comfort zones that can become part of expertise, professional relationships and ethics embedded within normative representations of what it is to be an early childhood professional.

Towards continuous surveillance of fruit flies using sensor networks and machine vision

In Australia, the Queensland fruit fly (B. tryoni), is the most destructive insect pest of horticulture, attacking nearly all fruit and vegetable crops. This project has researched and prototyped a system for monitoring fruit flies so that authorities can be alerted when a fly enters a crop in a more efficient manner than is currently used. This paper presents the idea of our sensor platform design as well as the fruit fly detection and recognition algorithm by using machine vision techniques. Our experiments showed that the designed trap and sensor platform is capable to capture quality fly images, the invasive flies can be successfully detected and the average precision of the Queensland fruit fly recognition is 80% from our experiment.

The “Iranian ART Revolution”: infertility, assisted reproductive technology, and third-party donation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Infertility is a social onus for women in Iran, who are expected to produce children early within marriage. With its estimated 1.5 million infertile couples, Iran is the only Muslim country in which assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) using donor gametes and embryos have been legitimized by religious authorities and passed into law. Th is has placed Iran, a Shia-dominant country, in a unique position vis-à-vis the Sunni Islamic world, where all forms of gamete donation are strictly prohibited. In this article, we first examine the “Iranian ART revolution” that has allowed donor technologies to be admitted as a form of assisted reproduction. Then we examine the response of Iranian women to their infertility and the profound social pressures they face. We argue that the experience of infertility and its treatment are mediated by women’s socioeconomic position within Iranian society. Many women lack economic access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) technologies and fear the moral consequences of gamete donation. Thus, the benefits of the Iranian ART revolution are mixed: although many Iranian women have been able to overcome their infertility through ARTs, not all women’s lives are improved by these technologies.

Library technician course recognition : meeting the challenge of a distributed national education program

This paper looks at the challenges presented for the Australian Library and Information Association by its role as the professional association responsible for ensuring the quality of Australian library technician graduates. There is a particular focus on the issue of course recognition, where the Association's role is complicated by the need to work alongside the national quality assurance processes that have been established by the relevant technical education authorities. The paper describes the history of course recognition in Australia; examines the relationship between course recognition and other quality measures; and describes the process the Association has undertaken recently to ensure appropriate professional scrutiny in a changing environment of accountability.