the safety of international visitors on australian roads · ii monograph 2 – the safety of...

MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads i

The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads

Joint Report by

Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland

(CARRS-Q)

and

Queensland Transport

September 2004

ii MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads iii

ii MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads iii

The Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) was established in 1996 as a joint venture initiative of the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

The Centre was created to address the enormous human, economic and social costs resulting from road crashes. It has expanded its research scope to include the broader area of injury prevention with a particular interest in youth and risk-taking behaviours. Its charter is to identify, assess and initiate innovative priority-driven research and teaching programs leading to the development and implementation of strategies to improve safety on our roads, in our workplaces and in our communities.

The Centre aims to strengthen and broaden research and intervention development in the areas of vulnerable road users, illegal and high-risk behaviours, the human behaviour and technology interface, school and community-based road safety education and workplace safety.

As one of the few nationally recognised, university-based research centres of its kind in Australia, CARRS-Q is an important player in the international pursuit of road safety. Its visionary approach, quality standards and innovative outcomes make it an award-winning centre for road safety and accident prevention research and education.

iv MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads v

Published byCARRS-QQueensland University of TechnologyBeams Road, Carseldine Q 4034AustraliaPhone +61 7 3864 4589Fax +61 7 3864 4640Email [email protected] www.carrsq.qut.edu.au

September 2004

The Safety of International Visitors on Australian RoadsThis report was prepared by a project team consisting of:

Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q)Barry WatsonDeborah TunnicliffJane MandersonErin O’Connor

Queensland TransportMarion StefaniwGraham FraineSally Samuels

Monograph 2

iv MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads v

CENTRE FOR ACCIDENT RESEARCH & ROAD SAFETY – QUEENSLANDDOCUMENT RETRIEVAL INFORMATIONDocument no. CARRS-Q Monograph Series – Monograph 2

Date September 2004

Pages 111

ISBN 0 9751596 1 5

Title The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads

Published by Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q)Queensland University of TechnologyBeams RoadCarseldine Q 4034Australia

AbstractThis report has been jointly prepared by CARRS-Q and Queensland Transport to inform the development of a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors 2004-2010. It examines the crash and offence involvement of international visitors in road crashes in Australia, at both the national and state levels. While it remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the problem, the available data suggests that international visitors represent a relatively small proportion of the overall number of road users killed and injured in Australia. Nationally, international licence holders represented only 0.7% of the total number of motor vehicle operators involved in fatal crashes between 1996 and 1999. However, a major exception is the Northern Territory, where in the period 1998-2002, international visitors represented over 13% of road fatalities and almost 8% of injuries. International visitors appear to experience problems associated with driving in unfamiliar conditions. Their crashes are more likely to involve: failure to wear seat belts; driver fatigue; the overturning of vehicles; and incidents which appear to involve disorientation, such as head-on and angle crashes, and failure to keep left (particularly among drivers from right-side driving countries). Little information is available about the factors that contribute to crashes among international pedestrians or cyclists.

KeywordsInternational visitors; road crashes; traffic offences; road safety.

Notes1. CARRS-Q research and activity reports are disseminated in the interests of information

exchange.

2. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland.

Reproduction of this page is authorised

vi MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads vii

Copyright © September 2004 by CARRS-Q. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from CARRS-Q.

ISBN Number: 0 9751596 1 5

Printed in Australia

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AcknowledgementsQueensland Transport and CARRS-Q would like to thank the following agencies for the support and data provided throughout the project.

Australian Capital Territory

ACT Department of Urban Services

South Australia

Department of Transport & Urban Planning (DTUP): Transport Planning Agency

Commonwealth

Australian Transport Safety BureauBureau of Tourism ResearchAustralian Bureau of Statistics

Tasmania

Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources

New South Wales

Roads and Traffic Authority

Victoria

VicRoadsTransport Accident CommissionVictoria Police

Northern Territory

Department of Infrastructure, Planning and EnvironmentNorthern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency ServicesTerritory Insurance Office

Western Australia

Office of Road Safety, Department of the Premier and CabinetMain Roads WAInsurance Commission of WA

Queensland

Department of Main RoadsQueensland Police ServiceTourism QueenslandMotor Accident Insurance CommissionUniversity of Queensland (Centre for Tourism and Risk Management)

National organisations

National Centre for Studies in Travel and Tourism Pty Ltd

A special ‘thank you’ is also extended to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and Queensland Transport for providing funding for this report. By sharing information in this way all jurisdictions are in a stronger position to promote road safety among international visitors.

viii MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads ix

Table of ContentsPage

Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... vii

List of Figures............................................................................................................................... ix

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xi

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... xiii

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................1

1.1 Background to project .....................................................................................................1

1.2 Structure of the report .....................................................................................................1

2. Brief review of the literature

2.1 Relevance of international visitors to road safety ...........................................................3

2.2 Australian and international evidence.............................................................................3

2.3 Outcomes of the Travelsafe/CARRS-Q Symposium ......................................................4

3. Method

3.1 Tourism data....................................................................................................................7

3.2 Crash and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) data..............................................................7

3.3 Offence data....................................................................................................................8

4. International visitors to Australia and their crash involvement

4.1 Australia ..........................................................................................................................9

4.2 Queensland...................................................................................................................19

4.3 New South Wales..........................................................................................................33

4.4 Australian Capital Territory............................................................................................43

4.5 Victoria ..........................................................................................................................49

4.6 Tasmania.......................................................................................................................59

4.7 South Australia ..............................................................................................................67

4.8 Western Australia ..........................................................................................................75

4.9 Northern Territory ..........................................................................................................83

5. Traffic offence involvement of international visitors

5.1 Types of infringements committed ................................................................................95

5.2 Payment of infringements .............................................................................................96

6. Discussion

6.1 Overview of key findings ......................................................................................................99

6.2 Implications for a National Strategy ...................................................................................105

7. References .........................................................................................................................109

viii MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads ix

List of FiguresPage

Figure 1: International visitors and resident population, Australia, 1996-2002 9Figure 2: Driving orientation of country of origin of international visitors, 2002 10Figure 3: Country of origin of international visitors to Australia in 2002 11Figure 4: Driving status of international visitors to Australia, 2002 12Figure 5: International visitors from right-side driving countries as a proportion of all

international drivers, 200213

Figure 6: Proportion of motor vehicle operators who held an international licence involved in fatal road crashes by jurisdiction, 1996-1999

15

Figure 7: Level of injury sustained by drivers and motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes, Australia 1996-1999

17

Figure 8: Road system in Queensland 19Figure 9: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors to

Queensland and international visitors from right-side driving countries, 200221

Figure 10: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Queensland, 2002

22

Figure 11: International visitors to Queensland compared with fatalities which arise from crashes which include an international controller, 1993-2002

24

Figure 12: Serious casualties (fatalities or hospitalisations) as a proportion of total casualties, 1993–2002

25

Figure 13: Comparison of all casualties with those involving an international controller, 1993-2002

25

Figure 14: Fatalities resulting from crashes involving an international controller compared with all Queensland fatalities

26

Figure 15: Number of crashes caused by international drivers 1995-2002 26Figure 16: Gender of all casualties and fatalities arising from crashes in Queensland,

1998-200230

Figure 17: Annual growth of international visitors to NSW, 1999-2000 34Figure 18: International visitors to NSW in 2002, by age 34Figure 19: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and

international visitors from right-side driving countries, New South Wales, 200235

Figure 20: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, New South Wales, 2002

35

Figure 21: Comparison of NSW fatalities and international fatalities, 1998-2002 37Figure 22: Comparison of all NSW casualties with international casualties, 1998 2002 37Figure 23: Main Road system through and around the Australian Capital Territory 43Figure 24: International visitors to the ACT in 2002 by age group 45Figure 25: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and

international visitors from right-side driving countries, Australian Capital Territory, 2002

46

Figure 26: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Australian Capital Territory, 2002

46

Figure 27: Time of day that crashes involving international visitors occurred in the ACT, 1998-2002

47

Figure 28: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, Victoria, 2002

51

Figure 29: Proportion of international drivers and visitors from left- and right-side driving countries, Victoria, 2002

51

Figure 30: Serious casualties in Victoria caused by road crashes, 1998-2002 53

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Figure 31: Percentage of types of road user killed or hospitalised for more than one day, Victoria 1998-2002

55

Figure 32: Map of Tasmania indicating the main highways and other road categories 59Figure 33: Proportion of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002 by age group 61Figure 34: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and

international visitors from right-side driving countries, Tasmania, 200261

Figure 35: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Tasmania, 2002

62

Figure 36: Time of day that fatal, serious injury and minor injury crashes involving international visitors occur (Tasmania 1998-2002)

66

Figure 37: Road network in South Australia 67Figure 38: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and

international visitors from right-side driving countries, South Australia, 200270

Figure 39: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, South Australia, 2002

70

Figure 40: Map of Western Australia 75Figure 41: Age distribution of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002 76Figure 42: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and

international visitors from right-side driving countries, Western Australia, 200277

Figure 43: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Western Australia, 2002

78

Figure 44: Road network in the Northern Territory 83Figure 45: International visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, by country of origin 84Figure 46: International visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, by age group 85Figure 47: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving

countries, Northern Territory, 200285

Figure 48: Comparison of all NT casualties with international casualties, 1993 2002 88Figure 49: Comparison of all serious casualties compared to international serious

casualties, 1993-200288

Figure 50: Location of crashes in the Northern Territory, 1998-2002 92

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List of TablesPage

Table 1: International visitors and resident population, Australia, 1996-2002 9Table 2: Countries of origin of international visitors to Australia from 1998 to 2002 10Table 3: Age and gender of international visitors to Australia in 2002 11Table 4: Proportion of international visitors to Australia by purpose of visit, 2002 12Table 5: Types of self-drive vehicles that international visitors used to travel between

stopovers, 1999-2002 (average)14

Table 6: Total number of motor vehicle operators involved in fatal road crashes by jurisdiction, compared with those who were holders of international driver’s licences, 1996-1999

16

Table 7: Involvement in fatal crashes by year, Australia: 1996-1999 16Table 8: International visitors and resident population, QLD, 1993-2002 20Table 9: Age distribution of international visitors to Queensland in 2002 20Table 10: Total casualties in Queensland, by severity: Queensland, 1993-2002 23Table 11: Casualties from crashes involving an international controller, by severity:

Queensland, 1993-200223

Table 12: Casualties arising from a crash involving an international controller as a percentage of total reported casualties: Queensland, 1993-2002

24

Table 13: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, 1998 2002 (average)

27

Table 14: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties – averaged 1998-2002 data (Qld)

28

Table 15: International visitors and resident population, NSW, 1993-2003 33Table 16: Casualties from road crashes, NSW, 1998-2002 36Table 17: International casualties as a percentage of all NSW casualties 38Table 18: Type of road user using averaged data (1998-2002) 38Table 19: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties

– averaged 1998-2002 data (NSW)39

Table 20: Crash location using averaged data, 1998-2002 40Table 21: Crashes by day of week, 1998-2002 (five year average) 40Table 22: Age and gender of traffic unit controllers, NSW, 1998-2002 (five year average) 41Table 23: International visitors and resident population, ACT 1993-2002 44Table 24: Places of residence of international visitors to the ACT in 2002 44Table 25: International visitors to the ACT in 2002 by age group 45Table 26: International visitors and resident population, VIC 1993-2002 49Table 27: Place of residence of international visitors to Victoria in 2002 50Table 28: Age groups of international visitors to Victoria in 2002 50Table 29: Serious casualties in Victoria caused by road crashes, 1998-2002 52Table 30: International serious casualties as a percentage of all Victorian serious

casualties53

Table 31: Type of vehicles involved in crashes in Victoria, 1998-2002 54Table 32: Type of road user by casualty, Victoria 1998-2002 54Table 33: Restraint use by casualty, Victoria 1998-2002 55Table 34: Five most common types of crashes, 1998-2002 Victoria 56Table 35: Age and gender of road crash casualties, 1998-2002 Victoria 58Table 36: International visitors and resident population, TAS 1993-2002 60Table 37: Place of residence of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002 60

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Table 38: Annual international visitor fatalities and serious injuries from crashes, Tasmania 1998-2002

62

Table 39: Vehicle types in fatal and serious injury crashes, Tasmania, 1998-2002 63Table 40: Road users in fatal and serious injury accidents involving international visitors

to Tasmania, 1998-200263

Table 41: Crash types for fatal and serious injury crashes, Tasmania, 1998-2002 64Table 42: Contributing factors to fatal and serious injury road crashes, Tasmania, 1998-

200265

Table 43: Geographic locations of fatal and serious injury crashes, Tasmania, 1998-2002 65Table 44: International visitors and resident population, SA 1993-2002 68Table 45: International Visitors to South Australia in 2002 68Table 46: Places visited by international visitors to South Australia in 2002 69Table 47: Reasons why international visitors travelled to South Australia in 2002 69Table 48: Casualties in South Australia, by Severity: 1994-2002 71Table 49: International driver casualties in South Australia, by severity: 1998-2002 71Table 50: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type: SA 1998-2002 72Table 51: Most common types of crashes by injury level, 1998-2002 72Table 52: Most common contributing factors to crashes by injury level, 1998-2002 73Table 53: Total number and percentage distributions of SA road crashes involving

international drivers by crash location, five year average 1998-200273

Table 54: International visitors and resident population, WA 1995-2002 75Table 55: Countries of residence of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002 76Table 56: Crashes in Western Australia involving an international controller, by severity,

1998-200279

Table 57: Number and percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, WA 1998-2002

80

Table 58: Numbers and types of crashes involving international drivers (1998-2002) 80Table 59: Crashes in WA involving an international controller by road alignment 81Table 60: Severity of injury by road user type and gender (1998-2002) 82Table 61: International visitors and resident population, NT 1999-2002 84Table 62: Crashes in Northern Territory by severity, 1993-2002 86Table 63: Casualties by severity, Northern Territory 1993-2002 87Table 64: Average crashes by light passenger vehicles, 1998-2002 89Table 65: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, 1998-2002 89Table 66: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by seat belt use, 1998-2002

(average)90

Table 67: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties – averaged 1998-2002 data (NT)

91

Table 68: Contributing factors to crashes – averaged 1998-2002 vehicle data 91Table 69: Crashes by gender, averaged 1998-2002 data (Northern Territory) 93Table 70: Comparison of ranking of infringement categories 96Table 71: International visitors from right-side driving countries as a proportion of

international drivers (2002)104

Table 72: International visitor road safety countermeasure options identified at Travelsafe/CARRS-Q Symposium

106

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Executive SummaryBackgroundThis report has been jointly prepared by the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) and Queensland Transport to inform the development of a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors 2004-2010. The development of this strategy has been endorsed by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) and the Standing Committee on Transport (SCOT) and is intended to:

3⁄4 reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes involving international visitors while visiting Australia;

3⁄4 develop strategies and actions for improving the road safety of international visitors; and3⁄4 prepare a Strategy that complements the National Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010.

The objectives of this report are two-fold. Firstly, it provides an overview of the crash and offence involvement of international visitors in road crashes at both the national and state levels. Secondly, it provides an update of the findings from a previous review of this issue undertaken in 1999, entitled International Visitors and Road Safety in Australia: A Status Report.

MethodThe method adopted for this study involved:

3⁄4 a brief review of the existing research literature relating to the involvement of international visitors in road crashes;

3⁄4 an analysis of tourism data to identify the characteristics of international visitors and the types of travel they undertake;

3⁄4 an analysis of crash data drawn from coronial reports, police reports and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance claims to identify the characteristics of the crashes involving international visitors and related contributing factors; and

3⁄4 an analysis of the traffic offences committed by international drivers in four of the states and territories: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), South Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland.

Key findingsThe findings of this study were largely consistent with those documented in the 1999 report. However, a number of new issues emerged (or at least have become clearer) that require special mention.

3⁄4 Since the mid-1990s, international visitor numbers to Australia have grown by about 20% from 3.8 million to 4.4 million. While international visitor numbers peaked at 4.5 million in 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympic Games, they have since appeared to plateau at around 4.4 million. Accordingly, the influence of the Olympic Games on visitor numbers, and the associated amount of travel undertaken by international visitors on Australian roads, appears to have stabilised. However, as most State and Territory governments around Australia have strategies in place to actively encourage international tourism, it is likely that international visitor numbers will continue to increase in the long-term, representing a continuing road safety issue.

3⁄4 It remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the involvement of international visitors in road crashes in Australia. At a national level, and in most jurisdictions, the only international visitors who are specifically identified in the mass-crash databases are

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those involved in crashes as drivers or riders of motor vehicles. Limited information is available about other types of international road users involved in crashes, such as pedestrians and passengers. Unfortunately, this restricts the scope of the investigations that can be conducted.

While it remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the problem, the available data suggests that international visitors represent a relatively small proportion of the overall number of road users killed and injured in Australia. Nationally, international licence holders represented only 0.7% of the total number of motor vehicle operators involved in fatal crashes between 1996 and 1999. However, a major exception is the Northern Territory, where in the five year period 1998-2002, international visitors have represented over 13% of total road fatalities and almost 8% of total injuries.

3⁄4 Two interesting patterns emerged in the international visitor crash data across Australia. Firstly, the data from the Eastern states, particularly Queensland and NSW, indicate that the involvement of international visitors in road crashes steadily increased during the late 1990’s and peaked during the 2000-2001 period. This pattern appears consistent with the overall number of international visitors to Australia and the impact of the Olympic Games. In contrast, the peak in the involvement of international visitors in crashes appears to have occurred earlier in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In these jurisdictions, the involvement of international visitors in road crashes has declined since 1998. This has generally occurred against a back-drop of increasing visitor numbers (at least up to 2000). This suggests that these jurisdictions may have commenced actions to target the problem earlier than some of the eastern states (who were primarily prompted into more action by the impending impact of the Olympic Games).

3⁄4 The contributing factors to crashes involving international drivers appear to have changed little over recent years. While alcohol and speeding contribute to many crashes involving international drivers, these factors tend to play less of a role (or no greater role) than they do in the crashes involving local drivers. The data suggests that international visitors experience problems associated with driving in unfamiliar conditions. Particular issues of concern remain:

– failure to wear seat belts;– driver fatigue;– the overturning of vehicles (possibly indicative of driving unfamiliar vehicles in

unfamiliar conditions); and– incidents which appear to involve disorientation, such as head-on and angle crashes,

and failure to keep left (particularly among drivers from right–side driving countries).

3⁄4 Little information is available about the factors that contribute to crashes among international pedestrians or cyclists.

3⁄4 Traffic infringement data indicates that the most common offence for which international drivers are detected is speeding. However, this finding appears more indicative of enforcement practices, rather than the driving behaviour of international drivers per se. Previous research has found that international drivers are not over-represented in speed-related crashes, compared with local drivers (Ellis, 1999; FORS, 1995; Watson, Wilks, Hansen, & Johnston, 1999a; Wilks, Watson, & Hansen, 2000). This is further supported by the findings of the current project that indicate that speed was no more likely to be implicated in international visitor crashes.

3⁄4 Evidence from Queensland questions the common assumption that international visitors are less likely to pay traffic infringement notices. While it would be ideal to confirm this in other jurisdictions, it suggests that international drivers are not ‘immune’ to the deterrent effect of current traffic offence penalties.

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Implications for a National StrategyGiven the consistency between the findings of this study and those of the 1999 report, the recommendations made at that time appear to remain very relevant. Therefore, a good starting point for the development of a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors would be to conduct a nation-wide audit to assess the degree to which the countermeasures suggested in the 1999 report have been implemented. In particular, the 1999 report identified a number of educational strategies warranting further attention including:

3⁄4 the provision of better information to international people planning a trip to Australia, utilising the internet and tourist agencies;

3⁄4 the development of videos to be shown in flight or in vehicle rental offices;3⁄4 the inclusion of more educational material on road maps;3⁄4 the wide availability of audio cassettes for international visitors to listen to while driving;3⁄4 the wider use of billboards displaying messages relevant to international drivers; and3⁄4 the wider availability of safety information at petrol stations (Watson, Wilks, & Hansen,

1999b).

Hence, it would be valuable to examine the extent to which these strategies have been adopted and how effective they have proven. Alternatively, if these strategies have not been adopted, it would be important to identify the barriers or problems associated with their implementation.

Finally, the 1999 report identified a range of data needs and research priorities to progress the issue. These issues remain very relevant and include the need to better identify the extent of the international visitor road safety problem and to evaluate existing and future countermeasures targeting the problem.

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1. Introduction1.1 Background to projectThis report has been jointly prepared by the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) and Queensland Transport to inform the development of a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors 2004-2010. The development of this strategy has been endorsed by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) and the Standing Committee on Transport (SCOT) and is being overseen by a national working group convened by Queensland Transport.

The strategic objective of the National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors is to:

3⁄4 reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes involving international visitors while visiting Australia;

3⁄4 develop strategies and actions for improving the road safety of international visitors; and3⁄4 prepare a Strategy that complements the National Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010.

In March 2003, the working group overseeing the development of the strategy identified a need to collect and analyse updated data on international visitors and their involvement in road crashes. In particular, there was a need to revisit the findings of a national symposium into international visitor safety that was conducted in May 1999 by the Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee and CARRS-Q. This symposium had been designed to benchmark the safety of international visitors in the build-up to the Sydney Olympics and identify priorities for the future. The findings of the symposium were documented in a major report entitled International Visitors and Road Safety in Australia: A Status Report, published by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Consequently, the role of this report is two-fold. Firstly, it will provide an overview of the crash and offence involvement of international visitors in road crashes at both the national and state levels. As part of this exercise, trends in general population and international visitor numbers will be considered. Secondly, it will review whether there has been any change in the characteristics of this problem since the late 1990’s, which may highlight emerging issues of concern.

1.2 Structure of the reportA brief review of the relevant research literature is provided in Section 2. This review mainly focuses on the outcomes of the 1999 national symposium and the findings of a related research program conducted by CARRS-Q. This will provide a foundation for reviewing the more recent data available across Australia.

Section 3 provides a brief overview of the method used for the current project. It will describe the source and types of data utilised, along with some of the constraints that may limit or influence the conclusions that can be drawn.

Section 4 overviews trends in international visitor numbers to Australia and their associated involvement in road crashes. While it primarily utilises the mass-crash data collected by the police in each jurisdiction within Australia, some attention is given to Compulsory Third Party (CTP) claims data. An overview is provided for each state and territory, along with a national summary. Where relevant, any major changes in crash patterns since the time of the Travelsafe/CARRS-Q symposium are identified.

Section 5 overviews the findings relating to the involvement of international visitors in traffic offences. It draws on information from a number of different states, with a special emphasis on the Queensland experience (due to data availability issues).

Section 6 draws the main findings of the project together and discusses the major implications for the development of the National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors.

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2. Brief review of the literature2.1 Relevance of international visitors to road safetyResearch by the former Federal Office of Road Safety (FORS) indicated that there were approximately 45 international visitors killed on Australian roads each year during the mid 1990s (Ellis, 1999). In absolute terms this was not a large problem, representing only 2.5% of Australia’s annual road toll. However, there are a number of unique reasons why the safety of international visitors remains a concern.

Firstly, the full extent of injuries experienced by international visitors in Australia has historically been difficult to establish. The road crash databases in many states only identify those international visitors involved in crashes that were driving or riding a motor vehicle at the time, via their licence status (Watson et al. 1999b). In particular, little data is available about crashes involving international visitors as passengers, pedestrians or cyclists. Consequently, it is likely that the full extent of road crashes involving international visitors is underestimated (Watson et al. 1999b).

Secondly, motor vehicle crashes consistently emerge from the travel medicine literature as the most common cause of death resulting from injury for international visitors (Wilks, 1999). From a tourism perspective, the safety of visitors has important implications for Australia’s reputation as a safe and attractive destination (Crick, 1999).

Finally, exploratory work undertaken by FORS suggests that international visitors experience an appreciably higher risk of being killed on an Australian road than local road users. Based on international visitor numbers, FORS estimated that the death rate for international visitors was 22.0 per 100,000 persons in 1994, compared with 10.8 for Australian road users (Ellis, 1999).

Therefore, while international visitors do not necessarily represent a major problem for road safety in Australia, there are good reasons for addressing the issue in a more systematic manner. This is evidenced by the decision of the ATC and SCOT to develop a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors.

2.2 Australian and international evidenceThe first Australian research into the safety of international visitors was undertaken by FORS (1995). Utilising fatal crash data for 1988, 1990 and 1992, they found that the crashes involving international drivers were more likely to involve the non-use of seat belts, driver fatigue and the overturning of vehicles than those involving local drivers. In contrast, while alcohol and speeding were still present in many cases, these factors were implicated less often in international driver crashes than those involving local drivers. Based on their findings, FORS (1995) suggested a link between international driver crashes and the difficulties associated with driving in unfamiliar surroundings.

More recent research by FORS and CARRS-Q has confirmed most of these findings and extended our knowledge of international visitor crashes. The FORS research confirmed the importance of the seat belt issue among international visitors. As noted by Ellis (1999 p.22):

The most prominent risk factor that differentiates between international and local drivers is seat belt usage. Fifty-two percent of international drivers killed were not restrained at the time of the crash. This compares with 38% for local drivers.

It has been suggested that the low seat belt wearing rates among international vehicle occupants may be indicative of their normal driving behaviour, shaped by poorly enforced (or indeed non-existent) seat belt laws in their home country (Wilks, Watson, & Faulks, 1999). Alternatively, it is consistent with other evidence suggesting that people tend to engage in more risky activities (eg. alcohol and drug use, sexual practices) while travelling, than they do at home (e.g. Fairhurst, 1992).


During the late 1990s, CARRS-Q conducted a number of studies into the safety of international visitors. An extensive review of existing literature and programs showed that visitors to Australia came from driving environments that are, in many cases, quite different to that of Australia (Wilks, 1999; Wilks & Watson, 1998; Wilks, Watson, & Faulks, 1999). Among the potential differences are: the side of the road on which traffic drives, road signage, drink driving laws, distances travelled, speed limits and the use of seat belts.

To explore the relative importance of these different driving backgrounds, an analysis was undertaken of the international driver crashes utilising six years (1993-1998) of road crash data provided by Queensland Transport (Watson et al. 1999a; Wilks et al. 2000; Wilks et al. 1999). This indicated that the crashes involving international drivers in Queensland were less likely to involve high risk driving behaviours such as alcohol use or speeding. Rather, they appeared to be the product of unfamiliarity with Australian driving conditions. In particular, it was found that international drivers were over-represented in crashes where disorientation may have been a factor, including ‘angle’, ‘head-on’ and ‘sideswipe’ crashes. (These crash types accounted for 55.2% of all crashes involving international drivers, but only 42.7% for those involving Australian drivers.) In contrast, they were under-represented in crashes where a lack of attention was involved, such as ‘hit fixed obstruction’, ‘hit parked car’, ‘hit pedestrian’ and ‘hit animal’ (17.6% for internationals cf. 28.6% for Australian drivers).

More specifically, ‘the problem of disorientation appears quite acute among international drivers from right-side driving countries’ (Watson et al. 1999a, p.7). In approximately one third of the crashes involving international drivers during the period it was possible to identify the country of origin for the driver. This indicated that over 30% of the serious casualty crashes and 16% of the total crashes involving drivers from ‘right-side’ countries featured a ‘head-on’ collision, compared with 11% and 5%, respectively, for their left-side driving counterparts. Similarly, ‘failure to keep left’ was implicated in 22.3% of the serious crashes involving right-side drivers, compared with 4.9% for left-side drivers. This difference does not appear to be a product of alcohol impairment or speeding, since there was no significant difference between the two groups on these variables. These findings support anecdotal evidence that international drivers from right-side driving countries can experience difficulties, particularly in emergency situations, adjusting to left-side driving (Wilks et al. 1999).

Limited international research has been undertaken into the factors contributing to visitor road crashes. Using hospital records, Petridou et al. (1997) found that visitors from left-side of the road driving countries were at an increased risk of crashing when they drove a rented rather than an owned vehicle on the island of Crete (a right-side of the road driving jurisdiction). In addition, these drivers were involved in 2.5 times more crashes featuring overtaking or other direction-specific manoeuvres, compared with foreigners from right-side driving countries. In contrast to Australian findings, Petridou et al. (1997) found a higher incidence of alcohol impairment in the crashes involving international drivers. The study concluded that road crashes are a major hazard during pleasure travelling and that crashes involving visitors have a distinct epidemiological profile compared with those of a similar nature involving locals.

Page and Meyer (1996) found that nearly 20% of fatalities involving foreign drivers in New Zealand were due to drivers not keeping to the left side of the road. They also found that not keeping left was a significant factor in non-fatal injury crashes involving foreign drivers.

2.3 Outcomes of the Travelsafe/CARRS-Q SymposiumIn May 1999, the Queensland Parliamentary Travelsafe Committee and CARRS-Q conducted a symposium entitled International Visitors and Road Safety. This symposium drew together interested parties from transport, tourism, politics, law, insurance, health, police, car rental companies, academia and other relevant areas of government. It was the first time that many of these groups had worked together to address common road safety concerns. One of the outcomes of the symposium was the publication of a major report that included issue papers from transport, insurance, law and tourism perspectives, as well as status reports from state


and territory jurisdictions across Australia, and a national report from New Zealand (Wilks, Watson, & Hansen, 1999).

The status reports submitted by each of the jurisdictions indicated that a wide variety of countermeasures targeting international road users had already been implemented in Australasia. These countermeasures fell into four categories:

3⁄4 information campaigns featuring mediums such as multi-lingual brochures, maps and handbooks; world wide web (WWW) sites; videos; audio tapes; dashboard stickers in hire vehicles;

3⁄4 improvements to the road environment through the internationalisation of road signs; the development of Tourist Drives with relevant signing; the erection of specific warning signs for international visitors e.g. ‘Belt Up’ signs; the enhancement of rest areas;

3⁄4 vehicle rental practices such as providing safety information to international clients; conducting vehicle familiarisation sessions with clients; and recommending (or requiring) new arrivals to rest before picking up their vehicle; and

3⁄4 the use of mainstream countermeasures, such as traffic law enforcement programs, to target international visitors as well as local drivers (Watson et al. 1999b).

At the conclusion of the symposium, a consensus was achieved with seat belt use and fatigue identified as the major prevention issues (Travelsafe/CARRS-Q Symposium, 1999). In addition, a range of new countermeasure options were identified, which are discussed further in Section 6.2.


3. Method3.1 Tourism dataData on resident populations within the states and territories and international visitor figures were obtained primarily from the International Visitor Survey. A dataset of survey responses from the International Visitor Survey was obtained from the Bureau of Tourism Research. The International Visitor Survey is conducted every year to give information on Australia’s international tourist market. International visitors departing Australia, who are aged 15 years or over and have stayed in Australia for less than 12 months are interviewed at Australia’s major international airports on topics such as transport between stopovers, length of stay and expenditure.

Data from the International Visitor Survey was analysed to estimate international visitor populations, countries of residence, gender and age ratios and proportions of international drivers. The other source of information on international visitor figures was an internet search of the state government tourism websites, such as Tourism Queensland. Information on resident populations for the states came from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website.

3.2 Crash and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) dataData relating to the involvement of international visitors in road crashes was obtained at both the national and state/territory level.

National data was obtained from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) Fatal File for the years 1996-1999 (the most recent years available). This data is based on coronial reports and is hence limited to road users involved in fatal crashes. Prior to 1996, it was possible to identify all international visitors involved in fatal crashes within the Fatal File. However, as a result of changes in coding practices, since 1996 it is only possible to identify those international visitors involved in crashes who were operating a motor vehicle at the time and who possessed an overseas or international licence.

In most cases, the state/territory data was limited to the official crash databases containing information on crashes reported by the police. Compulsory Third Party (CTP) claims data was also obtained for Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory. However, the Western Australia and Northern Territory CTP data are not presented in this report because international visitors were not separately identified.

Major differences exist in the way that international visitors are identified in road crash databases across Australia. In most jurisdictions, the only international visitors who are specifically identified are those involved in crashes as drivers or riders of motor vehicles. In these cases the determining criteria is that the visiting driver holds an international driver’s licence. This is the main criteria used in the sections of the report relating to Queensland, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. As noted above, it is also the criteria by which international road users have been identified in the ATSB’s Fatal File since 1996.

As noted by Watson et al. (1999b), the use of licence status to identify international visitors has two main limitations. Firstly, it is impossible to distinguish between drivers who represent genuine tourists and those who may be longer-term visitors or new residents who have failed to obtain a local licence. While this may lead to some uncertainty, it is likely that the large bulk of these drivers will be short-term visitors. In addition, the ratio of international visitors to residents should remain relatively stable, ensuring the reliability of trends over time. A second and more serious concern is that this method only systematically identifies international visitors involved in crashes as drivers or motorcycle riders. As such, it does not identify those international visitors involved in crashes as pedestrians, bicyclists or passengers. This obviously restricts the scope of the analysis and the conclusions that can be reached.


In contrast, the New South Wales (NSW) and Northern Territory road crash databases define international visitors in terms of residency, rather than licence status. This permits the identification of international visitors who are involved in crashes as drivers, motorcycle riders, pedal cyclists and pedestrians. However, the residence of non-controllers is not identified in the NSW database. Hence, in that state it remains impossible to identify international visitors who are involved in crashes as motor vehicle passengers or as pillions on motorcycles or pedal cycles.

As a consequence of the differences in the way that international visitors are identified in different crash databases (along with differences in crash reporting conventions – e.g. fatal crashes vs fatalities), it is problematic to directly compare the ATSB’s Fatal File crash data with that provided by each state and territory.

3.3 Offence dataData on traffic infringement notices issued to international visitors was provided by four of the states and territories: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT); South Australia; Tasmania; and Queensland. The timeframes covered by this data varied across the jurisdictions. Consequently, it was necessary to average the number of infringements over the relevant time periods to facilitate comparisons.

Where possible, categories common to all the jurisdictions were used to report the data. However, an ‘other’ category was created to cover all those types of infringements listed as ‘other’ by Queensland and any other categories with a small frequency not common to all states and territories. For example, in the ACT improper mobile phone use accounted for almost 3% of the infringements incurred by international visitors. However, mobile phone use was not listed by any other state and in Queensland was already included in the ‘other’ category. Infringements categorised by Queensland as ‘other’ related to a range of activities including driving an uninsured or unregistered vehicle, disobeying a ‘no entry’ sign, following another vehicle too closely, and wilfully starting/driving a vehicle in a way that makes unnecessary noise/smoke.

It should be borne in mind that the data provided only relates to those offences which are dealt with by traffic infringement notices. As such, it excludes those more serious offences which are generally dealt with by Court in most jurisdictions. For example, drink driving offence data is only provided for Queensland, where low range first-time drink driving offenders can be issued with a traffic offence notice. (More serious offenders are issued a summons to appear in court.)

Data relating to the payment of traffic infringements by international visitors was only available from Queensland.


4. International visitors to Australia and their crash involvement4.1 Australia

International visitors to AustraliaBetween 1996 and 2002, the population of Australia grew from just over 18 million to almost 20 million people (see Table 1). Over the same period, international visitor numbers grew by about 20% from 3.8 million to 4.4 million (see Table 1 and Figure 1).

Table 1: International visitors and resident population, Australia, 1996-2002

Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993International visitors (m) 3.8a 4.0a 3.9a 4.1b 4.5b 4.4b 4.4b 1.2Population (m) 18.3c 18.5c 18.8c 19.0c 19.2c 19.5c 19.7d 1.1

Sources:a. Bureau of Tourism Research, 1999.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2000.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003h.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003c.

International visitor numbers peaked at 4.5 million in 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympic Games and have plateaued at around 4.4 million since then.

Figure 1: International visitors and resident population, Australia, 1996-2002

Sources: Bureau of Tourism Research, 1999; Bureau of Tourism Research, 2000; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003h; Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003c.


Country of origin

International visitors to Australia come predominantly from New Zealand, Japan, the United Kingdom and the USA. There has been very little change in the proportions of visitors from different countries in the world since 1999. Table 2 shows the countries of origin of international visitors between 1999 and 2002.

Table 2: Countries of origin of international visitors to Australia from 1998 to 2002

Country of origin 1999 2000 2001 2002New Zealand 16% 16% 16% 16%Japan 16% 15% 14% 15%United Kingdom 12% 12% 13% 14%USA 9% 10% 9% 9%Singapore 6% 5% 6% 6%China 2% 3% 3% 4%Korea 2% 3% 4% 4%Hong Kong 3% 3% 3% 3%Malaysia 3% 3% 3% 3%Indonesia 2% 2% 2% 2%Taiwan 3% 3% 2% 2%Thailand 1% 1% 2% 2%Germany 3% 3% 3% 3%Canada 2% 2% 2% 2%Other Asia 2% 3% 3% 2%Other Europe 9% 10% 9% 9%Other countries 6% 6% 6% 5%

Source: Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.

Most visitors to Australia in 2002 originated from countries where they drive on the same side of the road as Australia. However, almost one third came from countries where they drive on the right as can be seen in Figure 2 below. (For the purposes of this report, left-side driving countries are those where it is the practice to drive on the left-hand side of the road and right-side driving countries are those where the traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road.)

Figure 2: Driving orientation of country of origin of international visitors, 2002



Figure 3 shows the country of origin of international visitors in 2002, with reference to right- and left-side driving orientation of these countries.

Figure 3: Country of origin of international visitors to Australia in 2002


Age and gender of international visitors

Table 3 shows the age and gender distribution of international visitors to Australia in 2002. The majority of visitors were aged between 25 and 59 years. In total, 13% were between 20 and 24 years and 13% were aged 60 or over. Only 4% were aged 15 to 19 years. There were slightly more males than females, but visitor nights were split equally between males and females.

Table 3: Age and gender of international visitors to Australia in 2002

Age or gender category % visitors Age group 15-19 4%

20-24 13%25-59 70%60+ 13%

Gender Male 52%Female 48%


Purpose of travel

Table 4 shows the reasons that international visitors gave for coming to Australia. Almost half came for a holiday or for leisure reasons. A further 18% were visiting relatives, 9% were visiting friends and 10% were on business.


Table 4: Proportion of international visitors to Australia by purpose of visit, 2002

Purpose of visit to Australia % visitorsHoliday/pleasure 48%Visiting relatives 18%Business 10%Visiting friends 9%Other 16%Total 100%


Proportion of international visitors who drive

The proportion of international visitors who drove between stopovers remained relatively stable between 1999 and 2002, at approximately 30%. Figure 4 provides a more detailed breakdown of international visitors to Australia in 2002, in terms of whether they drove between stopovers and the driving orientation of their home country. As can be seen, 29.4% of all international visitors in that year drove between stopovers. The majority of these were from left-side driving countries, representing 19.1% of all visitors and 64.9% of those who drove. In contrast, the international visitors from right-side driving countries who drove between stopovers represented only 8.2% of all international visitors and 27.9% of all those who drove.

Figure 4: Driving status of international visitors to Australia, 2002


Although the international drivers from right-side driving countries are in the minority, the available evidence suggests they are a potentially high-risk group (see section 2.2). To further explore this group, Figure 5 compares the representation of these drivers among all international drivers across the various Australian jurisdictions.


Figure 5: International visitors from right-side driving countries as a proportion of all international drivers, 2002


As can be seen in Figure 5 above, the proportion of international drivers in Australia from right-side drive countries (28%) is less than the average of the proportions from each state. This appears to be because drivers are driving in more than one state or territory and therefore, some are being counted more than once. Tasmania, ACT, NT and SA account for the lowest proportions (only 2%, 3%, 4% and 6% respectively) of the total number of international drivers and 3%, 5%, 8% and 11%, respectively, of the total right-side driving population. Therefore, although these are the states with higher percentages of right-side international drivers (53%, 44%, 64% and 48%, respectively), it would have minimal impact on the total proportion of right-side international drivers in Australia. Finally, international drivers travel in more than one state up to 44% of the time, but right-side international drivers travel in more than one state up to 73% of the time. Thus, right-side international drivers appear much more likely to drive in more than one state or territory than left-side international drivers, another reason for the low national, but high state/territory, proportions of right-side international drivers (i.e. there is more double counting of right-side international drivers than left-side international drivers).

People from right-side driving countries are slightly underrepresented among international visitors who drive between stopovers, because they make up around 32-33% of all international visitors. This is an encouraging trend since it suggests that those drivers from right-side driving countries may be minimising their risk somewhat by deciding not to drive, at least in the first instance. (Although as noted above, those that do decide to drive appear to be driving more than visitors from left-side driving countries). As noted in Section 2.2, previous research has suggested that international drivers from right-side driving countries are particularly over-represented in crashes where disorientation may have been a factor, including failure to keep left and head-on crashes (Wilks et al. 2000; Wilks et al. 1999).

However, it should be noted that this trend was not uniform across the states and territories. In particular, as seen in Figure 5, the Northern Territory (64%), Tasmania (53%) and South Australia (48%) had a high proportion of international visitors from right-side driving countries who drove between stopovers. Hence, this is an issue that needs to be targeted at both the national and state levels.


Type of vehicle

Table 5, below, shows the types of self-drive vehicles that international visitors used to travel between stopovers. By far the most common form of transport was private and company cars, used by 26% of all international visitors during the period. A further 4% used a rental car, 0.2% used vans, motor-homes and campervans and 0.02% used four-wheel drives.

Table 5: Types of self-drive vehicles that international visitors used to travel between stopovers, 1999-2002 (average)

Vehicle type % of international visitors using this form of transport

Private or company car 26%Rental car 4%Self-drive van, motor-home or campervan

0.2%

Four-Wheel Drive 0.02%Source: Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.

Crash involvement of international visitorsData from the ATSB Fatal File is presented in this section to provide a national overview of the involvement of international visitors in fatal crashes. As noted earlier, prior to 1996 it was possible to identify all international visitors involved in fatal crashes using the Fatal File. It was this data that informed the previous research undertaken in this area by the Federal Office of Road Safety (FORS) (FORS, 1995; Ellis, 1999). However, in 1996 changes were made to coding practices which now only permit the identification of international drivers and motorcycle riders in the database, not passengers or pedestrians.

While the more recent Fatal File data is limited to international drivers and riders involved in fatal crashes, it does provide a consistent base for comparing crash involvement across the different states and territories of Australia. The data presented in Figure 6 and Table 6 compares the involvement of international licence holders in fatal crashes (not number of fatalities) during the period 1996-1999, with all operators involved in fatal crashes during this period.


Figure 6: Proportion of motor vehicle operators who held an international licence involved in fatal road crashes by jurisdiction, 1996-1999.

22.9%(11.7%) 11.5%

(8.7%)

27.9%(18.8%)

9.8%(30.8%)

6.5%(23.2%)

0% (ACT)

(1.1%)

3.3%(2.8%)

18.1%(2.9%)

The bold figure represents each state’s and territory’s share of the international licence holders involved in fatal road crashes between 1996 and 1999.

The bracketed figure represents each jurisdiction’s percentage share of total motor vehicle operators involved in fatal road crashes during that period.

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Fatal File (based on FORS 1995).

As shown in Figure 6, the majority of international licence holders involved in fatal crashes between 1996 and 1999 arose from crashes in Queensland (28%), Western Australian (23%) and the Northern Territory (18%). This contrasts with the data for all motor vehicle operators, where NSW (31%) and Victoria (23%) account for the majority of drivers involved in fatal crashes.

Figure 6 represents a total of 61 international licence holders and 8752 total motor vehicle operators involved in fatal crashes during the period. The relevant data is presented in Table 6. It should be noted that this represents cases where at least one road user was killed in a crash involving an international licence holder. As such, it is possible that the person killed was a local road user.

As can be seen in Table 6, international licence holders represented 0.7% of the total number of motor vehicle operators involved in fatal road crashes within Australia during the period. However, in the Northern Territory, they represented over 4% of the total number of operators involved in fatal crashes.


Table 6: Total number of motor vehicle operators involved in fatal road crashes by jurisdiction, compared with those who were holders of international driver’s licences, 1996-1999.

1996-1999 QLD NSW ACT VIC TAS SA WA NT AUSTInternational licence holders

17 6 0 4 2 7 14 11 61

Total motor vehicle operators

1646 2699 91 2032 246 757 1026 255 8752

International licence holders as a proportion of total operators

1.03% 0.22% - 0.19% 0.81% 0.92% 1.36% 4.31% 0.7%

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Fatal File.

Table 7 provides a breakdown of the ATSB Fatal File data by year and identifies the number of international drivers and riders involved in fatal crashes. In addition, it specifies the actual number of international drivers and riders who were killed in those crashes. As can be seen, the 30 international drivers and riders killed between 1996 and 1999 represented 0.79% of the total drivers and riders killed in Australia during the period.

Table 7: Involvement in fatal crashes by year, Australia: 1996-1999.

ATSB Fatal File 1996 1997 1998 1999 Total1996-1999

International drivers and riders involved in fatal crashes

19 13 15 14 61

All drivers and riders involved in fatal crashes 2,396 2,155 2,087 2,114 8,752(0.79%) (0.60%) (0.72%) (0.66%) (0.70%)

International drivers and riders killed 11 5 10 4 30All drivers and riders killed 1,045 933 883 939 3,800

(1.05%) (0.54%) (1.13%) (0.43%) (0.79%)Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau

It is important to note that these data, supplied by the ATSB, differ from the state and territory data presented later in this document for three reasons. Firstly, the time period is different. Most of the data presented in this report relates to 1998-2002. Unfortunately, the most recent Fatal File data available was for 1999. Secondly, some of the state and territory data presented elsewhere in this document have been collected in a different manner. For instance, NT and NSW international visitor data is based on place of residence; the other states and territory figures are based on international licence status. As a consequence, some states and territories have included passenger, cyclist, and pedestrian data whilst others have not been able to collect this, or it has been collected in an unsystematic manner. As noted earlier, the Fatal File data does not include international passengers, pedestrians or cyclists involved in crashes.

Figure 7 compares the level of injury sustained by the 61 international licence holders involved in fatal crashes between 1996-1999, with all operators.


Figure 7: Level of injury sustained by drivers and motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes, Australia 1996-1999.

Source: Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Fatal File.

Compared with all operators involved in fatal crashes, a greater proportion of international licence holders died (49% compared with 44%) or were hospitalised (20% compared with 11%). This may be indicative of data collection issues. For example, it is possible that international drivers or riders not seriously injured or killed in a crash are less likely to be accurately identified and are therefore counted among the total operators. This could result in the international licence holders being overrepresented in fatal and hospitalisation data.

Alternatively, or perhaps conjointly, this may indicate that the nature of fatal crashes involving an international visitor are more likely to result in the death of the rider or driver. This could be due to factors such as a greater involvement in single vehicle crashes, or be reflective of differences in seat belt use amongst this population. Previous and current research does indicate that international visitors are less likely to wear seatbelts, and more likely to be involved in overturning, head on, and right angle crashes (see Sections 2.1 and 6.1).

While 49% of the international licence holders involved in fatal crashes during the period were killed (as shown in Figure 7), there were some interesting state/territory differences. Western Australia and the Northern Territory had the largest proportion of fatally injured international licence holders over the years 1996-1999. In WA, 9 of the 14 international licence holders involved in fatal crashes died (64%), and in NT, 6 of 11 died (55%). In South Australia, only 2 (29%) of the seven international licence holders involved in fatal crashes died, and in Queensland 7 (41%) of 17 died. In New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, 50% of all the international licence holders involved in fatal crashes were themselves fatally injured.

Summary3⁄4 Since the mid-1990s, international visitor numbers have grown by about 20% from 3.8

million to 4.4 million. While international visitor numbers peaked at 4.5 million in 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympic Games, they have since appeared to plateau at around 4.4 million. Accordingly, the influence of the Olympic Games on visitor numbers, and the associated amount of travel undertaken by international visitors on Australian roads, appears to have stabilised. However, it is likely that international visitor numbers will continue to increase in the long-term, representing a continuing road safety issue.

3⁄4 It remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the involvement of international visitors in road crashes in Australia. In most jurisdictions, the only international visitors who are specifically identified in the mass-crash databases are those involved in crashes as drivers or riders of motor vehicles. Limited information is available about other types of international road users involved in crashes, such as pedestrians and passengers. Unfortunately, this restricts the scope of the investigations that can be conducted.


3⁄4 While it remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the problem, the available data suggests that international visitors represent a relatively small proportion of the overall number of road users killed and injured in Australia.


4.2 QueenslandBackgroundQueensland is Australia’s second largest State, covering approximately 1,727,000 square kilometres. It is located on the north-east of the Australian continent, bordered by the Coral Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, New South Wales and South Australia to the south and Northern Territory to the west.

To put Queensland’s size in perspective, it is more than seven times the size of the United Kingdom, more than four and a half times the size of Japan, and around six and a half times the size of New Zealand (Queensland Transport, 1999 p.61).

Figure 8 represents the main towns and highways within the State of Queensland.

Figure 8: Road system in Queensland

Source: Queensland Transport, 1999 p.63.

Population

On 31 December 2002, Queensland had an estimated population of 3,750,500. In the 12 months prior to this, the annual growth rate for this state was 2.4%, which was well above the national growth rate of 1.3%. Queensland’s population makes up 19% of the country’s total population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003b).

Compared with other mainland States, Queensland’s population is relatively less centralised with more than half of the State’s population living in coastal, regional centres outside the Brisbane metropolitan area. This reflects Brisbane’s remoteness from the agricultural, pastoral and mining activities in the central, northern and western regions of the State. Urban centres have always performed important functional roles in regional Queensland (Queensland Transport, 1999 p.61).

International visitors to Queensland

Queensland attracts just under 2 million international visitors each year which accounts for almost half of all tourism to Australia. As shown in Table 8, the number of international visitors


to Queensland has grown 34% over the 10 year period 1993-2002. After a period of rapid growth from 1993 to 1996, numbers peaked between 1999 and 2001, perhaps in part due to the Olympic Games. The decrease in visitor numbers shown in 2002 is probably related to international issues such as the war on Iraq and the SARS epidemic (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2003 p.1).

Table 8: International visitors and resident population, QLD, 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993

International visitors (m) 1.425a 1.599a 1.730a 1.961a 1.981a 1.818b 1.967b 1.974b 1.984b 1.905b 1.34

Annual ± in o/s visitors 12% 8% 13% 1% -8% 8% 0.4% 0.5% -4%

Population (m) 3.113c 3.116c 3.277c 3.355c 3.440c 3.473c 3.509c 3.570c 3.635c 3.751 1.20Sources:a. Queensland Transport, 1999 p.65.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002c.

Tourism injected $6.1 billion dollars into the Queensland economy in 1998-1999. This amounts to 6.2% of the State’s income. International visitors contributed 20% of this amount. Nine percent of all workers and 8.2% of full-time workers in Queensland are employed in the tourism industry (Queensland Treasury, 2001 p.ii).

Country of origin

The top five sources of international visitors to Queensland for the year ending March 2003 were:

1. Japan (470 286 visitors)2. New Zealand (274 646 visitors)3. United Kingdom (254 223 visitors)4. Europe (excluding UK and Germany) (159 275 visitors)5. USA (150 557 visitors).

Only visitors from the United Kingdom and New Zealand increased in numbers between the years ending March 2001 and March 2003, with increases of 1.7% and 0.3% respectively. The other countries in the top five decreased by 1.9% for Japan, 8.4% for the USA and 10.5% for European countries excluding the UK and Germany (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2003 p.5).


In 2002, 69.4% of international visitors travelling to Queensland were aged 25-59 years. A further 14.1% were aged 20-24 years, 3.2% were aged 15-19 and 13.3% were aged 60 years or older (see Table 9).

Table 9: Age distribution of international visitors to Queensland in 2002

15-19yrs 20-24yrs 25-59yrs 60+yrs3.2% 14.1% 69.4% 13.3%


Slightly more males (50.6%) than females (49.4%) comprised the international visitors to Queensland in 2002.


Purpose of travel

In the year ending December 2002, the majority (79%) of international visitors to Queensland came for the purpose of having a holiday or for leisure reasons. A further 17% were visiting friends or relatives and only 7% came for business reasons (Tourism Queensland, 2003 p.14).

Proportion of international drivers

Figure 9 shows that, in 2002, 24% of all international visitors to Queensland drove a private or company car or rental vehicle between stopovers. In total, 21% of international visitors from countries that drive on the right-hand side of the road drove between stopovers. This group made up 33% of the international visitors, but only 29% of those who drove between stopovers (see Figure 10).

Figure 9: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors to Queensland and international visitors from right-side driving countries, 2002



Figure 10: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Queensland, 2002


Road crashes involving international visitorsIn this section, trends in road crashes involving international drivers are considered in light of trends in overall reported crashes in Queensland, and in terms of general population growth and growth in the number of international visitors.

Identification of international visitors in Queensland road crash statistics

International road users are identified in the Queensland crash database on the basis of their licence status. The following statistics relate to the involvement of international drivers in crashes and any casualties resulting from these crashes. If the driver (or rider) of a vehicle is identified as an international visitor in the police crash reports, then any passenger or pillion fatalities or hospitalisations (domestic or international) are included within these international statistics. The statistics include international visitors if the controller was identified as an international visitor.

For example, if an international driver was involved in a crash which resulted in the death of a domestic motorcyclist and the hospitalisation of the international driver, the statistics would reflect 1 fatality and 1 hospitalisation for international visitors. If a domestic resident was driving a vehicle with international passengers, and they were killed, or they killed an international pedestrian, no fatalities would be recorded in the ‘international visitors’ data as the controller (driver) was not an international visitor.


Table 10: Total casualties in Queensland, by severity: Queensland, 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993

Fatalities 396 422 456 385 361 279 314 317 324 322 0.81Hospitalised 4052 4600 4636 4480 4146 4349 4503 4786 5314 5544 1.37Medically treated 5876 6205 6692 6834 6478 6214 6252 6446 7882 7524 1.28Minor injuries 3131 3587 3932 4131 3928 3937 3839 3933 4830 4719 1.51Total casualties 13455 14814 15716 15830 14913 14779 14908 15482 18350 18109 1.35

Source: Queensland Transport Road Crash Database.

In the period 1993 to 2002, total reported casualties in Queensland increased 35% which is 15% higher than the population growth over the same time period. However, fatalities in the same period fell almost 20%, so whilst more people were being injured in crashes, fewer died. As shown in Table 10, the greatest increase (51%) is in minor injuries. This could be due to a variety of factors including improvements in vehicle safety, emergency retrieval, and medical services, and better reporting of crashes. However, from October 2000, an amendment to the Motor Accident Insurance Act (MAIA) 1994 came into force requiring any road crash resulting in an injury for which a claim was made, to have been reported to the police. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of hospitalisation, medical treatment, and minor injury crashes recorded in Queensland (Queensland Transport, 2002).

Table 11: Casualties from crashes involving an international controller, by severity: Queensland, 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993

Fatalities 12 4 12 5 6 4 6 9 15 10 0.83Hospitalised 92 83 105 111 103 89 157 134 150 115 1.25Medically treated 113 114 172 151 161 163 206 165 230 190 1.68Minor injuries 51 49 85 86 89 114 109 102 136 119 2.33Total casualties 268 250 374 353 359 370 478 410 531 434 1.62


Table 11 shows that the total casualties which originated from a crash which involved at least one international controller increased by 62% in the 1993 to 2002 period, much greater than the 34% growth in international visitors that Queensland experienced. Just as for total Queensland casualties, fatalities have decreased overall. However, there was an increase over the 1999-2001 period which could be indirectly related to increased visitor activity during the lead up to, and following the Olympic Games.

Figure 11 shows that there appears to be little direct relationship between the number of fatalities resulting from crashes which involve an international controller and the number of international visitors to Queensland (r = –0.10).


Figure 11: International visitors to Queensland compared with fatalities which arise from crashes which include an international controller, 1993-2002


As shown in Table 12 below, the proportion of fatalities arising from crashes involving an international driver/rider rose markedly in 2000, 2001 and although this decreased in 2002, it still resulted in a slightly higher (8%) proportion of fatalities than was the case in 1993.

Table 12: Casualties arising from a crash involving an international controller as a percentage of total reported casualties: Queensland, 1993-2002

Year 1993 %

1994 %

1995 %

1996 %

1997 %

1998 %

1999 %

2000 %

2001 %

2002 %

2002/1993

Fatalities 3.03 0.95 2.63 1.30 1.66 1.43 1.91 2.84 4.63 3.11 1.03Hospitalised 2.27 1.80 2.26 2.48 2.48 2.07 3.49 2.80 2.82 2.07 0.91Medically treated 1.92 1.84 2.57 2.21 2.49 2.62 3.29 2.56 2.92 2.52 1.31Minor injuries 1.63 1.37 2.16 2.08 2.27 2.84 2.84 2.59 2.82 2.52 1.55Total casualties 1.99 1.69 2.38 2.23 2.41 2.50 3.21 2.65 2.89 2.40 1.21


Figure 12 shows the percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations as a proportion of total casualties. Serious casualties made up an average of 32.21% of all casualties involving an international controller, and 32.00% of all Queensland casualties over the 10 year period 1993-2002. Higher numbers of casualties resulting from crashes involving an international controller occurred in the years 1999-2001 as was shown previously in Table 5. However in Figure 12, and also Table 12, above, it is clear that a higher proportion of these were serious crashes.


Figure 12: Serious casualties (fatalities or hospitalisations) as a proportion of total casualties, 1993-2002


Casualties involving international drivers represent, on average, some 2.4% of total casualties over this ten year period, and 2.3% of all fatalities. As shown in Figure 13, there is a reasonable correlation (r = 0.71) between the casualties involving an international driver or rider and all Queensland casualties.

Figure 13: Comparison of all casualties with those involving an international controller, 1993-2002


There is only a very weak correlation (r = 0.13) between all crash fatalities and the fatalities arising from crashes involving an international controller, as shown in Figure 14 below. The small numbers of fatal crashes involving an international controller mean that such correlations should be treated with caution. However, Figure 14 clearly shows the steep rise in the number of fatalities resulting from crashes which involve an international controller over the period 1999-2001.


Figure 14: Fatalities resulting from crashes involving an international controller compared with all Queensland fatalities


As shown in Figure 15, an examination of Queensland CTP insurance data shows a steep increase in the number of crashes where international drivers were deemed ‘at fault’ in recent years. It is interesting that the crash data show a rise in 1999-2001, but a drop in 2002, whereas these insurance data show the upward trend continuing. The amendment to the Motor Accident Insurance Act (MAIA) 1994 mentioned earlier is unlikely to have significantly affected CTP data.

Figure 15: Number of crashes caused by international drivers 1995-2002

Source: Motor Accident Insurance Commission database.

Whilst trends are very similar for the casualty data, for fatalities the pattern differs between total fatalities and those arising from crashes which involve an international driver or rider. This does not seem to be correlated with the proportion of international visitors to Queensland. As Figure 14 shows, whilst total fatalities in Queensland appear to be remaining fairly constant over recent years, fatalities arising from crashes involving international controllers rose sharply during the 1999-2001 period.


Comparing crash characteristicsThe characteristics of crashes which resulted in either a fatality or hospitalisation are examined below to determine if there are differences between crashes involving international drivers, as distinct from total crashes. For this purpose, figures representing a five year average (1998 to 2002) have been used.

Type of vehicle

Most (73%) serious injury or fatal crashes which included an international controller between 1998-2002 involved cars, with a further 11% involving utilities or panel vans, 8% involving motorcycles and 4% involving 4WDs. The percentages for total serious injury or fatal crashes in Queensland over the same period were almost identical except that only 59% involved cars. This is because while trucks, buses, pedestrians, bicycles, stock etc. are featured in total crash statistics, they do not feature heavily in the crashes involving international visitors.

The Queensland CTP data from 1995-2002 indicated 47% of the crashes caused by international drivers occurred in cars, 15% in utes or panel vans, 14% in large trucks, 13% in wagons or 4WDs, 8% in buses or mini buses, 2% in small trucks and 1% on motorcycles.

The difference in the percentages between the two types of data is not surprising given that the former reflects an outcome of death or serious injury, whilst the CTP data arises from insurance claims relating to any level of injury. For instance, although the CTP data shows that only 1% of crashes caused by international drivers involved motorcycles, the fact that the rider of a motorcycle is more vulnerable to serious or fatal injury is reflected in the fatal or serious crash data which show that 8% of such crashes involve a motorcycle.

Type of road user

As seen in Table 13 below, the percentage of passengers seriously or fatally injured in crashes which include an international controller is much higher than for Queensland crashes as a whole. This may reflect a difference in exposure among passengers; as the average international driver may be more likely to travel with passengers than the average Australian driver.

Table 13: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, 1998-2002 (average)

Road user

% Fatality % HospitalisationInvolving

international controller

All Queensland crashes

Involving international

controllerAll Queensland

crashes

Driver 39 44 43 47Passenger 54 27 43 27Pedestrian 4 14 3 8Motorcycle rider/pillion 2 12 10 12Bicycle rider/pillion 0 3 1 5


Seatbelt usage

Of the crashes which involved an international controller between 1998 and 2002, on average 59% of those who suffered a fatal injury wore a seat-belt, 30% did not, and for the remaining 11%, usage was unknown. For all Queensland road crashes, 49% of those killed wore a seat belt, 19% did not, in 3% of cases a seatbelt was not fitted to the vehicle, and usage for the remaining 29% was unknown. Therefore, while there is some evidence that international controllers killed in crashes were less likely to wear a seat belt, it is difficult to be conclusive due to the large proportion of unknown users within general crashes.


According to an earlier status report which examined data from 1993 to 1998, approximately 10% of all casualties from crashes involving international controllers failed to wear a seat belt, whereas this figure was around 4% in the general crash statistics (Queensland Transport, 1999). Unfortunately the average data for 1998-2002 does not have information on the status of seatbelt usage for around 13-15% of crashes which resulted in any form of injury. Around 4% of international and 3% of general road crash casualties definitely did not wear a seat belt, however given the large percentage of unknowns it is possible that this could be higher for either or both groups.

Crash nature

In examining the types of crashes that result in some form of injury or property damage, there are similar patterns overall between crashes involving an international driver/rider and general crashes, i.e. most of these crashes are ‘angle’ collisions, followed by ‘rear end’ collisions, followed by hitting a ‘fixed or temporary object’. However, for fatal or serious injury crashes the patterns differ.

As seen below in Table 14, head on crashes are responsible for the majority (31%) of fatal crashes involving international drivers. One possibility for this is that visitors arriving from countries where it is usual practice to drive on the right-hand side of the road are more likely to become disorientated and drive on the wrong side when visiting Australia (see section 2.2). In the general driving population, angle collisions are responsible for the most fatalities (29%).

Table 14: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties – averaged 1998-2002 data (Qld)

Serious casualty crashes involving an international driver Total serious casualty crashes

1. Angle (22%) 1. Hit fixed or temporary object (27%)2. Head on (21% – but 31% of fatalities) 2. Angle (22% – but 29% of fatalities)3. Hit fixed or temporary object (16%) 3. Hit pedestrian (12%)4. Rear end (13%) 4. Head on (10%)5. Overturned (11%) 5. Overturned (10%)


An examination of the 1995-2002 CTP insurance data for Queensland involving 298 crashes in which international drivers were at fault supports the data presented in Table 14. Whilst rear end collisions were the most common form of crash (105), these are less likely to cause fatal or serious injury. Hitting another car in an intersection (33) was the second main type of crash caused by international drivers, with head on collisions (30) next. No collision – driving off the carriageway (26), hitting pedestrians (24), sideswiping a vehicle travelling in the same direction (13), and turning across the path of vehicles heading in the opposite direction (12) followed as common types of crash. Interestingly, hitting a fixed or temporary object was not listed as a major cause of crashes.

Contributing factors

Alcohol (17%), inexperience (11%), illegal manoeuvres (10%), inattention (9%), and speed (8%) were the top five contributing factors to total fatal crashes in Queensland between 1998 and 2002. ‘Inattention’ was the greatest contributor to casualties requiring hospitalisation (16%) followed by ‘inexperience’ (13%).

For crashes involving an international driver or rider, illegal manoeuvres contributed to 21% of fatal crashes, ‘other’ factors (14%) and speed (10%) were next. Whilst not as responsible for fatalities, ‘inattention’ (16%) was the second major contributor to hospitalisation after ‘illegal manoeuvres’ (17%). Inexperience (9%) also factored heavily in international driver related


crashes which resulted in a hospitalisation. Alcohol was a factor in 9% of fatalities and 5% of hospitalisations, resulting from crashes involving international drivers and riders.

The fact that crashes involving international controllers often include some type of illegal manoeuvre could reflect a lack of knowledge of our road rules, or confusion resulting from habits formed when driving in their home country (see section 2.2).

Crash location

Based on data relating to total fatal crashes in Queensland between 1998 and 2002, the majority (47%) of these crashes occurred in rural speed zones, with non-Brisbane urban speed zones having 40% of fatal crashes and Brisbane 13%.

Although the pattern for fatal crashes involving an international driver was similar, a much higher proportion (72%) occurred within a rural speed zone, followed by an urban speed zone outside of Brisbane (22%). Brisbane was the location of 6% of fatalities involving an international driver.

For non-fatal or property damage only crashes, urban speed zones outside of Brisbane were the location of most crashes for both international visitor, and all Queensland, crashes.

This data is supported by the work of (Wilks, Coory, & Watson, 2000) who examined hospital admission data with regard to international visitors. They determined that rural and regional hospitals, as opposed to the major metropolitan hospitals were treating the majority of international visitors who had been involved in car crashes.

Crash time

Over the past five years (1998-2002), the most prevalent time of day for crashes in Queensland was between 15:00 hours and 18:00 hours, with around 21% of fatal crashes occurring between these hours. Most fatal crashes occurred on the weekend: Friday (18%), Saturday (19%) or Sunday (15%). This pattern differed slightly from ‘all crashes’ which occurred on Friday (17%), with Thursday (15%) and Saturday (15%) following. One possible explanation for this could be the role of alcohol in fatal crashes and the link between excessive alcohol consumption and ‘the weekend’ in Australian culture.

For crashes involving an international controller, the patterns differed. The most common time of day for fatal crashes in this five year period was between 12 and 13.00 hours (12.5% of fatal crashes occurred in this hour.) However, as for the overall Queensland statistics, the 15:00 to 18:00 hour period is the most common block of time in which crashes occurred – 28% of ‘fatal’ and ‘total’ crashes involving an international driver or rider. Crashes involving an international driver or rider were fairly evenly distributed over the weekdays and weekends for ‘total’ crashes. However, most fatal crashes were likely to occur on a weekday rather than weekend. Monday (22%) and Tuesday (25%) being most common. Given the small numbers of fatalities (n=32) this may not be significant.

Watson et al (1999a) found 74% of crashes involving international controllers and 70% of all Queensland crashes occurred between the hours of 6am and 6pm over the period 1993-1998. This data from 1998-2002 showed a similar pattern (77% and 71% respectively), indicating that crashes involving an international controller are more likely to occur during daylight hours. One possible reason for this is that international drivers may drive predominantly during daylight hours, whereas domestic drivers are more likely to drive over a wider range of hours.

Age and gender

There were interesting differences between the crashes involving all controllers, and those involving international drivers, in terms of age and gender.

As can be seen in Figure 16, females appear to be over-represented in the casualties arising from crashes involving an international controller. Females represented 52% of all casualties


and 45% of fatalities where an international controller was involved in the crash. This compares with 46% and 28% respectively within the total Queensland crash figures.

Figure 16: Gender of all casualties and fatalities arising from crashes in Queensland, 1998-2002

Source: Queensland Transport Crash Database.

Interestingly most of the female fatalities (80%) resulting from a crash involving an international controller were passengers, with 20% being drivers; and for total casualties, 51% were passengers, with 45% drivers, 2% pedestrians, 2% motorcycle or bicycle riders or pillions. In Queensland overall, 41% of female fatalities were drivers, 41% passengers, 14% pedestrians, and 4% motorcycle or bicycle riders or pillions; in total casualties 56% were drivers, 35% passengers, 5% pedestrians, and 4% motorcycle or bicycle riders or pillions.

For males, the differences between the casualties resulting from an international controller and those for all of Queensland are not as marked. Perhaps this reflects that international women are more likely to be passengers when in Australia, whereas women are increasingly drivers within the wider Queensland population.

Male casualties resulting from a crash involving an international driver or rider were composed of 55% drivers, 30% passengers, 10% motorcycle riders or pillions, 3% pedestrians, and 2% bicycle riders or pillions. In contrast, total male casualties in Queensland were comprised of 52% drivers, 21% passengers, 13% motorcycle riders or pillions, and 8% bicycle riders or pillions and 6% pedestrians.

For crashes involving an international controller, fatalities were most common amongst the 21-29 year age group and the 50-69 year age group; however for total crashes the pattern was much more normally distributed with the 21-39 year age group suffering the most casualties.

For crashes involving all controllers the pattern for fatalities and all crashes was very similar. Most casualties were in the 30-39 year age group, with 17-20 year age group next.

Summary3⁄4 Queensland attracts almost half of all international visitors to Australia.

3⁄4 Most visitors are Japanese, New Zealanders, British, Europeans, or Americans.

3⁄4 14% of visitors to Queensland are aged 20-24 years old. For crashes which involve an international controller, the age groups 21-29 and 50-69 have the most fatalities. Most casualties occur amongst 21-39 yr olds.


3⁄4 In 2002, 24% of all international visitors to Queensland drove a private, company, or rental car between stop-overs.

3⁄4 In 2002, 29% of international drivers came from countries which drive on the right-hand side.

3⁄4 Total road casualties in Queensland increased by 35% from 1993-2002, but fatalities have decreased.

3⁄4 Casualties arising from crashes involving an international controller increased by 62% from 1993-2002, greater than the 34% increase in international visitors.

3⁄4 Casualties arising from crashes involving an international controller over the period 1993 to 2002 represented approximately 2.4% of all Queensland crash casualties and 2.3% of all fatalities.

3⁄4 Between 1999 and 2001, there was a steep rise in serious casualties arising from crashes involving an international controller.

3⁄4 Compulsory Third Party insurance data indicate that the number of crashes caused by an international driver is increasing.

3⁄4 Crashes which involve an international controller are only slightly more likely to be fatal or incur serious injury than those involving all drivers.

3⁄4 International drivers appear more likely to drive with a passenger and therefore more passenger casualties result from these types of crashes.

3⁄4 Serious crashes involving an international driver are most likely to be angle or head on crashes.

3⁄4 Illegal manoeuvres contributed to around 21% of fatal international controller crashes, and 17% of those which resulted in hospitalisation.

3⁄4 Most fatal crashes involving an international driver occur in rural speed zones, while most hospitalisations occur in urban speed zones outside Brisbane.

3⁄4 The most common times of day for crashes involving an international controller are between 12:00 and 13:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00 hours.

3⁄4 Females represent 52% of all casualties, and 45% of fatalities arising from a crash where an international controller is involved. However, 80% of the female fatal crash victims were passengers.


4.3 New South WalesBackground

New South Wales has an area of 801,428 square kilometres and a population of approximately 6.671 million. It is a highly urbanised State as around 60% of NSW people live in Sydney. A further 13% live in regional cities or towns of more than 20,000 people. The NSW population has grown to 6.671 million from 6 million in 1993.

The main transport routes in NSW are:

3⁄4 the Pacific Highway, which runs north up the coast from Sydney to the Queensland border;

3⁄4 the Princes Highway, which runs south from Sydney down the coast to the Victorian border;

3⁄4 the Newell Highway, which runs north/south through the mid-part of the State, from Tocumwal to Boggabilla;

3⁄4 the Great Western, Mitchell and Barrier Highways, which combine to take the traveller from Sydney west to Broken Hill, or north west to the Queensland border north of Bourke;

3⁄4 the Hume Highway, which runs from Sydney south to Albury (then on through Victoria to Melbourne);

3⁄4 the New England Highway, which runs from Newcastle north to the Queensland border at Tenterfield; and

3⁄4 the Sturt Highway, which runs from Wagga Wagga west to the Victorian border at Mildura (Roads and Traffic Authority, 1999 p.73).

Table 15: International visitors and resident population, NSW, 1993-2003

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993

International visitors (m) 1.734a 1.999a 2.163a 2.384a 2.400a 2.237a 2.392b 2.726b 2.662b 2.568b 1.48

Population (m) 6.005c 6.060c 6.127c 6.205c 6.273c 6.334c 6.439d 6.520d 6.609d 6.671e 1.11

Sources:a. Tourism New South Wales.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003h.e. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003g.

International visitors to NSW

As seen above in Table 15, NSW currently attracts around 2.6 million international visitors each year, which is the equivalent of 38% of the resident population.

Figure 17 shows NSW international visitor numbers, 1999-2002. As the figure shows, growth increased by 14% in 2000, but then began a slow decrease in 2001-2002. During this time NSW’s market share of international visitors to Australia rose from 58.2% in 1999 to 60.2% and 60.0% in 2000 and 2001, respectively, and then decreased again to 58.1% in 2002. NSW still attracted the most visitors in this period. The next largest market was Queensland, with around 45% market share (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002). International visitors were counted more than once if they visited more than one state.


Figure 17: Annual growth of international visitors to NSW, 1999-2000


Country of origin

In 2002, as in 1997, the greatest source of international visitors in NSW was non-Japan Asia, accounting for 26.7% of all international visitors to NSW. The second most common origin of international visitors to NSW from was the United Kingdom, with 15.4% of international visitors. Japan was third, with 13.1% of international visitors (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002).


In 2002, 51.9% of international visitors to NSW were male and 48.1% were female. Figure 18 shows the breakdown of ages in international visitors to NSW: 79.0% of these were aged 25-59, with the next highest category being the 20-24s at 16.6%. Those aged 60 and over made up 12.0% and the 15-19 year olds made up 4.5% of the total (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002).

Figure 18: International visitors to NSW in 2002, by age




Of all international visitors to NSW, 25% drove a vehicle between stopovers (see Figure 19). This includes visitors in private or company cars, rental cars, four wheel drives, vans, motorhomes and campervans (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002).

Figure 19: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, New South Wales, 2002


Figure 20: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, New South Wales, 2002


Figure 20 shows that, of those visitors who drove a vehicle between stopovers, 35% were from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road. This group was slightly underrepresented as they made up 41% of all international visitors (Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002).


Road crashes involving international visitors

Identification of international visitors in NSW road crash statistics

Place of residence is recorded in NSW traffic statistics for the controller of a traffic unit (i.e. the driver, motorcycle rider, pedestrian, or bicyclist). The residence of non controllers (i.e. motor vehicle passengers or motorcycle pillions) is not recorded, however when the controller is international, the passenger is assumed to also be an international visitor within these statistics. Manual checks of fatal crash reports (which usually have information on the passengers) have shown that, whilst not 100% accurate, this assumption is not unreasonable.

Consequently, the term ‘international casualties’ will be used in this section to describe those road users killed or injured in a crash involving at least one international controller (driver, motorcyclist, pedestrian or cyclist). In contrast, the term ‘total casualties’ will be used to describe all road users killed or injured in crashes in NSW.

Like most Australian data, under-representation of international visitors is possible in these figures as police may sometimes record a visitor’s ‘last address’ rather than their ‘usual place of residence’.

Total number of crashes

As can be seen in Table 16, overall casualties in NSW have remained fairly constant over the past five years. For international casualties, the number of fatalities peaked sharply in 2000. However, there is no difference in the number of fatalities between 1998 and 2002. The injury figures, however, have increased 78% compared with 1993 data.

Table 16: Casualties from Road Crashes, NSW, 1998-2002

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1998 change

All NSW casualtiesFatalities 556 577 603 524 561 1.01Injury 26415 26748 28812 29913 28447 1.08Total casualties 26971 27325 29415 30437 29008 1.08Casualties involving an international controller 2002 /1998Fatalities 3 1 11 4 3 No changeInjury 36 44 57 42 64 1.78Total casualties 39 45 68 46 67 1.72

Source: RTA Traffic Accident Database.

As can be seen in Figure 21, fatalities resulting from both total crashes in NSW and those involving international visitors both peaked in 2000 (r = 0.55).


Figure 21: Comparison of NSW fatalities and international fatalities, 1998-2002


For total fatalities, shown in Figure 21, the correlation (r = 0.48) is slightly weaker. Fatalities which resulted from a crash which involved an international controller peaked in 2000, dropped in 2001, and then returned to almost 2000 levels again in 2002. Total NSW fatalities peaked in 2001, then dropped to lower than 2000 levels in 2002.

Figure 22: Comparison of all NSW casualties with international casualties, 1998-2002


When examining international casualties as a proportion of total casualties, it can be seen that they account for a higher proportion of fatalities than injuries (see Table 17). International fatalities averaged 0.76% over the five years, ranging from 0.17% of all NSW fatalities to almost 2%, whereas international visitors only accounted for between 0.14 and 0.22% of all injuries. Whilst it is possible that this is due in part to under-reporting of international injuries, this pattern indicates that when international drivers and riders do crash, it is proportionately more likely to be a serious crash than Australian drivers.


Table 17: International casualties as a percentage of all NSW casualties

Year 1998%

1999%

2000%

2001%

2002%

5 yr average

Fatalities 0.54 0.17 1.82 0.76 0.53 0.76Injury 0.14 0.16 0.20 0.14 0.22 0.17Total casualties 0.14 0.16 0.23 0.15 0.23 0.18


Comparing crash characteristics

Type of vehicle

On New South Wales roads, most crashes which occurred between 1998 and 2002 involved cars (66%). Cars were involved in 45% of fatal crashes within NSW during this time, with the remainder being accounted for by pedestrians (11%), light trucks (10%), motorcycles (8%), large trucks (8%), 4-wheel drives (6%), station wagons (5%), utilities (2%), passenger van (2%) and taxis (1%).

Although motorcycles were involved in 8% of fatal and 5% of injury crashes, they only represented 2% of all types of vehicles involved in crashes. Similarly, pedestrians accounted for 11% of fatal and 7% of injury crashes, but only represent 3% of total crashes. This reflects the more vulnerable nature of motorcyclists and pedestrians in the event of a crash.

Cars (58%), light trucks (15%), pedestrians (12%), motorcycles (8%), station wagons (4%) and passenger vans (4%) were involved in fatal crashes which included at least one international controller. Motorcycles were involved in 8% of fatal and 5% of injury crashes involving an international controller, and represented 3% of all types of vehicles involved in crashes. Whilst pedestrians accounted for 12% of fatal and 15% of injury crashes involving an international controller, but only represented 6% of these total crashes

Type of road user

As shown in Table 18, passengers were more likely to be killed or injured in crashes involving an international controller, whereas motorcyclists were less likely. One explanation for this may be that international visitors are more likely to be carrying passengers than usual NSW traffic and are less likely to be riding a motorcycle.

Table 18: Type of road user using averaged data (1998-2002)

Road userCrashes involving

international controllersCrashes involving all NSW

controllersKilled (n = 22) Injured (n = 243) Killed (2821) Injured (n = 143156)

Driver 1.2 27% 14.2 29% 256.6 45% 14618.8 52%Motorcycle rider 0.2 5% 2.4 5% 55.8 10% 1908.8 7%Passenger 2.0 45% 24.0 49% 137.8 24% 7253 26%M/cycle pillion 0.2 5% 0.2 0% 3.0 1% 148.4 1%Pedestrian 0.6 14% 7.2 15% 100.4 18% 2924.2 10%Bicyclist 0.2 5% 0.6 1% 10.2 2% 1207.8 4%Other 0.4 0% 6.0 0%Total 4.4 100% 48.6 100% 564.2 100% 28067.0 100%



Seatbelt usage

Among all drivers and passengers killed in crashes in NSW, between 1998-2002, 66% wore a seatbelt, 23% did not wear a seatbelt, 3% did not have a seatbelt fitted in their vehicle, and 8% did not have this information recorded.

For international drivers killed in crashes, the five year average figures (1998-2002) indicated that 83% wore a seatbelt and 17% did not. However, for passengers in vehicles driven by international drivers, 70% of those fatally injured did not wear a seatbelt. This compares with only 2.5% of passengers who were injured, but not fatally, who did not wear a seatbelt. Whilst the percentages appear large, in reality there are few international fatalities and injuries (see Table 16) so these statistics should be interpreted with caution.

Crash nature

Five year averaged data (1998-2002) was used to analyse the types of crashes that result in some form of injury or property damage. Particular attention was given to those crashes resulting in either a fatality or serious injury (i.e. serious casualty crash).

As seen below in Table 19, angle crashes are responsible for most fatalities or hospitalisations in NSW and also for crashes involving international controllers. However, head on crashes are responsible for the majority (59%) of fatal crashes involving international drivers and are second only to hitting objects for total NSW crashes. This is consistent with prior research undertaken in Queensland by Wilks et al (2000).

Table 19: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties – averaged 1998-2002 data (NSW)

International controllers –fatalities or hospitalizations

NSW crashes –fatalities or hospitalizations

1. Angle (20%, only 4% of fatal crashes) 1. Angle (21%, only 5% of fatal crashes)2. Head on (19%, but 59% of fatal crashes) 2. Rear end (19%, only 3% of fatal crashes)3. Hit pedestrian (18%, 11% of fatal crashes) 3. Hit object (18%, 29% of fatal crashes)4. Rear end (15%, 11% of fatal crashes) 4. Hit pedestrian (13%, 19% of fatal crashes)5. Hit object (11%, 15% of fatal crashes) 5. Head on (5%, 22% of fatal crashes)



For approximately 31% of all fatal crashes involving an international controller, and 15% of total fatal crashes in NSW between 1998 and 2002, it is unknown whether alcohol was a contributing factor. However, it appears that alcohol features more heavily in crashes amongst the Australian rather than international drivers as only 4% of fatal, and 2% of all crashes, involving an international driver had alcohol listed as a contributing factor. Whereas 20% of fatal, and 5% of all crashes, in NSW generally from 1998-2002 featured alcohol.

Speed features more in total fatal crashes (42%) than those involving an international controller (19%), however for all non-fatal crashes the results are similar (16% of all NSW crashes feature speed as a contributing factor compared with 17% of international driver crashes.)

Fatigue is more likely to be associated with crashes involving an international controller (35% of fatal crashes and 9% of all crashes) compared with total crashes in NSW (18% of fatal, and 7% of all crashes). This pattern of results for alcohol, speeding and fatigue are very similar to the results obtained by Wilks et al. (2000) in Queensland.

Young drivers were more likely to be considered a contributing factor to fatal international visitor crashes (46%) compared with 38% of the all NSW fatal crashes. However, in general,


young drivers contributed more to domestic crashes (43% of all NSW crashes) than international controller crashes (32% of all international controller crashes).

Disobeying traffic controls featured as a contributing factor in about 8% of all fatal crashes, with no difference between total fatal crashes and those involving an international controller. In the case of all non-fatal crashes, the proportion of crashes involving non-compliance with traffic controls was only slightly higher (13%) when an international controller was involved compared with all controllers (11%).

Crash location

As shown below in Table 20, during the period between 1998 and 2002, 54% of the fatal crashes involving an international controller occurred in rural NSW locations. In contrast, the majority of fatal crashes involving all controllers occurred within the Sydney/Newcastle/Wollongong area.

Table 20: Crash location using averaged data, 1998-2002

LocationCrashes involving an

international controllerCrashes involving all

controllersFatal Injury Fatal Injury

SNW conurbation 1.4 27% 19.6 48% 229.2 50% 14729.6 73%Rest of NSW – urban 1.0 19% 9.4 23% 62.4 13% 3071.4 15%Rest of NSW – rural 2.8 54% 11.6 29% 171.6 37% 2328.2 21%Total 5.2 100% 40.6 100% 463.2 100% 20129.2 100%


Crash time

For crashes involving an international controller, the most common time for fatal crashes, over the period 1998-2002, was from midnight to 1am (20%). However, most crashes took place between the hours of 12 noon and 6pm. Saturday was the most common day on which fatal crashes occurred as seen in Table 21.

In the case of all controllers, most crashes (including fatal crashes) took place between the hours of 3pm and 7pm. Only 4% of fatal, and 2% of all NSW crashes occurred during the midnight to 1am hour. As shown in Table 21, most fatal crashes took place over the weekend period.

Table 21: Crashes by day of week, 1998-2002 (five year average)

Day of weekCrashes involving an

international controllerCrashes involving all

controllersFatal All crashes Fatal All crashes

Monday 15% 13% 12% 13%Tuesday 12% 13% 12% 14%Wednesday 12% 13% 13% 14%Thursday 12% 15% 14% 15%Friday 15% 16% 15% 17%Saturday 31% 15% 18% 15%Sunday 4% 14% 16% 12%



Age and gender

For crashes involving an international controller, the age group 17-24 years seems to be over represented in fatal crashes, considering that in 2002, 15-24 year olds made up only 21% of international visitors to Australia. The reverse appears to be the case for those aged over 60. They made up 12% of visitors in 2002, yet were only involved in 4% of fatal accidents.

Of visitors to Australia in 2002, 79% were aged between 25 and 59 years, so this group too appears to be underrepresented in fatal crashes.

In 2002, 51.9% of international visitors to NSW were male and 48.1% were female. The estimated resident population of NSW as at 30 June 2002 consisted of 49.6% males and 50.4% females (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003e).

Table 22: Age and gender of traffic unit controllers, NSW, 1998-2002 (five year average)

Age and gender of controller

International traffic unit controllers

All traffic unit controllers in NSW crashes

Fatal All crashes Fatal All crashes

Age of controller (years)

0-16 0.0% 0.6% 2.4% 1.4%17-24 34.6% 19.1% 22.1% 25.5%25-59 57.7% 60.9% 58.3% 55.1%

60+ 3.8% 9.2% 15.4% 8.5%Unknown 3.8% 10.2% 1.8% 9.6%

Gender of controller

Male 74.1% 78.7% 77.6% 64.7%Female 25.9% 20.5% 21.5% 31.8%

Unknown 0.0% 0.8% 0.9% 3.5%Source: RTA Traffic Accident Database.

As shown clearly in Table 16, males are over-represented in all crashes. This is, in part, due to higher exposure among males. However, other evidence indicates that males are more likely to engage in risky driving. The NSW licence statistics show that of all licences held, slightly more have been issued to men (53%) than women (47%).

Summary3⁄4 Most international visitors to NSW come from Asia, the UK, or Japan.

3⁄4 In 2002, NSW attracted the equivalent of 38% of its resident population in international visitors.

3⁄4 25% of international visitors to NSW drive a vehicle of some kind during their stay, of these 35% are from right-side drive countries.

3⁄4 Both total fatal crashes and those involving international visitors peaked in 2000. However, in general, the last three years (2000, 2001, and 2002) have seen an increase in crashes compared with 1998-1999.

3⁄4 Crashes involving an international controller made up only a very small proportion of crashes in NSW over the last five years (0.18% of all crashes), but a slightly higher proportion of fatal crashes (0.76%). This suggests that when international visitors are involved in crashes, they are likely to be more severe than those involving local drivers.

3⁄4 Among international controllers, 17-24 year olds appear to be over represented in fatal crashes.

3⁄4 Passengers are overrepresented in fatalities arising from crashes involving an international controller. This may, in part, be indicative of lower seat belt wearing rates.


3⁄4 Head on collisions are responsible for most fatal crashes involving an international controller and the second most common type of fatal crash amongst all controllers.

3⁄4 Fatigue is more likely to be a contributing factor in fatal crashes involving international controllers than the general driving population, while alcohol and speeding are less likely.

3⁄4 In NSW, most crashes occur in the Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong corridor. However, fatal crashes involving an international controller were most likely to occur in a rural location.


4.4 Australian Capital TerritoryBackground

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is essentially a ‘city state’, based on Canberra, the federal capital. The ACT has a population of approximately 320,000 and an area of 582 168 square kilometres.

The ACT has a transport system which relies primarily on road based vehicles. In December 1998 it had around 227,000 licensed drivers and 216,000 registered vehicles. There are four main highways connecting Canberra to the surrounding region.

Canberra has a good hierarchical road system, low traffic congestion, a generally high level of road design safety, and few high-risk rural roads. However, these advantages often give ACT drivers a false sense of security which can lead to undesirable levels of risk-taking and unsafe driver attitudes and behaviour (Department of Urban Services, 1999 p.87).

Figure 23: Main Road system through and around the Australian Capital Territory

Source: ACT Department of Urban Services, 1999.


International visitors to the ACT

Table 23 shows the resident and international visitor populations in the ACT from 1999 to 2002. The resident population increased by 4% to 322 000 during this time, but the international visitor population decreased by the same amount, to 175 000.

Table 23: International visitors and resident population, ACT 1993-2002

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993International visitors (m) 0.182a 0.209a 0.191a 0.175a 0.96Population (m) 0.309b 0.311b 0.314b 0.322c 1.04

Sources:a. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.b. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003d.

Country of origin

International visitors to the ACT came primarily from Europe, Asia and North America (see Table 24 for details). Overall, 31% of international visitors to the ACT in 2002 came from Asia, with the most common countries of origin being China (8.6%) and Taiwan (7.0%). A further 23% came from European countries other than the UK, with 7.6% from Germany. 19.7% came from the UK and 15.7% came from North America, with 11.7% from the USA.

Table 24: Places of residence of international visitors to the ACT in 2002

Place of residenceNumber of

international visitors to ACT (thousands)

% of all international

visitors to ACTUnited Kingdom 34 19.7%USA 20 11.7%China 15 8.6%Germany 13 7.6%Taiwan 12 7.0%New Zealand 11 6.4%Canada 7 4.0%Other Asia 27 15.4%Other Europe 27 15.4%Other countries 8 4.3%All countries 175 100.0%



International visitors and visitor nights were evenly distributed between the genders in the ACT in 2002: 51.0% of visitors were male and 49.0% of visitors were female, with 50.5% of visitor nights being spent by males and 49.5% by females.

Table 25 and Figure 24 show the number and proportion of international visitors to the ACT in each age group. The majority (68.3%) of international visitors were aged between 25 and 59 years, 18.3% were aged 20 to 24 years, 10.3% were aged 60 years or over and only 3.1% were aged 15 to 19 years.


Table 25: International visitors to the ACT in 2002 by age group

Age group (years)

No. visitors (thousands) %

15-19 5 3.1%

20-24 32 18.3%

25-59 119 68.3%

60+ 18 10.3%Source: Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.

Figure 24: International visitors to the ACT in 2002 by age group



In total, 25% of all international visitors to the ACT in 2002 drove between stopovers (see Figure 25). This represents an increase from 21% in 2001. There was a corresponding increase in international drivers from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road, from 17% in 2001 to 19% in 2002.


Figure 25: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, Australian Capital Territory, 2002


Right-side driving countries were a little underrepresented among the international drivers: they accounted for 57% of all international visitors, but only 44% of all international drivers (see Figure 26).

Figure 26: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Australian Capital Territory, 2002


Road crashes involving international visitorsInternational visitors to the ACT can drive on an international licence, or where a reciprocal arrangement exists, on their foreign national licence. If they become a permanent resident, they are required to take out an ACT drivers licence.

There are about 1,000 diplomatic corps licences in the ACT at any one time. Given the small and specialised nature of this group, they have not been considered as international visitors for the purpose of this paper.


Road crash data collected in the ACT provides only limited information on international visitors – namely whether the driver and/or others involved in a fatal or serious crash hold an international drivers licence (Department of Urban Services, 1999 p.88-89).

Police record fatal and injury crash data, and determine whether those involved are international visitors. However, data about road crashes involving damage to property is only recorded when those involved report the details. Consequently this report only contains information about fatal and injury crashes.

Between 1998 and 2002 there were 12 fatal or injury crashes involving international drivers in the ACT. (During this time there were 4349 fatal and injury crashes in the ACT; crashes involving international drivers made up 0.3% of the total). These 12 crashes involved injuries to 25 people, 14 of whom were international visitors and 11 of whom were Australians. A large proportion (6 international visitors and 4 Australians) required only medical treatment and 2 (1 international visitor and 1 Australian) required hospitalisation. Information on injury severity was not recorded for 13 people (7 international visitors and 6 Australians) injured in the crashes. It is important to note that, since numbers of crashes are small, data should be interpreted with caution.

In total, 11 of the international visitors injured in these crashes were drivers and three were passengers. All 14 were in cars. One of the Australians injured was riding a motorcycle and one was in a truck. The rest of the Australians were in cars.

There is very little information on the use of safety devices. Only one international visitor was recorded as not wearing a seat-belt. Four were wearing seat belts and information about use of safety devices was not known for nine visitors.

Crashes involving international visitors tended to occur in urban areas (only one occurred in a non-urban area) and half involved right angle turns. There were three rear end collisions, one crash involving a parked vehicle, one side-swipe and one vehicle struck an object.

Figure 27 shows the time of day that crashes involving international visitors occurred between 1998 and 2002. The peak period for crashes appears to be between 1pm and 8pm, with the high risk period being between 1pm and 3pm.

Figure 27: Time of day that crashes involving international visitors occurred in the ACT, 1998-2002


Injured international visitors were more often female and aged between 25 and 59 years. The ratio of injured females to males was 8:5. (Gender was unknown for 1 international visitor). Ages ranged between 3 and 66 years. Two of the injured international visitors were aged under


5 years, one was between 20 and 24 years, seven were aged 25 to 59 years and two were over 60 years. Age was not known for one person.

Summary3⁄4 Most international visitors to the ACT come from the Asia, Europe, the UK or the USA.

3⁄4 In 2002, the ACT attracted the equivalent of 54% of its resident population in international visitors.

3⁄4 In 2002, 25% of international visitors to the ACT drove a vehicle of some kind during their stay, of these 44% were from right-side drive countries.

3⁄4 Fatal and injury crashes between 1998 and 2002 involving international drivers made up 0.3% of total crashes in the ACT.

3⁄4 Between 1998 and 2002, there were 12 crashes resulting in a fatality or injury which involved international visitors in the ACT. These crashes resulted in injury to 14 international visitors and 11 domestic residents.


4.5 VictoriaBackgroundVictoria’s estimated resident population in 2002 was approximately 4.9 million. Of these, 72% live in Melbourne (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003f). Table 26 shows the change in resident and international visitor populations for Victoria from 1993 to 2002. Over this period, Victoria’s resident population increased by almost 10% from 4.472 million to 4.872 million. At the same time, the number of international visitors increased by almost 60% from 0.768 million to 1.218 million.

Table 26: International visitors and resident population, VIC 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993


Population (m) 4.472c 4.488c 4.517c 4.560c 4.605c 4.655c 4.708c 4.767c 4.854d 4.872e 1.09Sources:a. Tourism New South Wales.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002b.e. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003d.

International visitors to Victoria

Currently around 1.2 million international visitors enter Victoria per year. As can be seen in Table 26, the past ten years has seen significant growth (almost 60%) in international visitor numbers, peaking in 2001. There was a significant jump in the number of visitors to Victoria in 2000-2001 which may be partly the result of Australia’s hosting of the Olympic Games.

In 2002, the number of international visitors to Victoria was roughly equal to 25% of the resident population.

Country of origin

As can be seen in Table 27, most (35%) visitors to Victoria in 2002 came from Asia, with the greatest number of these (almost 80 000) coming from Japan. The most visitors from any one country came from the United Kingdom; which made up 17% of the total with just over 200 000 visitors. The next most common country of origin for Victorian visitors in 2002 was New Zealand, with just over 170 000 visitors, making up 14% of the total. Just over 120 000 (10%) international visitors, came from the USA.


Table 27: Place of residence of international visitors to Victoria in 2002

Place of residence Total international visitors

% of all international visitors

United Kingdom 205 000 16.8%New Zealand 173 000 14.2%USA 124 000 10.2%Japan 80 000 6.5%Singapore 75 000 6.1%China 69 000 5.6%Germany 53 000 4.4%Canada 29 000 2.4%Other Asia 207 000 17.0%Other Europe 149 000 12.3%Other countries 54 000 4.4%All countries 1 218 000 100.0%



International visitors to Victoria in 2002 were more likely to be male (52%) than female (48%). However, women had a slightly longer length of stay.

Most visitors (68%) in 2002 were aged between 25 and 59 years as shown in Table 28. People aged 60 and over were the next most frequent visitors making up 15% of total visitors in 2002. Those aged between 20 and 24 years made up 13%, and the smallest number of visitors was in the 15-19 years age group, with only 4% of visitors.

Table 28: Age groups of international visitors to Victoria in 2002

Age group (years)

No. visitors (thousands) %

15-19 50 4.1%20-24 160 13.1%25-59 827 67.9%60+ 182 14.9%




Approximately 374 000, or 31% of international drivers to Victoria in 2002 drove between stopovers (see Figure 28). This includes those who rode in a private or company car, hire car, four wheel drive, van, motorhome or campervan.

Figure 28: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, Victoria, 2002


Of the international visitors who drove between stopovers, around 34% came from countries where traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road (see Figure 29). This group is slightly underrepresented as they made up 40% of all international visitors.

Figure 29: Proportion of international drivers and visitors from left- and right-side driving countries, Victoria, 2002




Identification of international visitors in Victorian road crash statistics

International visitors are identified in the Victorian road crash database from Police incident reports, which indicate a person’s licence type. If a driver has an overseas licence, then this is recorded and they will appear in these statistics.

Passengers are not usually identified in these statistics, nor are pedestrians or cyclists. Only one pedestrian who was killed was identified as an international visitor over the past five years, and two passengers. A future search of the coroner’s database may reveal more information on the residential status of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.

Given these limitations with the data collection process, is therefore likely that these statistics under represent international visitor casualties.

Total number of casualties

Total casualties in Victoria from 1998-2002 numbered 123058, including 2022 fatalities and 32384 serious injuries. Serious casualties (fatalities and serious injuries) in Victoria totalled 34406, and averaged 6881 per year over the five year period 1998-2002, whereas international casualties averaged around 30, representing 0.4% of the total Victorian figure.

There were 478 total international casualties over this same five year period of which 13 were fatalities and 139 were seriously injured.

As seen in Table 29, in general, serious injuries have increased over the past 5 years, whereas fatalities peaked in 2001 and dropped back to below the 400 level in 2002. For international visitors, both the number of fatalities and serious injuries have increased over the five year period, representing an overall rise of 70% from 1998.

Table 29: Serious casualties in Victoria caused by road crashes, 1998-2002

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1998 Average

All VictoriaFatalities 390 384 407 444 397 1.02 404.4Serious Injury 6323 6091 6373 6719 6878 1.09 6476.8Total serious casualties 6713 6475 6780 7163 7275 1.08 6881.2International licence holdersFatalities 1 1 3* 3 5* 5.00 2.6Serious injury 22 26 30 27 34 1.55 27.8Total serious casualties 23 27 33 30 39 1.70 30.4* includes the one pedestrian and two passengersSource: VicRoads Road Information Services.


As can be seen in Figure 30, there is quite a strong correlation between international and all Victorian serious casualties (r = 0.7), both showing a general upward trend.

Figure 30: Serious casualties in Victoria caused by road crashes, 1998-2002

Source: VicRoads Road Information Services.

However, as Table 30 shows, the proportion of international fatalities among total fatalities has increased. In addition, international visitors represented 0.6% of fatalities, but only 0.4% of all Victorian serious casualties. Like other States, this may indicate that when international visitors do have a crash, it is more likely to be fatal. However, caution should be exercised when interpreting this data due to the relatively small numbers of international visitors killed and injured in road crashes.

Table 30: International serious casualties as a percentage of all Victorian serious casualties

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 5 yr average

% % % % % %Fatalities 0.26% 0.26% 0.74% 0.68% 1.26% 0.64%Serious injury 0.35% 0.43% 0.47% 0.40% 0.49% 0.43%Total serious casualties 0.34% 0.42% 0.49% 0.42% 0.54% 0.44%



Type of vehicle

Most crashes which occurred between 1998 and 2002 on Victorian roads involved cars (65%). For fatal crashes, the type of vehicle involved in crashes was similar for both general Victorian drivers and international drivers, as can be seen in Table 31. Cars, station wagons, and motorcycles were the main types of vehicles involved in both fatal and non-fatal crashes for both international drivers and all drivers.


Table 31: Type of vehicles involved in crashes in Victoria, 1998-2002

Type of vehicleInternational driver crashes All Victorian driver crashesFatal crashes

(n = 15)All crashes

(n = 1028)Fatal crashes

(n = 2,864)All crashes

(n = 159,384)Car 46.67% 73.54% 51.92% 65.33%Station wagon 20.00% 13.33% 10.65% 10.05%Motorcycle 6.67% 6.23% 9.18% 6.07%Panel van 6.67% 2.53% 3.14% 2.21%Utility 6.67% 1.85% 6.84% 4.63%Truck - 1.17% 12.40% 4.19%Bus or mini-bus - 0.19% 0.80% 0.60%Bicycle - - 1.92% 3.58%Other 13.33% 1.17% 3.15% 3.34%Source: VicRoads Road Information Services.

Table 32: Type of road user by casualty, Victoria 1998-2002

Road UserInternational All Victorian

Fatal(n = 13)

All casualties (n = 478)

Fatal(n = 2,022)

All casualties (n = 123,058)

Driver 69.2% 86.0% 45.9% 54.5%Motorcyclist 7.7% 12.8% 11.9% 7.5%Passenger 15.4%* 0.4%* 21.8% 25.4%Pillion n/a n/a 0.5% 0.5%Pedestrian 7.7%* 0.2%* 17.5% 7.3%Bicyclist n/a n/a 2.4% 4.5%Not known 0.0% 0.6% 0.0% 0.3%

* This represents only 2 passengers and 1 pedestrian who were fatally injured – usually passengers and pedestrians are not identified in the Victorian crash statistics, so this is likely to be an under representation. If these three fatalities were excluded from this data then fatal international driver would equal 90% compared to an all casualty figure of 86.5%.


As mentioned in the notation attached to Table 32 if the two passenger and one pedestrian fatality are deleted from this sample of international visitors, we find that motorcycles are still underrepresented in international fatalities (10% of fatal casualties, and 13% of all international casualties), whereas the reverse is true in the general Victorian statistics which show that motorcyclists make up 7.5% of all casualties, but almost 12% of those fatally injured. In real terms, only one international motorcyclist was killed between 1998-2002, however 22 were seriously injured.

The Victorian Compulsory Third Party data provides a more comprehensive picture of road user injuries as it includes passenger, pedestrian, and cyclist data. Whilst small numbers mean that this data should be interpreted with caution, Figure 31 below shows an overrepresentation of serious passenger casualties within the international visitor population compared with domestic residents. This could be indicative of different seatbelt wearing rates, or that domestic residents are more likely to travel alone than international visitors, or perhaps a combination of both.


Figure 31: Percentage of types of road user killed or hospitalised for more than one day, Victoria 1998-2002.

Source: Transport Accident Commission

Seatbelt usage

As shown in Table 33, most people appear to be using appropriate restraints, although we have no information on international passengers. Not surprisingly, a higher proportion of serious casualties were not wearing a seatbelt. Whilst we know that at least 2.68% of international driver serious casualties and 4.18% of all Victorian serious casualties did not wear a seatbelt, we cannot confidently conclude that international drivers are more likely to use a restraint because there are a large percentage of casualties where the status of restraint use was not recorded.

Table 33: Restraint use by casualty, Victoria 1998-2002

Restraint use

International drivers All Victorian casualtiesSerious

casualties(n = 149)

All casualties(n = 475*)

Serious casualties

(n = 34,411**)

All casualties

(n = 123,066**)Seatbelt or helmet worn 79.87% 84.63% 68.04% 78.62%Seatbelt or helmet not worn 2.68% 0.84% 4.18% 2.38%Restraint not fitted or not appropriate 1.34% 0.63% 12.30% 7.92%

Not known 16.11% 13.89% 15.49% 11.08%* The three extra fatalities (1 pedestrian and two passengers) are excluded from this analysis as this

information is missing.** Numbers vary from previous tables slightly because of data collection anomalies although the number of

fatalities remained constant.Source: VicRoads Road Information Services.


Crash nature

Head on collisions only accounted for 4% of all Victorian crashes, and 6% of serious crashes. But for international visitors, head on collisions accounted for 7% of all crashes and 13% of serious crashes. Although the data are not directly comparable, Victorian Compulsory Third Party insurance statistics also show an overrepresentation of head on accidents amongst international residents when compared to Australian residents, particularly in rural locations. Whilst in metropolitan regions, international visitors are only slightly more likely to have head-on crashes than domestic residents, in rural areas, they are almost twice as likely to have a head on collision.

Rear end collisions represented around 18% of all crashes, and 20% of international driver crashes, in Victoria between 1998 and 2002.

Almost 25% of serious crashes (resulting in a fatality or serious injury), and 18% of all crashes, occurred when vehicles hit fixed objects. For international drivers, 12% of all crashes, and 19% of serious crashes involved a fixed object.

Crashes at intersections occurred in around 18% of all crashes that an international driver was involved, and 17% of serious international crashes. In the general Victorian statistics, intersection collisions represented around 16% of all crashes and 14% of serious crashes.

‘Right through’ crashes were responsible for around 17% of international visitor and 10% of all Victorian crashes.

Hitting pedestrians occurred in 9% of all Victorian crashes and 13% of serious crashes. For international drivers, hitting pedestrians accounted for 4% of all crashes and 6% of serious crashes.

Table 34: Five most common types of crashes, 1998-2002 Victoria

International driver crashes All Victorian crashes1. Rear end (20%) (12% of serious crashes)

1. Rear end (18%) (9% of serious crashes)

2. Intersection crashes (18%)(17% of serious crashes)

2. Hit fixed object (18%) (25% of serious crashes)

3. Right through (17%) (14% of serious crashes)

3. Intersection crashes (16%) (14% serious crashes)

4. Hit fixed object (12%) (19% of serious crashes)

4. Right through (10%) (9% of serious crashes)

5. Head on (7%) (13% of serious crashes)

5. Hitting pedestrian (9%) (13% serious crashes)



No information was provided on the role of alcohol, fatigue, or speed in crashes involving international visitors.

Crash location

International drivers are more likely to crash outside of Melbourne compared with all drivers. This is not surprising given that around 72% of the Victorian population live in Melbourne.

Most (66%) fatal crashes from 1998-2002 involving an international driver occurred outside the Melbourne metropolitan area, though if we extend this to serious crashes (fatal + serious injury) the picture changes, with only 38% of these crashes occuring outside the metropolitan area. This is still a higher proportion than for all Victorian serious crashes, with 31% of these occuring outside Melbourne.


Crash time

Based on 1998-2002 data, most fatal (25%) and serious casualty (28%) crashes on Victorian roads took place between 2pm and 6pm, with the period 6pm to 8pm also of high danger (11% for both fatal and serious casualty). For international visitors, most of these crashes took place earlier, between 12 noon and 4pm (40% of fatal and 31% of serious casualty crashes).

The most common time of day for any crash to occur in Victoria is between 4pm and 8pm (27%), and 74% of all crashes occur between 8am and 8pm. For international visitors, around 60% of all crashes occurred between the hours 12noon to 8pm, with most (32%) occurring between 12 and 4pm.

Most fatal crashes in Victoria during this period occured on a Friday (15%) Saturday (16%) or Sunday (17%); serious injury crashes also occurred mainly on these days.

For international drivers, 27% of fatal crashes occurred on a Sunday and a further 27% on a Thursday. When combining the numbers of all fatal and serious injury crashes, most (17%) involving an international driver occurred on a Thursday, with Friday (16%) and Saturday (16%) the next most common days. Friday and Saturday were also the most common days for any kind of crash involving an international driver to occur, regardless of injury level.

Age and gender

In general, males are over represented in Victorian fatal or serious crashes which occurred between 1998 and 2002. Males represented 71% of fatalities, 60% of all serious casualties, and 53% of all casualties.

International drivers involved in serious crashes were even more likely to be male (76%). This figure dropped to 66% when all casualties were considered regardless of injury level.

Therefore it appears that men are more likely to have serious crashes than females in both driving populations. However, this trend is more pronounced amongst international drivers. This may be because international men are more likely to drive than women when on holiday.

International visitors aged 15 to 24 made up 17% of all international visitors to Victoria in 2002 (see Table 28 previously), yet this group made up 34% of international serious casualties over the period 1998-2002 as shown in Table 35. This could indicate that young tourists to Victoria are particularly at risk on the roads.

Conversely, although older tourists made up 15% of visitors to Victoria, they only make up 5% of international serious casualties. It is possible that this is a factor of exposure – that older people are less likely to self-drive when visiting Australia and therefore less at risk, rather than a reflection of any safer driving styles.


Table 35: Age and gender of road crash casualties, 1998-2002 Victoria

Age group Fatalities Serious casualties

Total casualties

Total Victorian casualties0-16 140 7% 2746 8% 11378 9%17-24 473 23% 8921 26% 31178 25%25-59 951 47% 17483 51% 64146 52%60+ 458 23% 5261 15% 16364 13%Total 2022 100% 34411 100% 123066 100%International driver casualties17-24 3 30% 51 34% 155 33%25-59 6 60% 91 61% 294 62%60+ 1 10% 7 5% 26 5%Total 10 100% 149 100% 475 100%


Summary3⁄4 There has been significant growth (60%) in international visitor numbers to Victoria over

the past ten years.

3⁄4 In 2002, the number of international visitors to Victoria was equivalent to approximately 25% of the resident population.

3⁄4 Most visitors to Victoria come from Asia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

3⁄4 Around 31% of international visitors drive when they are in Victoria. Of these, around 34% come from right-side driving countries.

3⁄4 Victorian road crash statistics on international visitors are likely to under-represent passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, since information relating to the involvement of these road users in crashes is not systematically recorded.

3⁄4 Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance data indicates that a greater proportion of passengers are killed or injured in crashes involving an international visitor than amongst total crashes in Victoria.

3⁄4 The number of international drivers killed or seriously injured on Victorian roads has increased over the past five years.

3⁄4 International driver crashes are more likely to involve head on collisions than is the case for all crashes.

3⁄4 Whilst rear end collisions are the most common kind of crash, serious crashes are more likely to be the result of hitting a fixed object or an intersection collision in both international driver crashes and all Victorian crashes.

3⁄4 Most fatal crashes involving an international driver occur outside Melbourne.

3⁄4 Most serious injury crashes involving an international driver occur within Melbourne.

3⁄4 International visitors tend to crash earlier in the day than what is reflected in total Victorian crash statistics.


4.6 TasmaniaIntroduction

Tasmania is an island state…Its major industries are vegetable and fruit production, seafood production, tourism, and forestry and forestry based products. Tasmania has a range of significant attractions for visitors (Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources, 1999).

Figure 32 shows the main highways and other road categories in Tasmania.

Figure 32: Map of Tasmania indicating the main highways and other road categories

Source: Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, Tasmania.

Tasmania has a population of approximately 473 000, a figure which has stayed relatively stable over the past 10 years. Table 36 shows the size of the resident population of Tasmania from 1999 to 2000 and the corresponding numbers of international visitors over that period. The number of international visitors to Tasmania increased by 12% in 2000 and then decreased by 6% the following year, to level out at 105 000 visitors in 2002. This represents the equivalent of approximately 22% of the resident population, demonstrating that Tasmania has a very different tourist situation to places like the Northern Territory, which gains almost twice as many international visitors as its resident population.


Table 36: International visitors and resident population, TAS 1993-2002

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002 /1999International visitors (m) 0.099a 0.111a 0.105a 0.105a 1.06Population (m) 0.471b 0.470b 0.470b 0.473c 1.00

Sources:a. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.b. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003d.

Country of residence

The most common place of residence of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002 was the United Kingdom, which contributed 23.8% of all visitors. A further 26.6% of visitors came from North America; the USA alone contributed 22.7% of visitors. In total, 20.5% of visitors came from countries in Europe (excluding the UK) and 17.2% came from Asia, of which the most common countries of origin were Singapore and Japan which contributed 4.6% and 3.3%, respectively.

Table 37: Place of residence of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002

Place of residence Total international visitors to Tasmania

% of all international visitors to Tasmania

United Kingdom 25053 23.8%USA 23954 22.7%New Zealand 9335 8.9%Germany 5902 5.6%Singapore 4900 4.6%Canada 4080 3.9%Japan 3518 3.3%Other Europe 15699 14.9%Other Asia 9690 9.2%Other countries 3298 3.1%All countries 105429 100.0%


Age and gender

Men were slightly underrepresented in international visitors to Tasmania and associated visitor nights. Men represented 47.5% of international visitors to Tasmania and accounted for 43.7% of visitor nights.


Figure 33: Proportion of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002 by age group


Figure 33 shows the proportion of international visitors by age group. The largest proportion of visitors (60.4%) were aged 25-59 years. Comparatively, Tasmania is a popular destination for seniors from other countries: people aged 60 years and over made up 26.6% of the international visitors. Only 9.9% of international visitors were aged 20-24 years and 3.1% were aged 15-19 years.


Just over a fifth (22%) of international visitors to Tasmania in 2002 drove between stopovers (see Figure 34). This figure includes those who rode in private or company cars, rental cars, four wheel drives, vans, campervans and motorhomes. International visitors from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road were slightly overrepresented in this group, with 24% of them driving between stopovers.

Figure 34: Proportions of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, Tasmania, 2002



Figure 35: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Tasmania, 2002


Visitors from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road made up almost half (48%) of the population of international visitors to Tasmania, but 53% of those who drove between stopovers in Tasmania (see Figure 35).

Road Crashes and Trauma Involving International Drivers

Identification of international visitors in Tasmanian road crash statistics

International visitors are identified through police crash reports by their licences. Passengers are only included if the vehicle in which they were travelling was driven by an international driver. Pedestrians and cyclists are not included in the Tasmanian statistics.


There were two fatal and 44 serious injury crashes involving international visitors to Tasmania from 1998 to 2002. These small numbers make meaningful statistical analysis difficult, however the trends in crashes in Tasmania are also reflected in other States and Territories.

The exact number of crashes in Tasmania over the period 1998-2002 was not provided, however on average, there were 44 fatal crashes, 376 serious injury, 1079 minor injury, 309 first aid, and 4249 property damage crashes per annum over this period in Tasmania.

Table 38: Annual international visitor fatalities and serious injuries from crashes, Tasmania 1998-2002

Year Fatalities Serious injuries1998 2 51999 0 62000 0 92001 1 132002 0 9Total for international visitors 3 42Total for all road users 241 2351

Source: Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.


As seen in Table 38, there were only three international fatalities during this five year period, however 42 visitors suffered serious injury. A further 137 international visitors received minor injuries or required first aid, 770 were involved in property damage only incidents and information was not available in a further 15 cases. Overall, international visitors made up approximately 1.2% of all fatalities, 1.8% of all seriously injured, and 1.4% of those who received minor injuries from traffic crashes in Tasmania between 1998 and 2002.

Type of vehicle

Table 39 shows vehicle types in fatal and serious injury crashes involving international visitors. Both fatal crashes and 61% of serious injury crashes involved a sedan. Motorcycles were involved in 16% of international visitor serious injury crashes, an even higher proportion than was the case in all Tasmanian crashes. This is a markedly different pattern to other states and territories where international visitor motorcycle crashes are usually underrepresented.

Table 39: Vehicle types in fatal and serious injury crashes, Tasmania, 1998-2002.

Crashes involving international visitors

All Tasmanian Crashes

Vehicle typeFatal

crashes(n = 2)

Serious injury crashes(n = 44)

Fatal crashes

Serious injury crashes

Sedan 100% 61% 52% 49%Station wagon - 14% 12% 13%Motorcycle - 16% 10% 13%Utility - 2% 12% 11%Van - 5% 2% 4%Rigid truck - 2% 5% 3%Other truck - - 5% 1%Bicycle - - 2% 3%Bus - - 2% 1%Total 100% 100% 102%* 98%*

*not 100% due to rounding error.Source: Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.

Type of road user

Table 40 shows the road users involved in international visitor fatal and serious injury crashes in Tasmania from 1998 to 2002. Two of the three fatalities were drivers and one was a passenger, while 38% of those seriously injured were drivers, 45% were passengers and 17% were motorcyclists.

Table 40: Road users in fatal and serious injury accidents involving international visitors to Tasmania, 1998-2002

Road user Fatalities(n = 3)

Serious injuries(n = 42)

Drivers 67% 38%Passengers 33% 45%Motorcyclists - 17%Total 100% 100%



Seatbelt usage

International visitors involved in fatal and serious injury crashes tended to be wearing seatbelts. All three of those killed were wearing seatbelts. Seven of those in serious injury crashes were riding motorcycles. Of the remaining 35, 27 (77%) were wearing seatbelts.

In the total Tasmanian road crash statistics, a seatbelt was not worn in approximately 30% of fatalities, and 11% of serious injuries.

Crash nature

Table 41 shows the types of crashes that international visitors were involved in compared with all Tasmanian crashes. Both fatal crashes which involved an international visitor and 11 out of 44 (25%) serious injury crashes were head on collisions. This is a significantly higher proportion than what was found amongst all Tasmanian crashes. Other common serious injury crash types for international visitors were angle crashes [14 out of 44 (32%)] and leaving the road without a collision [12 out of 44 (27%)].

Table 41: Crash types for fatal and serious injury crashes, Tasmania, 1998-2002

Crashes involving International visitors All crashes

Crash type Fatal(n = 2)

Serious injury (n = 44) Fatal Serious

injuryAngle - 32% 14% 15%Head on 100% 25% 16% 6%Side swipe - 11% 5% 6%Collision with parked vehicle - 2% - 2%Overturning - 2% 2% 7%Left road without collision - 27% 39% 34%Hit pedestrian - - 16% 13%Rear end - - 2% 4%Other - - 6% 13%Total 100% 100% 100% 100%



Table 42 shows the contributing factors to fatal and serious injury crashes involving international visitors compared with all crashes in Tasmania between 1998 and 2002. Both fatal crashes involving international visitors were due to inattentiveness. Prominent causes of serious injury crashes involving international visitors included failure to keep left (18%), inattentiveness (14%), excessive speed (9%), inexperience (9%) and improper overtaking (9%). The most important causes of all fatal and serious injury crashes were excessive speed, inattentiveness, pedestrian behaviour and alcohol.


Table 42: Contributing factors to fatal and serious injury road crashes Tasmania, 1998-2002

Contributing factor

Fatal crashes Serious injury crashesCrashes involving

international visitors(n = 2)

All crashes

Crashes involving international

visitors(n = 44)

All crashes

Alcohol - 7% - 9%Excessive speed - 16% 9% 12%Not giving way - 2% 7% 5%Failure to keep left - - 18% -Turning without care - 2% 5% 2%Inexperience - 4% 9% 5%Inattentiveness 100% 9% 14% 14%Improper overtaking - 0% 9% 2%Ignoring sign - 2% 2% 1%Ignoring signals - - - 1%Road conditions - 4% 7% 5%Pedestrian responsible - 16% - 11%Other - 22% 20% 23%Not known - 16% - 11%Total 100% 100% 100% 100%


Crash location

Fatalities and serious injury crashes were both more common in rural areas in Tasmania (see Table 43).

Table 43: Geographic locations of fatal and serious injury crashes Tasmania, 1998-2002

Crashes involving International visitors All crashes

Geographic location

Fatal crashes(n = 2)

Serious injury crashes(n = 44)

Fatal crashes

Serious injury crashes

Urban - 27% 36% 47%Rural 100% 73% 64% 51%Unknown - - - 2%Total 100% 100% 100% 100%


Crash time

Figure 36 shows the time of day that international visitor fatal, serious injury and minor injury crashes tend to occur. The peak period appears to be between 8am and 8pm, with the maximum danger period for serious and minor injury crashes being between 12pm and 4pm. Both of the fatal injury crashes occurred between 4pm and 8pm.

The total Tasmanian statistics show a similar pattern with most fatalities from 1998-2002 occurring between the hours of 4pm and 6pm. In general most serious crashes on Tasmanian roads occur between 2pm and 8pm, which appears a little later than the peak time for international visitor crashes.


Figure 36: Time of day that fatal, serious injury and minor injury crashes involving international visitors occur (Tasmania 1998-2002)


Age and gender

The international road users involved in fatal, serious injury and minor injury crashes were reasonably evenly split in terms of gender. Two out of three fatalities were males and exactly 50% of seriously injured road users were males. There was a slight predominance (55%) of females in those with minor injuries.

Summary3⁄4 Relatively small numbers of tourists visit Tasmania each year (equivalent to around 22%

of the resident population)

3⁄4 A greater proportion of the international visitors to Tasmania are older compared with other states and territories.

3⁄4 Around 22% of international visitors drive when they get to Tasmania, of these around 53% were from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road.

3⁄4 International visitors make up roughly 1% of those injured on Tasmanian roads.

3⁄4 Head on collisions were responsible for the two international visitor fatal crashes.

3⁄4 International visitors are involved in a high proportion of motorcycle crashes compared to other states and territories, but these are small numbers.

3⁄4 Inattentiveness and failure to keep left contributed to most serious casualty crashes involving an international visitor.

3⁄4 As in other States and Territories, most international visitor crashes occur on rural roads.


4.7 South AustraliaIntroduction

South Australia has a total area of 984,377 square kilometres, representing one-eighth of the Australian continent. More than 50% is pastoral land, with 6.5% of the State designated as national parks and wildlife reserves. Most of the population lives in the southern coastal zone.

South Australia has more than 95,000 km of roads, of which about 26,000 km are sealed. More than 2700 km are classified as national highways (Transport SA, 1999 p.102-103).

Figure 37 shows the major roads within the state of South Australia.

Figure 37: Road network in South Australia

Source: Transport SA.

Population and International Visitors to South AustraliaSouth Australia has a population of approximately 1.52 million. The population has increased from 1.46 million since 1993. Over the last four years, South Australia has attracted between 300 000 and 360 000 international visitors each year. The number of international visitors peaked in 2000, perhaps as a result of the Olympic Games, then decreased over the following two years to 316 000 in 2002 (see Table 44). This decrease appears to be related to international security issues that have been ongoing since September 11, 2001 (South Australian Tourism Commission, 2003). Overall, the international market has grown over the past ten years: the number of international visitors to South Australia in 2002 was almost 1.5 times the amount in 1993.


Table 44: International visitors and resident population, SA 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993


Population (m) 1.461c 1.466c 1.469c 1.474c 1.480c 1.486c 1.492c 1.497c 1.519d 1.520e 1.04a. South Australian Tourism Commission, 1999.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002d.e. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003a.

Country of origin

In 2002, international visitors to South Australia most commonly came from the United Kingdom, European countries other than the United Kingdom and Germany, Asia, Germany, the United States of America or New Zealand (see Table 45).

Table 45: International Visitors to South Australia in 2002

Country of origin Number of visitors %

United Kingdom 73920 24.6%Other Europe 64077 21.4%Asia 53079 17.7%Germany 33841 11.3%USA 30017 10.0%New Zealand 24796 8.3%Canada 11008 3.7%Other countries 9234 3.1%Total 299972 100.0%


Table 46 shows the places in South Australia that international visitors went to in 2002 (in order of popularity). (This includes day trips).


Table 46: Places visited by international visitors to South Australia in 2002

Place visitedNumber

of visitors (thousands)

Adelaide Hills / Mt Lofty Summit / Hahndorf 115Barossa Valley 112Wineries 95Kangaroo Island 60River Murray 54None of these 51Outback South Australia 48Coober Pedy Opal fields 38Flinders Ranges / Wilpena Pound / Arkaroola 37Festivals / Events 24Naracoorte Caves / Penola / Coonawarra 9



Overall, 52.1% of international visitors to South Australia in 2002 were male and 47.9% were female. The majority (64.1%) were aged between 25-59 years, while the 20-24 year olds represented 15.1% of the total. Only 3.8% of international visitors were aged 15-19 years and 17.1% were aged 60 years or over.

Purpose of travel

The majority (61.5%) of international visitors to South Australia in 2002 came for holiday or pleasure purposes, 11.9% were visiting relatives, 8.6% were visiting friends, 8.1% were on business and 9.9% came for other reasons.

Table 47: Reasons why international visitors travelled to South Australia in 2002

Purpose of Travel% of

international visitors

Business 8.1%Visiting relatives 11.9%Holiday/pleasure 61.5%Visiting friends 8.6%Other 9.9%Total 100.0%



Figure 38 shows that, in total, 28% of all international visitors to South Australia drove between stopovers. Among those from right-side of the road driving countries, 26% drove between stopovers.


Figure 38: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, South Australia, 2002


In Figure 39, it can be seen that drivers from right-side driving countries were slightly underrepresented in terms of those international visitors who drove between stopovers, representing 48% of those driving between stopovers, but 51% of all international visitors.

Figure 39: Proportions of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, South Australia, 2002


Road crashes involving international visitorsIn this section, South Australian road crash data is analysed to explore differences in the pattern of crashes involving international drivers and riders and those involving all controllers.

Identification of international visitors in South Australian road crash statistics

International drivers or riders are identified within the South Australian road crash database through police traffic reports. Those who hold an international licence are recorded as an


international resident. No information is available on international passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists.

Total number of casualties

Over the period 1994-2002, the number of fatalities in South Australia reduced slightly by 3% (see Table 48). Hospitalisations from 1998-2002 also reduced (2%), whilst minor injuries slightly increased (14%). The number of international drivers involved in crashes is very low as shown in Table 49, with no fatalities over the five year period 1998-2002, 8 seriously injured, and only 6 receiving minor injuries.

Table 48: Casualties in South Australia, by Severity: 1994-2002

Year 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 ChangeFatalities 159 181 181 148 168 153 166 153 154 0.97Serious injuries - - - - 1566 1608 1627 1605 1538 0.98Minor injuries - - - - 7345 8072 8505 8496 8388 1.14Total casualties - - - - 9079 9833 10298 10254 10080 1.11

Sources: AusStats; Transport Planning, SA.

Table 49: International driver casualties in South Australia, by severity: 1998-2002

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1998Fatalities 0 0 0 0 0 0.00Serious injuries 5 0 0 0 3 0.60Minor injuries 4 1 0 0 1 0.25Total casualties 9 1 0 0 4 0.44

Source: Transport Planning, SA.


Due to the small numbers of international drivers and riders involved in crashes each year, figures representing a five year average (1998-2002) have been used to examine the characteristics of crashes to determine if there are differences between crashes involving international drivers, as distinct from total crashes.

Type of vehicle

For all South Australian crashes, 75% involve a sedan, 14% a station wagon, and 8% a ute or panel van. For the crashes involving international drivers, the majority of vehicle types were unknown (50%), 20% were sedans or touring cars, 4% station wagons, 6% semi trailers or trucks, 3% utes, 2% bus, 1% motorcycle. Injury data was not supplied.

Type of road user

Data was only available for international drivers and motorcycle riders (i.e. controllers). No international visitor fatalities were recorded. However, motorcycle riders account for just over a third of recorded serious injuries amongst international controllers which is a higher proportion than other states and territories. Small numbers mean that this should be interpreted with caution.


Table 50: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type: SA 1998-2002 (average)

Road user type% Fatality % Serious Injury

International visitors

All South Australia


All South Australia

Driver 0 48% 62% 48%Passenger n/a 24% n/a 28%Motorcycle rider 0 10% 37% 9%Pedestrian n/a 16% n/a 9%Cyclist n/a 2% n/a 5%Motorcycle pillion n/a 0% n/a 1%

Source: Transport SA Road Crash Database.

Seatbelt usage

Seatbelt data was not readily available for South Australian road crash statistics.

For international drivers, only 6 of the 14 cases had the data collected. Of these 6 cases, there was one minor injury sustained by an international driver who had a seatbelt fitted to the vehicle he or she was driving but was not wearing it, the other five were wearing their seatbelts.

From the general statistics, we know that at least 382 driver and 191 passenger fatalities occurred over the period 1998-2002. However, seatbelt data is available for only 299 of these drivers and 154 of these passengers. Of these 299 driver fatalities, 24% did not wear a seatbelt. Of the 154 passenger fatalities, 24% did not wear a restraint.

Crash nature

Table 51 compares the four most common types of crashes for those involving an international driver and all crashes.

Table 51: Most common types of crashes by injury level, 1998-2002

Fatal Serious Injury Minor Injury Property DamageInternational

drivers All drivers International drivers All drivers International

drivers All drivers International drivers All drivers

- Hit fixed object (33%)

Right angle (31%)

Hit fixed object (28%)

Rear end (37%)

Rear end (35%)

Rear end (32%)

Rear end (34%)

- Hit pedestrian (17%)

Head on (15%)

Right angle (16%)

Right angle (18%)

Right angle (20%)

Hit parked vehicle (29%)

Right angle (18%)

- Right angle (14%)

Right turn (15%) Rollover (13%) Hit pedestrian

(13%)Hit fixed object

(12%)Right angle

(15%)Hit parked

vehicle (14%)

- Head on (13%) Rollover (15%) Hit pedestrian

(11%)Side swipe

(13%)Right turn

(9%)Side swipe

(11%)Side swipe

(11%)Source: Transport SA Road Crash Database.



Table 52 compares the four most common contributing factors to crashes for those involving an international driver and all South Australian crashes.

Table 52: Most common contributing factors to crashes by injury level, 1998-2002

Fatal Serious injury Minor injury Property damageInternational

driversAll

driversInternational

driversAll


driversAll


driversAll

drivers

- Inattention (41%)

Inattention (23%)

Inattention (45%)

Inattention (39%)

Inattention (44%)

Inattention (45%)

Inattention (38%)

- Speed (12%) Fail to stand (15%)

Fail to give way (9%)

No errors (18%)


Reverse without due care (12%)

No errors (12%)

- Fail to keep left (9%)

* 8 items had 8% each due to small

numbers

No errors(7%)

Fail to stand (8%)

No errors (10%)


Reverse without due care (12%)

- DUI (7%) Fail to stand (6%)

Follow too closely (8%)

Fail to stand (8%) No errors (8%) Fail to give

way (11%)* Disobey stop sign; disobey give way sign; fail to keep left; fail to give way; DUI; no errors; other; sick,

died, or asleep at the wheel; all had 8% each.

Source: Transport SA Road Crash Database.

Crash location

As shown in Table 53, overall, approximately 84% of all crashes over this five year period occurred in the Adelaide metropolitan region. Of crashes involving an international driver, approximately 75% occurred in the metropolitan area, and 25% in rural areas. Although numbers are small, it is interesting to note that, as for other states and territories, more serious crashes are more likely to occur in rural areas. Also, international drivers show a higher percentage of rural crashes compared to all SA crashes.

Table 53: Total number and percentage distributions of SA road crashes involving international drivers by crash location, five year average 1998-2002

Crash severityAll crashes

Category of driverFatal Serious

injuryMinor injury

Property damage

No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %All Adelaide metro 44.2 0.14 538.4 1.67 4492.8 13.95 27137.4 84.24 32212.8 83.67International drivers Adelaide metro 0.0 0.00 1.2 1.85 5.4 8.33 58.2 89.81 64.8 74.65

% Difference(ID – all SA) -0.14 0.18 -5.61 5.57 -9.01

All rural 66.0 1.05 458.8 7.30 857.8 13.64 4905.6 78.01 6288.2 16.33International drivers rural 0.0 0.00 1.4 6.36 2.2 10.00 18.4 83.64 22 25.35

% Difference(ID – all SA) -1.05 -0.93 -3.64 5.62 9.01

Source: Transport Planning, SA.


Crash time

Crashes in South Australia over the five year period 1998-2002 were most likely to occur between 3pm and 6pm (27%). This time period was also the most prevalent time for crashes in Queensland. For international visitors, the 3pm – 6pm period also had the most crashes (25%). However, similar to Queensland, the 12pm -1pm was also high (8%).

In South Australia, as for other States, overall most fatal crashes occur on Saturday (19%) with Friday (17%) and Sunday (16%) also high. For all crashes incurring a fatality, casualty, or property damage, Friday (17%), Thursday (16%), and Wednesday (15%) were the most common days. For crashes involving an international driver, Friday was the most common day (21%), followed by Wednesday (17%) and Tuesday (15%).

Age and gender

Of the international casualties 79% were male and 21% female, compared with 51% male and 49% female in the total crash data.

Data was only provided for the age groups 0-16, 17-24, 25-59 and 60 and over. For both total crashes and those involving international drivers, 58% of casualties were in the 25-59 age group. However, older people were over-represented in the international casualties (17% vs 11%), whilst the 17-24 age group was under-represented (17% vs 28%).

Summary3⁄4 Most international visitors to South Australia came from the United Kingdom and Europe.

3⁄4 The majority of international visitors to South Australia came for a holiday or leisure purposes.

3⁄4 27.7% of international visitors to South Australia drove between stopovers. 26.2% of these were from right-hand drive countries.

3⁄4 The total number of fatalities in the State decreased by 3% between 1994 and 2002. Hospitalisations reduced by 2% but minor injuries increased by 14%. However, the total number of international drivers involved in crashes is low (only 14 in the 1994-2002 period).

3⁄4 75% of crashes involving international drivers occurred in the Adelaide metropolitan region, however most serious crashes occurred in rural regions.

3⁄4 International visitors were more likely to crash in rural regions (25% of crashes compared to 16% of all crashes).

3⁄4 There were no fatalities amongst international drivers.


4.8 Western AustraliaBackground

Western Australia occupies the entire western third of the country (2.5 million square kilometres) bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west, South Australia and the Northern Territory to the east, the Timor Sea to the north, and the Southern Ocean to the south. The state extends 1621km east-west and 2391km north-south (WA Department of Transport, 1999 p.115).

Figure 40: Map of Western Australia

Source: WA Department of Transport, 1999 p.116.

Western Australia’s population has grown from 1.7 million in 1995 to 1.9 million in 2002, an increase of 15% (see Table 54). In this time, the numbers of international visitors to this state has increased from 455 000 to 560 000, an increase of 23%.

In 2002, the number of international visitors made up the equivalent of approximately 29% of the resident population.

Table 54: International visitors and resident population, WA 1995-2002

Year 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1993

International visitors (m) 0.455a 0.470a 0.511a 0.490a 0.545b 0.603b 0.564b 0.560b 1.23

Population (m) 1.734c 1.765c 1.798c 1.829c 1.858c 1.884c 1.910c 1.927d 1.15Sources:a. Western Australian Tourism Commission, 2000. These figures are for the year ending in June.b. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003d.


Country of origin

Table 55 shows the countries of residence of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002. The most common country of origin was the United Kingdom, at 26.4% of international visitors. 38.8% of visitors came from Asia, with the most common Asian countries of origin being Singapore (11.6%), Japan (8.7%), Malaysia (6.6%) and Indonesia (3.9%). 6.5% of visitors came from New Zealand and 6.3% came from the USA. European countries, excluding the UK, were countries of origin for 15.6% of international visitors.

Table 55: Countries of residence of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002

Place of residence

Total international

visitors to WA (thousands)

% of all international

visitors to WA

United Kingdom 148 26.4%Singapore 65 11.6%Japan 49 8.7%New Zealand 37 6.5%Malaysia 37 6.6%USA 35 6.3%Indonesia 22 3.9%Germany 20 3.6%Other Asia 45 8.0%Other Europe 67 12.0%Other countries 36 6.5%All countries 560 100.0%



There was an even distribution of male and female international visitors to WA in 2002, with 50.9% being male and 49.1 being female. The distribution of visitor nights was similar with 52.2% being spent by males and 47.8 by females.

Figure 41: Age distribution of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002



Figure 41 shows the age distribution of international visitors to WA in 2002. Two thirds of visitors were aged 25-59 years and just over one fifth were aged 60 or over. A further 10% were aged 20-24 and only 3% were aged 15-19.


Figure 42 shows that 37% of international visitors to Western Australia in 2002 drove between stopovers. This included those who drove a private or company car, hire car, four wheel drive, van, campervan or motorhome.

Figure 42: Proportion of drivers and non-drivers among all international visitors and international visitors from right-side driving countries, Western Australia, 2002



Figure 43: Proportion of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Western Australia, 2002


Twenty-five per cent of international visitors came from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road. However they were less likely to drive in Western Australia, making up only 19% of those who drove between stopovers (see Figure 43) compared with 27% of all international visitors (see Figure 42).


Identification of international visitors in Western Australian road crash statistics

In Western Australian road crash statistics, international drivers or riders are only identified as such if they are using an international driver’s licence. International passengers, pedestrians or cyclists are not identified in these statistics.


From 1998-2002 there were 2894 crashes involving an international controller. Of these crashes, 739 involved some form of injury to either a domestic resident or an international visitor (14 fatal crashes; 212 resulting in hospitalisations; and 513 requiring medical assistance). As can be seen in Table 56, over the five years, the number of crashes involving an international controller has declined slightly.


Table 56: Crashes in Western Australia involving an international controller, by severity, 1998-2002

Year 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Change02-98

Fatal 2 4 4 3 1 0.50Hospital 45 43 43 33 48 1.07Medical 102 116 109 104 82 0.80Property damage (major) 384 370 310 346 276 0.72

Property damage (minor) 93 89 87 98 102 1.10

Total crashes 626 622 553 584 509 0.81Source: Main Roads, Western Australia.

These 2894 crashes resulted in 8 international fatalities, 93 hospitalisations, 222 international visitors who required medical assistance, 2584 who were not injured, or for whom data is not recorded.

In comparison over the years 1998 to 2002, in total, there were 387,758 crashes of which 998 (0.3%) were fatal, 12,374 (3.2%) resulted in hospitalisations, and 46,056 crashes (11.9%) had medical attendance.

Therefore international crashes are more likely to be serious as 0.5% of all international crashes are fatal and 7% result in hospitalisation.


Type of vehicle

Of the 14 fatal crashes involving an international controller (which killed 8 international visitors), nine involved cars, two were panel vans, 2 were multi-seated vans, and one was on a motorcycle. For all crashes involving an international controller, 74% were cars, 10% wagons, 9% panel vans, 3% utes, 2% multi-seated vans, and 1% motorcycles. This is a similar pattern to total crashes involving all controllers in Western Australia. The latter shows that 71% involved cars, 10% wagons, 9% utes, 7% panel vans, 2% motorcycles, and 1% bicycles.

However, the pattern for fatal crashes involving all controllers was different, as only 56% involved cars. The remainder were as follows: 12% wagons, 12% utes, 11% panel vans, 8% motorcycles, and 1% bicycles.

The most notable difference between the international and total crash statistics is that motorcycle crashes and fatalities are under-represented in the overseas data. This may be explained by international visitors being more likely to drive cars rather than motorcycles, compared to locals.

Type of road user

As noted earlier, data is only collected for international drivers and riders involved in crashes, not pedestrians, passengers, or bicyclists. As can be seen from the table below, although the numbers are small, drivers are over-represented in serious casualties. This is consistent with other state and territory data and as mentioned above, may simply indicate that international visitors are less likely to ride a motorcycle than domestic residents.


Table 57: Number and percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, WA 1998-2002

1998-2002 Fatalities Hospitalisations


All Western Australia


All Western Australia

Driver 7 88% 450 45% 87 94% 6221 50%Motorcycle rider 1 13% 118 12% 6 6% 1236 10%All road users 8 998 93 12374Source: Main Roads, Western Australia.

Seatbelt usage

Of the eight fatal injuries sustained by international drivers over the period 1998-2002, the seven drivers were wearing their seatbelt. However, there was no information on whether the one motorcyclist that was killed was wearing a helmet or not. Of the 93 hospitalised, only two were not wearing their seatbelt, there was no information for 13, and six were motorcyclists, one of whom did not wear a helmet.

In all crashes during the period, 127 of the drivers killed did not wear their seatbelt, and 93 of the passengers. There was no information for 69 drivers and 55 passengers.

Crash nature

Table 58 examines the types of crashes which involve an international driver. This table shows that the top four types of crashes have remained constant over the past five years.

Table 58: Numbers and types of crashes involving international drivers (1998-2002)

Type of crash 1998%

1999%

2000%

2001%

2002%

Rear end 32 33 33 31 31Right angle 23 21 20 19 21Right turn through 12 10 12 14 10Sideswipe same direction 9 10 8 12 13

Hit object 9 6 9 6 9Non collision 5 8 7 7 8Head on 2 4 3 2 1Sideswipe opposite direction Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil

Hit pedestrian 1 0 1 0 1Hit animal 2 2 3 3 2Other/unknown 4 5 5 5 5

N=626 N=622 N=553 N=584 N=509Source: Main Roads, Western Australia.

Of the 14 fatal crashes involving an international controller, six (43%) were head on collisions, three (21%) were right turn through, three (21%) hit objects and two (14%) were non collision. For all fatal crashes during the period, 33% resulted from hitting an object, 15% a head on, 15% hitting a pedestrian, 14% non collision and 10% right angle collisions.

The rear end collisions were responsible for most of the property damage, five crashes requiring hospitalisation, and 20 crashes where medical attention was necessary.



Very little data is recorded for contributing factors such as alcohol, fatigue, or speed.

Speed was a factor in at least 73 of the 2894 crashes involving international drivers, including at least four fatal crashes and nineteen requiring hospitalisation. It was not a factor in at least 736 of them. The remainder are unknown.

Alcohol was a factor in at least two of the fatal crashes and three of the crashes requiring hospitalisation. Fatigue was not recorded as a factor in any of the fatal crashes, but was for five of the crashes which required hospitalisation.

Crash location

Of the 14 fatal crashes, one took place within the metropolitan area, and the remaining 13 occurred in rural locations.

As shown in Table 59, the majority of crashes which involved an international driver occurred on straight roads. Around 83% of crashes occurred in dry conditions, 16% in wet, and around 76% were on a level road.

Table 59: Crashes in WA involving an international controller by road alignment

Roadalignment

1998%

1999%

2000%

2001%

2002%

Straight 85 82 83 84 81Curve 14 17 16 15 15Other/unknown 1 1 1 1 4

Source: Main Roads, Western Australia.

Crash time

For crashes which involved an international controller, 77% occurred during daylight hours, 6% were at dawn or dusk, 13% when it was dark with street lights on, 3% when it was dark and street lights weren’t provided and 1% with the street lights provided, but off.

Four of the 14 fatal crashes involving an international controller took place between 10am and 12 noon, two took place between 2 and 3pm, and two between 6 and 7pm. Seventy eight percent (78%) of total crashes involving an international controller took place between the hours of 6am and 6pm.

The most common time of day for all crashes in WA was between 3pm and 6pm (27%), with 76% occurring between 6am and 6pm. Twenty five percent of fatal crashes occurred between the hours of 2pm and 6pm.

Four of the fatal crashes involving international visitors took place on a Sunday, another four on a Tuesday, two on a Saturday, two on a Thursday, one on Wednesday and the other on a Friday. However for total crashes in WA, Friday was the most common day to have a crash (18%), followed by Wednesday and Thursday (15% each), and Monday and Tuesday (14% each), Saturday (13%) and Sunday (11%).

Age and gender

More international males than females are represented in the crash statistics as shown in Table 60. Also, 65% of international drivers involved in crashes are male, as compared with 55% in the general WA population.


Table 60: Severity of injury to international visitors by road user type and gender (1998-2002)

Gender Road User

Severity of InjuryTotalFatal Hospital Medical Non-

medicalPDO or

unknownInt.%

All WA %

Int.%

All WA %

Int.%

All WA %

Int.%

All WA %

Int.%

All WA %

Int.%

All WA %

Female

Bicyclist n/a - n/a 1 n/a 1 n/a 1 n/a - n/a -Motorcyclist - - 1 1 - - - - - - - -Driver 13 16 49 32 43 53 46 43 32 35 34 37Pedestrian n/a 4 n/a 4 n/a 1 n/a 1 n/a - n/a -

Male

Bicyclist n/a 3 n/a 4 n/a 3 n/a 3 n/a - n/a 1Motorcyclist 13 15 5 13 5 4 1 4 - 1 1 1Driver 75 47 44 39 51 35 53 47 67 58 65 55Pedestrian n/a 14 n/a 7 n/a 2 n/a 1 n/a - n/a -

Unknown

Bicyclist n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a -Motorcyclist - - - - - - - - - - - -Driver - - - - - - - - 1 6 1 5Pedestrian n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a - n/a -

Total

Bicyclist - 3 - 6 - 4 - 4 - - - 1Motorcyclist 13 16 6 13 5 5 1 4 - 1 1 1Driver 88 63 94 71 95 88 99 9 1 99 99 97Pedestrian - 18 - 11 - 3 - 2 - - - 1

Source: Main Roads, Western Australia.

Summary3⁄4 Most international visitors to Western Australia come from Asia and the United Kingdom.

3⁄4 Visitor numbers in 2002 were equivalent to approximately 29% of the resident population.

3⁄4 36.6% of international visitors to Western Australia drove a vehicle during their stay. 25.3% of these are from right-hand drive countries.

3⁄4 Between 1998 and 2002, there were nearly 3000 crashes involving an international controller. Over this time, the total number of crashes has decreased by almost 20% from 626 in 1998, to 509 in 2002.

3⁄4 Crashes involving an international controller are more likely to be severe than those involving all controllers.

3⁄4 74% of fatal crashes involving international controllers were in cars but only 56% of all fatal crashes in Western Australia involved cars. Motorcycle crashes and fatalities tend to be underrepresented in the international data. However those motorcycle crashes involving international visitors appear to be more severe.

3⁄4 Numbers are small, but it appears that seatbelt wearing among international drivers involved in fatal and serious injury crashes is similar to the patterns for all drivers involved in crashes.

3⁄4 Friday was the most common day for international visitors to have a crash, followed by Wednesday and Thursday.

3⁄4 International drivers involved in crashes are more likely to be male than is the case for all drivers involved in crashes.


4.9 Northern TerritoryBackground

The Northern Territory has a land area of 1.35 million square kilometres. Most of the major population and administrative centres are on the Stuart Highway which bisects the Territory from north to south. Darwin is situated on the north coast. The two other major highways are the Victoria Highway from Katherine into Western Australia and the Barkly Highway from just north of Tennant Creek into Queensland (Department of Transport and Works, 1999 p.121-122).

The railroad from the south originally terminated in Alice Springs, however it has now been extended to Darwin and is scheduled to open in January 2004.

Airlines service the major centres and many of the smaller and more remote communities. Darwin has an international airport and the major airlines also provide direct interstate links with Alice Springs, Yulara and Nhulunbuy.

The road network is 20,000 km, of which 6,000 km is sealed (Department of Transport and Works, 1999 p.121-122).

Figure 44: Road network in the Northern Territory

Source: Department of Transport and Works, 1999 p.121.

Resident population and international visitors

The population of the Northern Territory is just under 200 000 and has remained relatively stable since 1999. The Northern Territory attracted 357 000 international visitors in 2002, almost twice the number of its resident population. This was a 15.6% decrease from 2001’s 423 000 visitors (see Table 61).


Table 61: International visitors and resident population, NT 1999-2002

Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002/1999International visitors (m) 0.370a 0.426a 0.423a 0.357a 0.96Population (m) 0.193b 0.196b 0.199c 0.198d 1.03

Sources:a. Bureau of Tourism Research, 2002.b. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002a.c. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002e.d. Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003d.

Country of origin

Most visitors to the Northern Territory came from (in order of frequency) European countries other than the UK and Germany (25.3%), the UK (20.6%), Japan (15.8%) and Germany (12.8%).

Figure 45: International visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, by country of origin



Of the visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, 51.6% were male and 48.4% were female. However, 57.3% of visitor nights spent in the Northern Territory were spent by males, indicating that men are likely to stay slightly longer than women.

Figure 46 shows the number of international visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, by age group. The largest group was the 25-59 year olds who made up 67.3% of visitors. The 20-24 year olds made up 17.5% and those aged 60 and over made up 12.8%. The smallest group was the 15-19 year olds, comprising only 2.4% of the total.


Figure 46: International visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002, by age group



Only 13% of international visitors to the Northern Territory in 2002 drove between stopovers. However, visitors from countries where it is usual to drive on the right-hand side of the road made up the majority (64%) of people who drove.

Given that visitors from countries where they usually drive on the right made up 54% of all international visitors to the Northern Territory, they were over-represented amongst travellers who self-drove (see Figure 47).

Figure 47: Proportions of international visitors and drivers from left- and right-side driving countries, Northern Territory, 2002




Identification of international visitors in Northern Territory road crash statistics

Statistics on international visitors are collected via police crash reports in which place of residence data is recorded. If international passengers, pedestrians or cyclists are injured this will be reflected in the international road statistics through these police incident reports.

Some investigation was undertaken into Compulsory Third Party data for the Northern Territory. Unfortunately these data did not distinguish between international and domestic tourists. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that most of the non-resident claims through the Northern Territory Motor Accidents Compensation Scheme were international, rather than domestic, visitors, it was decided not to present these data in this analysis.


After peaking in 1996, total fatal crashes and casualties in the Northern Territory have generally declined. However, there were slight elevations in 2000-2001 which may reflect increased visitor numbers during the Olympic period.

Table 62: Crashes in Northern Territory by severity, 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002Change

2002/1993

Fatal crashes 41 36 56 69 56 59 44 48 43 40 0.95Injury crashes 798 812 816 931 791 862 872 853 843 726 0.91Non-injury crashes 1462 1669 1851 1781 1543 1423 1484 1505 1668 1460 0.99

Total casualties 2301 2517 2723 2671 2390 2344 2400 2406 2554 2226 0.97

Source: Northern Territory Vehicle Accident Database, Department of Transport and Works.

In the period 1998-2002, there were 234 fatal crashes resulting in 274 fatalities, 1573 crashes which resulted in hospital admission, a further 1599 crashes had injuries which required some form of medical treatment but not admittance, 984 crashes resulted in injury but did not seek treatment, and 7540 which did not result in injury.


Table 63: Casualties by severity, Northern Territory 1993-2002

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 TotalAll N.T.Fatalities 44 41 61 73 60 69 49 51 50 55 553Hospitalised 431 386 401 480 400 443 433 447 443 404 4268Other injured 755 748 766 769 750 894 879 750 772 653 7736Total NT casualties 1230 1175 1228 1322 1210 1406 1361 1299 1265 1112 12608

International visitorsFatalities 1 5 4 11 2 10 4 7 9 6 59Hospitalised 20 13 23 25 26 47 25 32 40 22 273Other injured 34 23 63 37 40 66 74 63 46 47 552Total international casualties

55 41 90 73 68 123 103 102 95 75 825

International casualties as a proportion of total casualties (which includes international casualties)Fatalities 2.3% 12.2% 6.6% 15.1% 3.3% 14.5% 8.2% 13.7% 18.0% 10.9% 10.7%Hospitalised 4.6% 3.4% 5.7% 5.2% 6.5% 10.6% 5.8% 7.2% 9.0% 5.4% 6.4%Other injured 4.5% 3.1% 8.2% 4.8% 5.3% 7.4% 8.4% 8.4% 6.0% 7.2% 7.1%Total 4.5% 3.5% 7.3% 5.5% 5.6% 8.7% 7.6% 7.9% 7.5% 6.7% 6.5%


As shown in Table 63, international visitors make up quite a high proportion of Northern Territory casualties. This may be explained by the fact that almost twice as many international visitors come to the Northern Territory as there is population (see Table 61). The proportion of international fatalities peaked at 18% of all fatalities (including international visitors) in 2001, hospitalisations were also quite high in this year (9%). The drop in 2002 may be a reflection of fewer international visitors to the Northern Territory rather than improvements in road safety.

Proportionately, international visitors are more likely to become fatalities than other people who have been involved in a crash in the Northern Territory. An average of the 1993-2002 data shows that around 4% of all casualties in the Northern Territory are fatalities, whereas for the international visitors, this figure is around 7%. When looking at serious casualty data, the ten year average shows 38% of all Northern Territory casualties are either fatal or require hospitalisation, whereas this is the case for 40% of all international casualties.

As Figure 48 shows, the correlation between all casualties within the Northern Territory and international casualties is fairly strong (r = 0.72).


Figure 48: Comparison of all NT casualties with international casualties, 1993-2002


However, Figure 49 which compares injuries which are fatal or result in hospital admittance, presents a weaker correlation (r = 0.64). Peaks in the international casualties are clearly indicated in 1998 and 2001.

Figure 49: Comparison of all serious casualties compared to international serious casualties, 1993-2002


Comparing crash characteristicsThe characteristics of road crashes are examined in this section to determine if there are differences between crashes involving international drivers, as distinct from total crashes (which includes international crashes). For this purpose, figures representing a five year average (1998 to 2002) have been used.


Type of vehicle

There is a difference in the pattern of light passenger vehicles that are involved in crashes between international visitors and all Northern Territory crashes as shown below in Table 64. Whilst almost 46% of all crashes in the Northern Territory involve a sedan, and 31% involve a station wagon or hatchback, for crashes which involve an international visitor, only 29% occur in sedans and 54% occur in station wagons or hatchbacks. Crashes involving an international driver are also more likely to involve passenger vans when compared to the all NT statistics whereas utilities are underrepresented amongst international visitor crash data.

Table 64: Average crashes by light passenger vehicles, 1998-2002

Vehicle type(light passenger vehicles)

1998-2002 average number of crashes

Percentage of crashes(1998-2002 averaged data)

International All NT International All NTPanel Van 5.4 107.4 5.28% 3.08%Passenger Van (9-13 seats) 8.0 84.8 7.83% 2.43%Sedan 29.4 1591.2 28.77% 45.57%Station Wagon/Hatchback 55.6 1091.4 54.40% 31.26%Utility 3.8 616.8 3.72% 17.66%Total 102.2 3491.6 100% 100%


Type of road user

As seen in Table 65 below, the percentage of drivers and passengers seriously or fatally injured is much higher for international visitors when compared to total Northern Territory casualty data. Of all international casualties, 3% of drivers and 4% of passengers are killed, whereas only 1.4% of drivers and 1.5% of passengers are killed in the case of all casualties in the Northern Territory between 1998 and 2002.

Table 65: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by road user type, 1998-2002

1998-2002 Average

% Fatality % HospitalisationInternational

visitor casualties

All Northern territory

casualties

Internationalvisitor

casualties

All Northern Territory

casualtiesDriver 3.0% 1.4% 11.0% 14.4%

Passenger 4.0% 1.5% 20.2% 11.0%

Pedestrian nil 0.9% 0.4% 3.7%

Motorcycle rider nil 0.3% 1.6% 3.4%

Bicycle rider 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 1.2%Source: Northern Territory Vehicle Accident Database, Department of Transport and Works.

Seatbelt usage

The proportion of people not wearing seatbelts appears to be higher in the Northern Territory than in other states and territories in Australia.

As seen earlier in Table 63, there were 274 fatalities from road crashes in the Northern Territory between 1998 and 2002, of which 36 were identified as international visitors. One of these visitors was on a bicycle so the table on seatbelt use below reflects 35 fatalities.


Rear tray passengers have been excluded from this table. Three people were admitted to hospital in the case where a roll cage was fitted and rear tray passengers were injured. There were also three people killed and ten admitted to hospital in the case where a roll cage was not fitted to the vehicle. None of these people were recorded as being from overseas.

One international visitor who wore an open face helmet was admitted to hospital. They have been excluded from Table 66 as there was no comparable helmet data included for domestic motorcycle riders.

Table 66: Percentage of fatalities and hospitalisations by seat belt use, 1998-2002 (average)

Fatalities Hospitalisations

International visitor casualties

(n = 35)


casualties(n = 177)

International visitor casualties

(n = 148)


casualties(n = 1480)

Seat belt not worn 54% 50% 16% 14%Seat belt worn 46% 32% 59% 64%No restraint fitted or not applicable nil 2% 9% 3%

Not known nil 16% 15% 18%Source: Northern Territory Vehicle Accident Database, Department of Transport and Works.

Overall, of a total of 436 international casualties (excluding three motorcyclists), 73% wore a seat belt. This compares with 4897 casualties overall (excluding motorcyclists and rear tray passengers and including the 436 international casualties), of which 76% wore a seat belt. As seen in other states and territories, in general, compliance with seat belt use appears to be only slightly less within the international driving population.

Without information which includes the country of origin of these visitors, it is impossible to say whether the seat belt enforcement in their own country impacts upon the use of seatbelts within Australia, however this appears to be a reasonable assumption.

Crash nature

As shown in Table 67, overturned vehicles contribute to most crashes resulting in a fatality or hospitalisation for both international visitors, and total Northern Territory crashes.

Of all fatal crashes in the Northern Territory, 7% were head on crashes, however for crashes identified as involving an international visitor, ‘head ons’ accounted for 29% of fatal crashes. This may be partially because, as discussed earlier in the ‘Proportion of International Drivers’ section, most international visitors driving in the Northern Territory (65%) appear to be from countries where they usually drive on the right.

This is supported by data which show that crashes involving international visitors between 1998 and 2002 were more likely to be associated with failing to yield right of way and not keeping left; whereas all Northern Territory crashes were more likely to involve following too close, failing to yield right of way, or excessive speed. However, this information on circumstance surrounding crashes was not complete so must be treated with caution.

Pedestrian casualties remain a significant problem for the Northern Territory, with 23% of fatal crashes involving a pedestrian.


Table 67: Five most common types of crashes responsible for serious casualties – averaged 1998-2002 data (NT)

Serious casualty crashes involving an international visitor

(n = 243)

Serious casualty crashesall Northern Territory

(n = 1807)1. Overturned (46%) (32% of fatal crashes) 1. Overturned (22%) (22% of fatal crashes)2. Head on (18%) (29% of fatal crashes) 2. Hit pedestrian (16%) (23% of fatal crashes)3. Ran off road (18%) (22% of fatal crashes) 3. Angle (16%) (10% of fatal crashes)4. Angle (6%) (12% of fatal crashes) 4. Ran off road (15%) (25% of fatal crashes)5. Fell off motorcycle (3%) (no fatal crashes) 5. Hit fixed or temporary object (7%)



Among all the vehicles involved in crashes in the Northern Territory between 1998-2002, alcohol was implicated as a contributing factor in 9% of cases and speed in 8% of cases. Of these 9% where alcohol was a contributing factor, 22% also involved speed.

In contrast, alcohol was not a significant factor in crashes involving an international visitor as there were only 4 cases recorded over this time period, none of whom were fatally injured. Speed also seemed to be less of a factor as only 3% of vehicles involved in these crashes were speeding (see Table 68 below).

Table 68: Contributing factors to crashes – averaged 1998-2002 vehicle data

All vehicles involved in crashes with at least one international driver

(n = 511)

All vehicles involved in crashes in the Northern Territory

(n = 11928)1. Other circumstances (64%) 1. Other circumstances (58%) 2. Not applicable (12%) 2. Fail to yield right of way (10%) 3. Fail to yield right of way (7%) 3. Follow too close (9%) 4. Not keep left (5%) 4. Exceed speed (8%) 5. Exceed speed (3%) 5. Improper turn (4%)


Table 68 shows the circumstances applicable to all vehicles involved in crashes in the Northern Territory from 1998 to 2002. This data does not relate to crashes, for instance, there could be three vehicles involved in one crash and each vehicle would have a circumstance attached which explains the high total (n=11928 and n=511 for crashes which involve at least one international driver). Not applicable may mean that a car involved in a crash was not at fault, or that the circumstances are unknown.

As Table 68 shows, more vehicles involved in crashes which involve an international driver fail to keep left. Failure to yield right of way is a significant factor arising from all crashes as well as those which involved an international driver.

Crash location

As shown below in Figure 50, the location of crashes differed between international visitors and all Northern Territory crashes. Most crashes (63%) involving an international visitor occurred in a rural area, compared with 24% of all Northern Territory crashes over this period.


Figure 50: Location of crashes in the Northern Territory, 1998-2002


Crash time

Crashes in the Northern Territory occur mostly between the hours of 2pm and 6pm. This is true of international visitors (35% of crashes occurring between these times) and all Northern Territory crashes (32%). Just over 71% of all crashes involving an international visitor occur between 10am and 6pm; whereas this is true of 54% of the total crash statistics. This is likely to be an exposure effect, where international visitors are less likely to drive during non-daylight hours.

Unlike other states and territories, the weekend does not seem to be a significant time for crashes within the total Northern Territory data. Although the most common day of the week for a crash to occur is Friday, this is followed by Thursday, then Wednesday. For international visitors, it is Tuesday followed by Thursday and Monday.

Age and gender

There were 494 light passenger vehicle crashes which involved those aged 16 or under within the Northern Territory between 1998 and 2002 – none of whom were identified as coming from overseas. Therefore, if these are excluded from the analysis, the age distribution of light passenger vehicle crashes is almost identical between all Northern Territory crashes and those involving an international visitor. Most crashes involve 25 to 59 year olds (65% of all NT and 66% of international visitors); 17 to 24 year olds were involved in 26% of all NT crashes, and 27% of international visitor crashes. Those aged 60+ were involved in around 5% of all crashes, and 4% of crashes involving an international visitor. Age of the remaining 3% is unknown.

Whilst these proportions closely match the proportions of total visitors to the Northern Territory as discussed in the earlier section ‘Age and Gender of Visitors’ for the age range 25-59 (67%), 15-24 year olds made up only around 20% of all visitors and are therefore overrepresented in crash statistics. This may indicate that younger international visitors are more likely to drive than those aged 60 and over, or alternatively, this could be a reflection of inexperience.


Table 69: Crashes by gender, averaged 1998-2002 data (Northern Territory)

Gender

Serious casualty crashes All Northern Territory crashesInternational

controller(n = 67)

All NT casualties(n = 1636)

International controller(n = 511)

All NT casualties

(n = 19838)Male 64.18% 70.42% 72.21% 64.72%Female 35.82% 29.52% 27.20% 31.74%Unknown - 0.06% 0.59% 3.54%


Table 69 compares the gender of injured international controllers with the gender of all casualties within the Northern Territory between 1998 and 2002 (as comparable controller data was not available). Whilst those injured in road crashes are mostly males, female international controllers made up almost 36% of serious casualties compared with almost 30% of all females killed or hospitalised in the Northern Territory. However, numbers were fairly small (n = 24) so these results should be interpreted with caution.

Summary3⁄4 Northern Territory attracts almost twice its resident population in international visitors

each year.

3⁄4 Most of these international visitors are from Europe and countries which drive on the right-hand side of the road.

3⁄4 A relatively small proportion of visitors drive between stopovers (13%)

3⁄4 International visitors make up a reasonably large proportion of road crashes (almost 11% of fatal; and around 6.5% of other injury crashes between 1993 and 2002).

3⁄4 Of crashes involving an international visitor, 3% were fatal, compared with 1.4% of all crashes in the Northern Territory.

3⁄4 The years 2000 and 2001 saw an increase in both visitor numbers and visitor crashes, however fewer international visitors were injured than in 1998.

3⁄4 International passengers are more likely to be killed or seriously injured than international drivers.

3⁄4 International visitors involved in crashes are slightly less likely to wear seatbelts.

3⁄4 Seatbelt compliance appears to generally be an issue in the Northern Territory.

3⁄4 Overturning vehicles contribute to most serious casualties in the Northern Territory.

3⁄4 International drivers are more likely to have head on collisions than is the case among all drivers.

3⁄4 Speeding appears to be slightly less of a factor in international visitor crashes.

3⁄4 International drivers have crashes mainly in the rural areas of the Northern Territory.

3⁄4 Most crashes involving an international visitor occur during daylight hours on a week day.

3⁄4 Whilst those injured or killed in crashes are much more likely to be male, female international controllers represent a larger proportion of international serious casualties compared with the patterns for all casualties in the Territory.


5. Traffic offence involvement of international visitors

5.1 Types of infringements committedThe infringement data for the four jurisdictions (ACT, Qld, SA, and Tas) which provided information is summarised in Table 70. As can be seen, the average yearly number of international visitor infringements across all four states was 7226.2. The most common infringement category was speed related (81.4%), followed by other offences (8.5%). Less common infringement categories were restraint use (5.6%), failing to give way or stop (2.1%), disobeying traffic lights (1.3%), and failing to keep left (0.96%).

The predominance of speed related offences is consistent with the pattern for local drivers and appears indicative of the resources devoted to this type of enforcement by the police. The latter three infringement types are consistent with the problem of disorientation that appears to characterise the crash involvement patterns of international drivers (see Section 2.2). More specific information relating to the four jurisdictions is provided below.

Australian Capital TerritoryData for the ACT was available from January 2001 to April 2003. The total number of infringements for this period was 294. The most common infringement categories per year were speed (48.6%) and other (28.2%). Other categories included Failure to give way/stop (11.9%), restraint use (4.08%), traffic control light (3.06%), mobile phone use (2.71%), failure to keep left (1.02%), and travelling too close (0.33%). The number of infringements in total for 2002 (163) was double that of the previous year (88).

QueenslandThe total number of infringements committed by international licence holders between July 1998 and June 2002 was 18852. Queensland was the only state in which a breakdown for each year was not provided. Of nine infringement categories the most commonly recorded infringement in Queensland was speed (76.8%). Other (11.21%) was the second most common type of offence for this followed by improper seat belt use (6.57%), fail to give way/stop (2.16%), disobeying traffic lights (1.52%), failing to keep left (1.17%), drink driving (tickets only) (0.22%), and failing to wear a helmet on either a bicycle (0.19%) or motorcycle (0.15%).

South AustraliaFrom 2000 to 2002 there were a total of 3569 infringements for international visitors. After speeding (87.5%) the most common infringements per year related to restraint use (6.76%). Additional infringement categories included failing to give way/stop (2.46%), inattention offences (1.73%), run red light (0.95%), failure to keep left (0.86%).

TasmaniaThe total number of infringements for international visitors for the period of 1998 to 2002 was 6128. Almost all infringements in this state were related to speeding (97.5%). The other infringement categories listed were lack of restraint use (1.25%), traffic control light (0.47%), failure to stop or give way (0.44%), failure to keep left (0.2%), and driving without due care and attention (0.15)%. No traffic infringement notices for driving over the legal blood alcohol limit (0.05) were found.


Table 70: Comparison of ranking of infringement categories

Ranking Overall ranking and %

Based on an total of 7226.2 infringements

for all four states in an averaged

year

ACTBased on a total of 294 international

visitor infringements 2001-2003.

QLDBased on a

total of 18852 international

visitor infringements

July 1998 – June 2002.

SABased on a total of 3569 international

visitor infringements

2000-2002

TASBased on a total of 6128 international

visitor infringements 1998-2002.

1 Speeding81.4%

Speeding48.6%

Speeding76.8%

Speeding87.5%

Speeding97.5%

2 Other8.5%

Other28.2%

Other11.2%

Restraint use6.8%

Restraint use1.3%

3 Restraint use5.6%

Failure to give way/stop

11.9%Restraint use

6.6%Failure to give

way/stop2.5%

Disobey traffic light0.5%

4Failure to give

way/stop2.1%

Restraint use4.1%


2.2%

Inattention offences*

1.7%


0.4%

5Disobey traffic

light1.3%




Failure to keep left

0.2%

6Failure to keep

left1.0%

Mobile phone use*2.7%


1.2%


0.9%

Inattention offences*

0.1%

7Failure to keep

left1.0%

Drink driving (tickets)*

0.2%

8Travelling too

close*0.3%

Helmet-bike*0.2%

9 Helmet*0.1%

*collapsed in to ‘other’ for overall data

5.2 Payment of traffic infringementsAs noted in Section 3.3, information relating to the payment of traffic infringements by international visitors was provided by Queensland Transport. This data shows little difference in willingness to pay infringements between overseas licence holders when compared to all licence holders. Of infringement notices issued to overseas licence holders, 67% are paid, whereas in general, 64% of all infringements are paid without prosecution. Overseas licence holders are less likely to be prosecuted (21%), than others (26%); but slightly more likely to have their infringement waived or not pay (12%) compared to other licence holders (8%).

In Queensland, people in general are least likely to pay helmet related infringements. This is also reflected among international visitors, along with offences related to not wearing a seatbelt. Drink driving infringement notices are rarely issued (less than 1% of tickets). However, they are the type of notice most likely to be paid without prosecution by both overseas (89% pay) and domestic (75% pay) licence holders.

The above data questions a common assumption relating to the impact of enforcement activity on the behaviour of international visitors. At the Travelsafe/CARRS-Q Symposium (Wilks, Watson, & Hansen, 1999), there was a strong perception among enforcement agencies that


international visitors were less likely to pay traffic infringement notices and, hence, were less likely to be deterred by enforcement activity. The Queensland data suggests that the pattern of payment of infringement notices among international drivers is very similar to local drivers.


6. Discussion6.1 Overview of key findingsThis section summarises the main trends in the data identified in the previous two chapters. While it draws on information from all the states and territories, it will primarily focus on trends and issues that need to be addressed from a national perspective. This section will be followed by a discussion of the implications of the data for developing a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors.

The data reviewed in this report is largely consistent with the findings reported in the 1999 document International Visitors and Road Safety in Australia: a Status Report. However, a number of new issues have emerged (or at least become clearer) which are highlighted where relevant.

International visitors to AustraliaSince the mid-1990s, international visitor numbers have grown by about 20% from 3.8 million to 4.4 million. While international visitor numbers peaked at 4.5 million in 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympic Games, they have since appeared to plateau at around 4.4 million. Accordingly, the influence of the Olympic Games on visitor numbers and the associated amount of travel undertaken by international visitors on Australian roads appears to have stabilised.

As Australia is continuing to be actively promoted as an international tourist destination by both the public and private sectors, it is likely that international visitor numbers will continue to increase in the long-term, representing a continuing road safety issue.

Most visitors to Australia come from countries where they drive on the left-hand side of the road, such as New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom. However, approximately one third come from countries where it is usual to drive on the right, such as the USA, Canada, and Germany.

In 2002, approximately one third of international visitors to Australia self-drove for at least part of their stay. People from countries where it is usual to drive on the right make up approximately 28% of all visitors who drive, which is a slight under-representation (as they make up almost one third of visitors). However, the data indicated that this group are more likely to drive in more than one state or territory than those from left-side driving countries.

Specific information on the country of origin of international visitors involved in road crashes is not generally available, so it is difficult to accurately determine whether visitors from right-side driving countries are over or under represented in crashes. However, previous research by CARRS-Q found that international visitors from right-side driving countries were overrepresented in crashes involving head-on collisions and a failure to keep left (Watson et al. 1999a; Wilks et al. 2000).

Crash involvement of international visitorsThe following section synthesises the crash data from each of the states and territories presented in Chapter 5. The aim of the section is to highlight national crash trends and compare the consistency of the data with previous research in the area. To assist in this process, the format used in the section is drawn from the concluding chapter of the 1999 International Visitors and Road Safety in Australia report.

The identification of international visitors

It remains difficult to quantify the full extent of the involvement of international visitors in road crashes in Australia. In most jurisdictions, the only international visitors who are specifically identified in the mass-crash databases are those involved in crashes as drivers or riders


of motor vehicles. This is currently the case in Queensland, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The only jurisdictions that systematically provide more information about the involvement of international visitors in road crashes are New South Wales and the Northern Territory. In these jurisdictions, the mass-crash databases define international visitors in terms of residency, rather than licence status. This permits the identification of international visitors who are involved in crashes as drivers, motorcycle riders, pedal cyclists and pedestrians. However, the residence of non-controllers is not identified in the NSW database. Hence, in that state it remains impossible to identify international visitors who are involved in crashes as motor vehicle passengers or as pillions on motorcycles or pedal cycles.

Previous research into international visitors has used the ATSB’s Fatal File database, which is based on the results of Coronial investigations rather than data collected by the police at the time of the crash. Historically, this database has provided more extensive information about the types of international road users involved in road crashes, although it is limited to fatal crashes. However, in the mid 1990’s a change was made to the coding of international visitors in the Fatal File database. As a result, since 1996 international visitors have only been identified in the Fatal File on the basis of their licence status. As such, since this time the only relevant information available relates to drivers and motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes who held an overseas or international licence.

Hence, there is currently no official crash database in Australia that provides a comprehensive picture of the involvement of international visitors in road crashes. While quite detailed data is available about the involvement of international drivers in crashes, only limited information is available about other types of international road users such as pedestrians and passengers. Unfortunately, this restricts the scope of the investigations that can be conducted.

The magnitude of the problem

The constraints involved in identifying international visitors make it difficult to accurately assess the magnitude of the problem. Previous research utilising ATSB’s Fatal File (Ellis, 1999) indicated that that there were 45 international visitor deaths on Australian roads in 1994. In absolute terms this was not a large problem, representing only 2.5% of Australia’s annual road toll. However, given changes to the coding practices used for the Fatal File data, it is difficult to assess more recent trends in total international visitor deaths.

Nevertheless, the ATSB Fatal File does indicate that international licence holders represented 0.7% of the drivers and motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes between 1996 and 1999 and 0.79% of those operators killed (see Table 6 and Table 7, Section 4.1). It is important to note that these data do not include international passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists.

From the state and territory data provided in the previous chapter, it is possible to assemble a more extensive (but incomplete) picture of the international visitor crash problem. Most importantly, this data indicates that the relative involvement of international visitors in road crashes varies substantially across jurisdictions. Among the two states that use residency to identify international visitors, NSW and the Northern Territory, these differences are particularly pronounced. For example, between 1998 and 2002 there were 22 international visitors killed on NSW roads (representing 0.8% of total fatalities) and a further 243 injured (representing 0.2% of total injuries). In the Northern Territory during the same period there were 36 international road users killed and a further 462 injured. In contrast, this represented 13.1% of total fatalities and 7.6% of total injuries during the period. Indeed, over the ten year period 1993 – 2002 there was an average of 5.9 international visitor deaths per year in the Northern Territory, representing 10.7% of total deaths.

Therefore, while the number of casualties is relatively similar in these two jurisdictions, international visitors represent much more of a road crash problem in the Northern Territory. While a range of factors undoubtedly contribute to this difference, the key would appear to be the higher relative exposure of international visitors on the Northern Territory’s roads compared with NSW. For example, in 2002 NSW received 2.6 million international visitors, representing


38.5% of the state’s 6.7 million population. In contrast, the Northern Territory hosted 357,000 international visitors in 2002, which was 1.8 times higher than their population of 198,000 people. In addition, the majority (64%) of the international visitors to the Northern Territory who drove between stopovers in 2002 came from right-side driving countries. In comparison, only 35% of the visitors to NSW who drove between stopovers came from right-side driving countries.

Exact comparisons among the other jurisdictions are difficult due to the differences in the data provided. Nonetheless, the following key points emerge for the period 1998-2002:

Queensland3⁄4 crashes involving an international driver accounted for 2.8% of total fatalities and 2.7% of

total casualties;

NSW3⁄4 international visitors accounted for 0.8% of total fatalities and 0.2% of total casualties;

ACT3⁄4 crashes involving international drivers accounted for 0.3% of total casualty crashes;

Victoria3⁄4 crashes involving an international visitor accounted for 0.6% of total fatalities and 0.4%

of total serious casualties;

Tasmania3⁄4 crashes involving an international driver accounted for 1.2% of total fatal crashes and

1.8% of serious injury crashes;

South Australia3⁄4 there were no international drivers killed and only 14 injured in road crashes,

representing 0.3% of total casualties in the state;

Western Australia3⁄4 there were 14 fatal crashes and 2894 total crashes involving an international driver in the

state. This represented 1.6% of fatal crashes and 1.5% of all crashes during the period; and

Northern Territory3⁄4 international visitors accounted for 13.1% of total fatalities and 7.6% of total casualties.

Conclusions about the scale of the problem for road user categories other than drivers are more difficult to draw due the lack of data available. For example, specific data relating to the involvement of international passengers and pedestrians in road crashes is only available from NSW. This data indicated that international passengers killed or injured in crashes between 1998 and 2002 represented 1.5% and 0.3% of total passenger deaths and injuries, respectively. During the same period, international pedestrians represented 0.6% of total pedestrian deaths and 0.2% of total pedestrian injuries in NSW.

In summary, the full extent of the road trauma experienced by international visitors in Australia remains unknown. However, based on the available data the problem appears to be relatively small. This conclusion appears to hold for all Australian jurisdictions with the exception of the Northern Territory, where international visitors have accounted for over 10% of deaths and almost 8% of injuries over recent years.

Are international visitors at higher risk?

Another rationale for targeting international visitors is the argument that they are at a higher risk of crashing (and possibly of being injured in a crash) than local drivers, due to their lack of familiarity with Australian driving conditions and road rules (FORS, 1995; Wilks, Watson, & Faulks, 1999). This hypothesis is difficult to test, without accurate exposure data relating to the amount of road travel undertaken by international visitors.


As noted in Section 2.1, FORS/ATSB attempted an alternative test of this hypothesis by utilising population-based data rather than distance travelled to determine the relative risk of being involved in a crash (Ellis, 1999). They used data relating to the annual number of international visitors visiting Australia and their average duration of stay to derive a death rate per 100,000 head of population for this group. Based on 1994 data, international visitors experienced a death rate of 22.0 deaths per 100,000 population compared with a rate of only 10.8 for Australians. Furthermore, it was suggested that this comparison may actually underestimate the risk faced by international visitors, since they are largely drawn from a middle-aged group (who traditionally are at lower risk of being involved in a crash compared with younger and older road users) (Ellis, 1999). While this may be true, other evidence suggests that people tend to engage in more risky activities (eg. alcohol and drug use, sexual practices) while travelling than they do at home (Fairhurst, 1992).

In addition, there is some evidence that the crashes involving international visitors tend to be more severe than those involving local road users. As indicated in the previous chapter, international visitors tend to be involved in higher proportion of fatalities/fatal crashes than total casualties/crashes in the majority of Australian jurisdictions. In a similar vein, the ATSB Fatal File data indicates that 69% of the international licence holders involved in fatal crashes were themselves killed or hospitalised in the crash, compared with 55% of total motor vehicle operators.

There are a number of possible reasons for this finding. Firstly, it may be due to the under-reporting of minor crashes involving international visitors and/or the failure to accurately identify international visitors in more minor crashes. Secondly, it may be indicative of the types of crashes in which international visitors are more likely to be involved. As will be discussed later, the crashes involving international visitors are generally more likely to feature angle and head-on collisions and the overturning of the vehicles.

Is the problem increasing?

The data from the Eastern states of Australia suggests that the involvement of international visitors in road crashes steadily increased during the 1990’s and peaked during the 2000-2001 period. This pattern appears consistent with the overall number of international visitors to Australia and the impact of the Olympic Games. For example:

Queensland3⁄4 the number of international visitors to the state (1.98 million) and total casualties arising

from crashes involving international drivers (531) both peaked in 2001;

NSW3⁄4 the number of international visitors to the state (2.73 million) and the number of

international controllers killed or injured (68) both peaked in 2000; and

Victoria3⁄4 the number of international visitors to the state (1.24 million) peaked in 2001 while the

number of international visitors killed or seriously injured (39) peaked in 2002.

In contrast, the peak in the involvement of international visitors in crashes appears to have occurred earlier in some of the other jurisdictions. For example, in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, the involvement of international visitors in road crashes has declined since 1998. This has generally occurred against a back-drop of increasing visitor numbers (at least up to 2000). This suggests that these jurisdictions may have commenced to target the problem earlier than some of the eastern states (who were primarily prompted into more action by the impending impact of the Olympic Games).


As noted in Section 2.2, previous research by FORS and CARRS-Q has highlighted a link between international driver crashes and (i) the difficulties associated with driving in unfamiliar surroundings; and (ii) lower seat belt wearing rates among international visitors. In contrast,


while alcohol and speeding contribute to some crashes involving international drivers, these factors tend to play less of a role than they do in the crashes involving local drivers (Ellis, 1999; FORS, 1995; Watson et al. 1999a; Wilks, Watson et al. 2000).The more recent data reviewed in this report largely supports these findings, as discussed below.

Alcohol and speeding

In NSW during the period 1998-2002, alcohol was cited as a factor in only 4% of the fatal crashes and 2% of the total crashes involving international drivers. In contrast, alcohol was cited as a factor in 20% of all fatal crashes and 5% of all crashes recorded in the state. Similarly, speeding was more common in total fatal crashes (42%) than those fatal crashes involving international drivers (19%).

Fatigue

During the period 1998-2002, fatigue was more likely to be involved in the crashes involving international drivers in NSW (35% of fatal crashes and 9% of all crashes), than those involving all drivers (18% of fatal crashes and 7% of all crashes).

Seat belt usage

In Queensland during the period 1998-2002, 19% of the drivers killed in road crashes were known to be not wearing a seat belt. Among the crashes involving international drivers, the percentage of drivers not wearing a seat belt was 30%. In NSW during the same period, 23% of the drivers and passengers killed in road crashes were known to be not wearing a seat belt. The percentage of international drivers not wearing a seat belt was only 17%. However, among the international passengers killed in crashes, 70% were not wearing a seat belt. Similarly, in the Northern Territory, the proportion of casualties not wearing a seat belt in fatal and hospitalised crashes was marginally higher among international visitors than total road users.

In contrast, the Victorian crash data indicated that failure to wear a seat belt was more common in the serious casualty and total crashes involving all drivers, compared with the crashes involving international drivers.

Crash nature

As noted in Section 2.2, previous research by CARRS-Q has highlighted the apparent difficulties that international drivers experience in coping with an unfamiliar driving environment. In particular, this research indicated that international drivers were over-represented in crashes where disorientation appeared to be a factor, including ‘angle’, ‘head-on’ and ‘sideswipe’ crashes. Similarly, previous research by FORS (1995) highlighted the over-involvement of roll-over crashes among international drivers that may be indicative of a lack of familiarity with the vehicle being driven (such as a four-wheel drives or a minibus). The data reviewed in this report provides further support for these conclusions. For example, during the period 1999-2002:

Queensland3⁄4 the two most common types of serious casualty crashes involving an international driver

were angle (22%) and head-on (21%, but 31% of fatal crashes) crashes;

NSW3⁄4 the two most common types of serious casualty crashes involving an international driver

were angle (20%) and head-on (19%, but 59% of fatal crashes) crashes;

South Australia3⁄4 the four most common types of serious injury crashes involving an international driver

were right angle (31%), head-on (15%), right turn (15%) and roll-over (15%) crashes;

Tasmania3⁄4 the two most common types of serious injury crashes involving an international driver

were angle (32%) and head-on (25%) crashes; and


Northern Territory3⁄4 the two most common types of serious casualty crashes involving an international driver

were overturned (46%) and head-on (18%) crashes.

In addition, the research by CARRS-Q indicated that drivers from right-side driving countries were particularly over-represented in crashes which appeared to involve disorientation (see Section 2.2). In this regard, the proportion of visitors from right-side driving countries who drive between stopovers appears to vary across the jurisdictions. As shown in Table 71, this issue is particularly a problem for Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Table 71: International visitors from right-side driving countries as a proportion of international drivers (2002)

State/Territory % visitorsQueensland 29%NSW 35%South Australia 48%Western Australia 19%ACT 44%Victoria 34%Tasmania 53%Northern Territory 64%


Location of crashes

The data from the states and territories tends to indicate that international driver crashes, particularly severe crashes, are more likely to occur in rural areas. For example, during the period 1999-2002:

Queensland3⁄4 the majority of fatal crashes involving international drivers (72%) occurred within rural

areas;

NSW3⁄4 54% of the fatal crashes involving an international controller occurred in rural locations;

South Australia3⁄4 although the majority (75%) of international driver crashes occurred within the Adelaide

metropolitan area, the proportion of crashes in rural areas (25%) was higher than for crashes involving all drivers (16%);

Western Australia3⁄4 13 of the 14 fatal crashes involving international drivers occurred in rural locations;

Victoria3⁄4 66% of fatal crashes (but only 38% of serious casualty crashes) involving international

drivers occurred outside the Melbourne metropolitan area;

Tasmania3⁄4 100% of fatal crashes and 73% of serious injury crashes involving international drivers

occurred in rural areas; and

Northern Territory3⁄4 the majority of crashes (63%) involving an international visitor occurred in a rural area.


Traffic offence involvement of international driversThe infringement data indicated that the most common offence for which international drivers were detected was speeding. Indeed, speed-related offences accounted for over four-fifths (81.4%) of the offences committed by international drivers in the four jurisdictions examined. However, this finding appears more indicative of enforcement practices, rather than the driving behaviour of international drivers per se. This study, along with previous research has consistently found that international drivers are not over-represented in speed-related crashes, compared with local drivers (Ellis, 1999; FORS, 1995; Watson et al. 1999a; Wilks et al. 2000).

Furthermore, the evidence from Queensland questions the common assumption that international visitors are less likely to pay traffic infringement notices. In total, 67% of the infringement notices issued to overseas licence holders in Queensland are paid, compared with 64% of those issued to local drivers. Not surprisingly, international licence holders are less likely to be prosecuted (21%), than others (26%); but more slightly likely to have their infringement waived or not pay (12%) compared to other licence holders (8%). This data suggests that international drivers are no less likely to be deterred by the issuing of traffic infringement notices, compared to local drivers.

6.2 Implications for a National StrategyAs noted above, the findings from this study are largely consistent with those reported in the 1999 International Visitors and Road Safety in Australia status report. Accordingly, it appears sensible to revisit the countermeasure strategies recommended at that time. To assist in this process, Table 72 reproduces the countermeasure options identified in the 1999 report. As can be seen, the majority of the suggested countermeasures fell into the pre-crash stage. This reflected the strong prevention orientation adopted by stakeholders at the symposium. It also reflected the view that international road users are vulnerable due to their lack of familiarity with Australian road conditions and that they need to be better prepared.

Moreover, the various countermeasures identified in Table 72 appear to remain quite relevant in light of the more recent data. Therefore, a good starting point for the development of a National Road Safety Strategy for International Visitors would be to conduct a nation-wide audit to assess the degree to which these countermeasures have been implemented. In addition, the 1999 report identified a number of specific educational strategies including:

3⁄4 the provision of better information to international people planning a trip to Australia, utilising the internet and tourist agencies;

3⁄4 the development of videos to be shown in flight or in vehicle rental offices;

3⁄4 the inclusion of more educational material on road maps;

3⁄4 the wide availability of audio cassettes for international visitors to listen to while driving;

3⁄4 the wider use of billboards displaying messages relevant to international drivers; and

3⁄4 the wider availability of safety information at petrol stations (Watson et al. 1999b).

Hence, it would be valuable to examine the extent to which these strategies have been adopted and how effective they have proven. Alternatively, if these strategies have not been adopted, it would be important to identify the barriers or problems associated with their implementation.


Table 72: International visitor road safety countermeasure options identified at Travelsafe/CARRS-Q Symposium

Pre-crash stage Crash stage Post-crash stageRoad user 3⁄4 Educational strategies

targeting factors such as:

– seat belt wearing

– fatigue

3⁄4 Targeted seat belt enforcement in areas frequented by international drivers

3⁄4 Stricter screening of international drivers’ licences

3⁄4 Remove seat belt exemptions for taxi drivers

3⁄4 Wider application of vehicle rental practices such as vehicle familiarisation sessions and requirements for new arrivals to rest before being able to pick up vehicles

3⁄4 Require travellers in remote areas to file travel plans

3⁄4 Better collection of data relating to factors contributing to international driver crashes and subsequent medical treatment

3⁄4 Strategies to improve level of traffic fine recovery from international drivers involved in traffic offences and crashes

Vehicle 3⁄4 Warning messages on the dashboards of vehicles eg. ‘Keep left’, ‘Wear a seat belt’

3⁄4 Wider provision of vehicles equipped for disabled drivers

3⁄4 Restrictions on the type of vehicles that can be hired without sufficient experience eg. 4WDs

3⁄4 Introduce seat belt interlocks for rental vehicles

3⁄4 Install global tracking systems or satellite telephones in vehicles used in remote areas

Road environment

3⁄4 Placement of seat belt advisory signs at strategic locations eg. exits of airports, rest areas

3⁄4 More use of international road signs

3⁄4 Better signage of tourist routes

3⁄4 Include estimated travel times on road distance signs

3⁄4 Remove restrictions on the length of stay at rest areas

3⁄4 Enhance remote-area trauma management services

Source: Watson et al. 1999a.


Finally, the International Visitors and Road Safety report also identified a range of data needs and research priorities to progress the issue. These issues still appear very relevant and include:

Data needs

3⁄4 ensure rigorous collection of address details (particularly home country) for international visitors involved in crashes;

3⁄4 identify all international road users involved in crashes (i.e. not just drivers) in relevant databases;

3⁄4 collect specific exposure data regarding the types and amount of road travel that international visitors undertake in Australia;

3⁄4 establish the full economic and social costs of crashes involving international visitors, including the costs borne by Australia and those borne by the visitor’s home country. This could also include an analysis of rural hospitals’ capacity to cope with international visitor related crashes.

Strategic research

3⁄4 establish the full extent of road trauma experienced by international visitors in Australasia (including drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers);

3⁄4 scope the likely cost-effectiveness of different countermeasure proposals to identify priority actions;

3⁄4 evaluate existing international visitor safety countermeasures, to establish cost-effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement;

3⁄4 investigate regional patterns in international visitor crashes, in order to geographically tailor countermeasure approaches;

Road user research

3⁄4 utilise road crash and industry databases to obtain a better insight into the factors which contribute to crashes involving international visitors;

3⁄4 survey international visitors to assess levels of knowledge, beliefs and perceptions towards road use in Australia and to identify barriers to compliance with laws and safety advice; and

3⁄4 trial and evaluate ‘best practice’ educational strategies with different groups of international drivers (Watson et al. 1999b).


7. ReferencesACT Department of Urban Services. (1999). Chapter 7: Australian Capital Territory. In J. Wilks,

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112 MONOGRAPH 2 – The Safety of International Visitors on Australian Roads

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