Report of the New South Wales Chief Health Officer, 1997

Graphic: Injury/Poisoning - Deaths from road injury

Residence Age group Sex 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
NSW All ages Males 27.6 25.8 23.8 25.1 23.6 19.3 15.7 16.3 13.2 14.1
    Females 11 10.3 9.7 9.8 9.5 7.5 6.7 6.2 5.3 6.4
    Persons 19.3 17.9 16.7 17.4 16.5 13.4 11.1 11.2 9.1 10.1
  15-24 year Males 62 55.9 54.2 50.4 48.4 39.4 28.9 31.1 22 27.2
    Females 19.6 18.1 17.1 15.8 18 13.4 10.9 11 8.5 8.9
    Persons 41.3 37.4 36 33.4 33.5 26.7 20.1 21.2 15.4 18.3
AUSTRALIA All ages Males 27 27.3 25.1 26.9 24.4 21.2 18.7 16.7 16.2 .
    Females 10.8 10.6 9.7 10.9 9.8 8.6 7.5 7.4 6.4 .
    Persons 18.8 18.9 17.3 18.8 17 14.8 13 12 11.2 .

Note: Road injury was classified according to the ICD9 external cause codes E810-819 E826-829. NSW population estimates as at 30 June each year. Death rates for persons of all ages were age-adjusted using the Australian population as at 30 June 1991.
Source: ABS mortality data and population estimates (HOIST), Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, NSW Health Department. Figures for Australia from Abraham B, d'Espaignet ET and Stevenson C, Australia health trends, AIHW, Canberra, 1995.
In 1994, there were 412 deaths due to road injury in males (24% of injury deaths) and 201 in females (29%), making it the second leading cause of injury death in males and the leading cause in females. These data include accidents involving any vehicle travelling on a public road, but exclude accidents occurring off-road.

The 15-24 year age group accounted for 31 per cent of all male and 19 per cent of all female road injury deaths.

Road injury death rates for males in 1994 were more than double those for females. The greatest disparities occurred in the 15- to 24-year and 80- to 84-year age groups.

Alcohol was involved in 25 per cent of all fatal accidents in 1995 in which blood alcohol level was known. Speeding was a factor in at least 34 per cent of fatal accidents (RTA 1996).

In NSW in 1995, 57 per cent of fatal road accidents occurred on country roads, even though only 32 per cent of all accidents occurred there (RTA 1996). Driver age, alcohol use, speed, fatigue and non-use of seat belts are risk factors in rural road fatalities (Henderson 1995).

NSW Health has set a target for the year 2000 of reducing mortality and serious casualties as a result of transport related injury by 14 per cent compared with the 1994 rate.

References:Roads and Traffic Authority NSW (RTA), Road traffic accidents in NSW - 1995, Roads and Traffic Authority NSW, Sydney, 1996.
Henderson M, Towards an action plan for rural road safety. A report of the Wodonga Seminar, Rural Road Safety: Focus for the Future, Federal Office of Road Safety, Canberra, 1995.
For more information, see:Federal Office of Road Safety, Road fatalities Australia, 1996 statistical summary, Federal Office of Road Safety, Canberra, 1997.
The National Injury Surveillance Unit
Produced by Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Public Health Division, New South Wales Health Department on 24 March 1998.