Rural roads dangerous for young drivers
September 22, 2009Results from Australia's largest study of young drivers have shown that they are at significant risk of crash on rural roads. According to researchers from The George Institute, young drivers living in rural areas are more likely to be involved in serious crashes than those in urban areas.
These results and other young driver issues will be discussed today at the launch of the Young Driver Factbase - www.youngdriverfactbase.com - a new online resource of young driver issues and research evidence.
Overall, young city drivers are more likely to crash due to the high-density of vehicles within urban settings. However, after conducting a survey of more than 20,000 young drivers, researchers identified young rural drivers to be at a far greater risk of single-vehicle crashes, which are more likely to result in serious injury than other crash types.
"We know that urban crashes with multiple vehicles take place more often due to the high volume cars on city roads. What we didn't know was that young drivers in rural locations are actually at a much higher risk of having single-vehicle crashes, which are often fatal and in many cases avoidable", said author Associate Professor Rebecca Ivers, The George Institute.
"Since our study found that young drivers on rural roads were more likely to crash as a result of curved roads and speeding, efforts to reduce speeding behaviour and manage driving at curved road sections, such as speed cameras, and greater use of engineering measures to slow traffic are needed on rural roads", Associate Professor Ivers added. The research was conducted by Huei-Yang Chen, PhD student in the Sydney School of Public Health, the University of Sydney.
These results are part of a series of analyses from the DRIVE study, which is the largest survey of young drivers undertaken, both in Australia and internationally.
The DRIVE study was funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council, NRMA Motoring and Services, and NRMA-ACT Road Safety trust and the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW. The DRIVE study recruited over 20,822 young drivers holding red P-plates in NSW aged 17-24 years and followed all 20,822 young drivers for police-recorded crashes occurring over 2 years. The overall aim of the study is to investigate the risk factors in motor vehicle-related crashes and injuries among young drivers and to find ways to improve the safety of young drivers and help make roads safer for all users.
This particular analysis investigated the risk of various type of crash, by urban, regional and rural settings.
-
Risky driving puts P-platers at high danger of crash
Jul 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study to make public roads safer for farmers, drivers
Nov 18, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Drivers ignore the risk of mobile phone use
Dec 11, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Inexperience a key factor in youth crashes
Sep 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Family and friends set the speedo
Dec 11, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Bohr-Einstein debate: why did Bohr not simply say...
Feb 06, 2012
-
Best/Worst U.S. Presidents
Jan 31, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - History & Humanities
More news stories
A frank discussion of the power law and linking correlation to causation
(PhysOrg.com) -- Michael Stumpf a mathematics professor at Imperial College in London, and Mason Porter a lecturer at Oxford have teamed together to write and publish a perspective piece in Science regarding the in ...
Feb 10, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
11
|
US workers are 'giving away the store,' costing firms billions
Nearly 70 percent of the nation's service employees give away free goods and services – from hamburgers to cable TV – costing companies billions of dollars a year, according to a groundbreaking study.
Other Sciences / Economics & Business
Feb 09, 2012 |
3 / 5 (5) |
11
Employers feel no love for unscrupulous practice of 'service sweethearting'
A new study led by two Florida State University marketing professors finds that some frontline service employees who are rewarded for hikes in customer loyalty and satisfaction also may engage in "service ...
Other Sciences / Economics & Business
Feb 10, 2012 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
10
New insights into how to correct false knowledge
The abundance of false information available on the Internet, in movies and on TV has created a big challenge for educators.
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
9
|
Neanderthal demise due to many influences, including cultural changes: study
As an ice age crept upon them thousands of years ago, Neanderthals and modern human ancestors expanded their territory ranges across Asia and Europe to adapt to the changing environment.
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
8
|
Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?
Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Sep 22, 2009
Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
Sep 23, 2009
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
As a rural dad who raised a rural driver I'd much rather have him driving our car free rural roads than driving in a city. And this includes such issues as huge farm vehicles, little winter road maintenance, lots of nasty winter weather, widely spaced residences, and very few law enforcement officers (haven't seen one while I'm driving for >4 months!).
Great driver's ed, safety belts, vehicles matching roads, & starting to drive before puberty takes over (daytime, no passenger license @ 13) creates safe drivers!
Sep 23, 2009
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
I'm going to start taking her out into the country (where I live rural roads are long, wide, and straight) so that she can begin learning how to deal with surface issues long before she gets her DL. Truth be told, I nearly killed myself more times than I care to remember, but I was hauling loads and pulling machinery weighing many tons as I learned what deep ruts, loose gravel, mud, ice, or excessive speed can do. My kids will simply be driving a four speed with me next to them.
I think everyone needs to learn to drive on rural roads-- how to steer out of skids, how to "feel" the road through the steering wheel, how to stay on the hard pack and out of the loose gravel in between, etc. All this makes for better drivers in town and out.