Towed Vehicle Crashes In South Australia PDF Download

An intensive on scene study of crashes on rural roads outside of towns was carried out from June 1986 to July 1987 in an area of roughly 100 kilometres radius around Adelaide, SA. A total of 80 crashes were investigated. This was a 14% sample of the 577 calls to crashes. Fifty-six crashes involved loss of directional control. The loss of directional control was due to various combinations of driver, vehicle and environmental factors. The drivers and riders involved in the crashes were predominantly young, (less than 30 years), male, unmarried, in a blue collar occupation, with a limited secondary school education. Almost half of male drivers were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. About 15% of drivers and riders had a BAC over the limit of 0.08 g/100 ml. Compared with urban crashes these crashes resulted in more frequent and more severe injury. Recommendations were made regarding measures to increase seat belt wearing rates, and to increase random breath testing in rural areas.Rural areas. BAC. Road design. Human factor. Seat belts Driver characteristics. Alcohol. Injury severity. Trip characteristics. Fatigue.