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Core 1: Health Priorities in Australia

What are the priority areas for improving Australia’s health?

Road and traffic related injuries

Groups at risk

Major causes of death in Australia by age group

The following table identifies the major cause of death for different age groups. As is evident from the table, motor vehicle accidents are the major cause of death for children aged 0-15 years and young adults aged 15-24 years.

Age group	Major cause of death
Aged less than 1	SIDS
1-14 years	Motor vehicle accidents
15-24 years	Motor vehicle accidents
25-44 years	Suicide
45-54 years	Heart attack
55-64 years	Heart attack
65-74 years	Heart attack
75-84 years	Heart attack
85 years and over	Stroke

Source: 1998 AIHW report, Australia's Health.

Involvement of 17 - 25 yr olds in crashes, 1998

Young drivers are generally classified as being 17-25 year olds. This age group is over-represented in the road toll. That is, young drivers hold 16% of licences yet they account for 26% of drivers killed or injured in road crashes in NSW.

Driver inexperience and driver overconfidence leading to risk-taking are the main reasons why so many drivers are involved in road crashes.

Safe driving is a difficult task in a complex environment. It involves making a large number of rapid decisions, sometimes simultaneously. Young drivers can become mentally overloaded and unable to react to rapid changes in the road environment. Inexperienced drivers also have difficulty assessing potential hazards. This, combined with young drivers finding themselves in new driving circumstances or unfamiliar environments can create a dangerous situation.

Young drivers must drive to their level of experience and to the conditions of the road. The RTA Graduated Licencing Scheme is a positive initiative that will provide ways to improve the knowledge and ability of young drivers. This graduated licencing scheme is proposed to ensure that novice drivers demonstrate improved skills and maturity in driving before graduating through the stages of driver training and licensing.

Graduated licensing scheme for novice drivers to improve driving skills and standards

Student activity
Use the information and links provided above to critically analyse the Graduated Licencing Scheme and complete the following questions: Identify which group of people are at greatest risk of road and traffic related injuries and determine the major factors that contribute to this risk. How is the RTA Graduated Licensing Scheme attempting to reduce the road toll for this risk group?

Student activity

Use the information and links provided above to critically analyse the Graduated Licencing Scheme and complete the following questions:

Identify which group of people are at greatest risk of road and traffic related injuries and determine the major factors that contribute to this risk.
How is the RTA Graduated Licensing Scheme attempting to reduce the road toll for this risk group?

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