parliament of new south wales joint standing committee on road safety

S
656.08
NEW
(52 )
PARLIAMENT OF NEW SOUTH WALES
JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE
ON ROAD SAFETY
CAR DRIVER LICENSING AND ROAD SAFETY
MEMBERS OF
Mr
M .S .
'!HE
CCM-1ITI'EE
Knight, B . A . ( Cbns . ) ,
'!he lboourable D.R. Burton,
'!he lbnourable F . calabro,
Mr
T.
FisCher,
M . P .,
C1airnan
M .L .C .
M .L .C .
M .P .
'!he lbnourable Dorothy Isaksen,
M . L.C .
Dr T .A . Metherell, B . A . ( Hons . ), Dip . Ed . ,
Ph .D. ,
Mr
P .J .
O' Neill ,
Mr
W.E.
FDbb,
M .P .
M .P .
M .T . C .P ., M . P.
It
is
with
SOm:!
trepidation
appreached the task of publishing its
report provided the catalyst
testing in
Just
ho,y
for
that
secorrl
the
the
report.
Conunittee
STAYSAFE
'!he first
introduction of
STAYSAFE
rar:rlorn breath
'!hat measure was both cx:>ntroversial ar:rl effective.
N.S.W.
much of the dramatic reduction in the 1983 road toll in
was due to rar:rlom breath test ing is ,
However, there can be 00 doubt that the introduction of
significant impact
road safety in
an
N.S.W.
itself, a controversial subject.
N.S.W.
RE T
has had a
ar:rl coincided with our lowest
toll in twenty years.
It is unlikely that anything else the
STAYSAFE
Committee could
ever re::amneoo - or that the Government could introduce would have the
sama
inunediate ar:rl dramatic inpact.
tough act to folICIn':
In this sense
RET
is oot just a
it I S an inposs ible act to follow.
Indeed the
challenge facing any Government may be as ruch to maintain the gains of
1983 as it is to make further reducticns on the read toll .
It is in this ccntext that the O:xrmittee has investigated the
question of drivers
I
licen:::es for cars .
(MJtor cycle liceoces arrl heavy
vehicle licences will be matters addressed in later reports concerning
the various safety aspects relating to th:>se vehicles ) .
'!he l<i101e area of car drivers I
licences is one surroumed by
myth ar:rl vested interests .
'!here is in some sections of the community a popular belief that
the appropriate steps include ra is ing the rniniImlffi driving age , making all
new drivers umergo more intensive training ar:rl tougher tests ar:rl getting
senior citizen drivers off the reads .
"other " drivers safer .
'!his is meant to make those
- ii -
l'bt
sChoo ls
surprisingly
v.e.nt
O)UI"ses
optometrists
v.e.nt
some
of the proprietors o f
like their
more
own
compulsory
to be
eye
supp liers v.e.nt compulsory photograph s
an
advanced
driving
virtually compulsory,
tests
and
sorre
some
fhotographic
licences.
In this report the Committee has tried to disentangle myth from
reality
and
working.
road
recommend
proposals
whiCh
have
a
reaso nable
Chance
of
I t i s important to rerrember that like everything else funds for
sa fety are rnt
un limited.
avai lable for arnther .
M:mey spent
an one area is noney not
'!he oFPQrt unity cost o f any new measure is that
the noney spent an it could have instead been spent to further upgrade
en forcement of the compulsory seat belt rule or increase random b reath­
testing - t� safety rules l>.hiCh have bee n proven to �rk but whiCh 100%
of notorists do rnt yet abide by.
Consequently the
Comnittee has
tried
to
adopt
a
fairly tough
analytical awroaCh to the measures sug:rested in submissions to us rather
than
simply
recommend
the
intrcrluction
of
proposals
whiCh
might
be
popularly thought to be sensible .
I
the
am
all-party
pleased to say that in this nost comp lex and difficult area
S'mYSAFE
Committee
has
again
been
ab le
to
agree
unaninous recanrnerrlations.
Michael Knight, M . P .
Olairmm
on
I N D EX
Introduction.
1.
Recanmendations .
5.
1
The minimum licence age .
9.
2
The licence test .
19.
3
The learning experience .
29.
4
The provisiona.l licence (The
5
The liceoce form t ( incl. {:h>tographs ) .
43.
6
Traffic offences
49.
7
Treatment of casualties .
55 .
8
Retesting before licence renewals .
63.
9
Rehabi litation programrre s .
67.
Append i x .
71.
and
"p"
plate licence) .
enforcement of penalties .
37.
LIST OF
FIGURES
Fig . l :
Percentage of all driver casualt ies in each age
group ( m::> torcyclists exclude::l ) ; N . S .W. & S .A.
page 1 2 .
Fig . 2 :
Driver-pIus-motorcyclist age-specific crash rate
as percentage of average rate : S .A. 1981 .
page 14 .
Fig . 3 :
Casualty crash rate , * male car drivers only, N . S .W.
1982; by licence status arrl age .
page 16 .
Fig . 4 :
Casualty crash rate , * learner
female ) , N . S .W. 1982 .
page 34 .
Fig . 5 :
Time to die ; N .S .W. 1982 .
car
drivers (male
and
page 58 .
LIST OF
TlIBLES
page 11 .
Table 1 :
Driver casualties in three States.
Table 2:
Casualty rates of learner car drivers (male
female ) , N .S .W. 1982 .
Table 3 :
Serious offences .
Table 4:
J),llIEr it points ; recordings
am
Table 5 :
IJeIrerit points ; points
penalt ies.
am
page 32 .
page 50 .
am
page 52 .
pers:>ns .
page 5 3 .
In Afperrlix
Table Al :
Driver casualt ies (kille::l am injured ) by age , South
Australia 1981 am New South wales 1982 .
page 7 1 .
Table
Dr iver involvements in all recorde::l crashes, by age,
South Australia 1981 am New South wales 1982 .
page 7 2 .
Table A3:
Driver-pIus-motorcyclist crash rate per 100 licen:::e
holders; South Australia, 1981 .
page 7 3 .
Table A4 :
Casualty crash rates of
N . S .W. 1982 .
Table AS:
Casualty crash rates of stamard male
N . S .W. 1982 .
Table A6 :
Casualty crash rates of learner male car driver s ,
N . S .W. 1982 .
page 76 .
Table A7 :
Casualty crash rates of lean1er female
N . S .W. 1982 .
page 77 .
A2:
"p"
plate male
car
driver s ,
page 7 4 .
car
car
driver s ,
dr iver s ,
page 7 5 .
*FOOb'xlte : '!he term "casualty crash rate " s ignifies the number of
involvemants in crashes leading to the death or injury of any perocm , per
10 , 000 drivers in the group ll1'rler cons ideration .
- 1 -
DRIVER LICENS m:; AND rorill
CAR
SAFETY
JOINl' STANDING o::MU'ITEE
OF
'!HE PARLIlIMENI' OF
CAl
NEW
saJIH WALES
Wednesday, 17th March, 1982 , on a Notice of r.btion by the
Minister for Transport , the Hon::>urable P . F . Cox, M . P . ,
the Legislative
Assembly resolvErl 01
'!hat a Joint Stanling Col1lllittee be aRJQintErl to enquire into
and
report
upon
road
safety
in New South Wales
with
the
follCMing Terms of Reference :
(1)
As an ongoiD3 task , the Co!rani ttee is to (a)
nnn itor ,
investigate and report on the road safety
situatirn in New South Wales ;
and
(b)
review
and
reducing
report
deaths ,
on
co..mtermeasures
injuries,
and
the
aimed
social
at
and
ecorx>mic costs to the camnunity aris ing from road
accidents .
Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the
follCMing are to be given urgent consideration (i)
Countermeasures aimed at traffic accidents associated
with alcch:>l and other drugs .
(ii)
Traffic
law
effectiveness.
enforcement
measures
their
- 2 -
( ii i )
A
review
accidents,
of
human
factors
affecting
traffic
especially those relating to driver and
rider licensing requirements and standards .
(iv )
'!he social and economic impact of death and serious
and
debilitating
injuries
resulting
fram
traffic
accidents .
(v)
(2)
'!hat
Heavy vehicle safety .
suCh
Cbmmittee
consist
of
five
members
of
the
Legislative Assembly and three members of the Legislative
Council and that ,
notwithstanding anything conta ined in
the Standing Orders of either House, at any meeting of the
Committee ,
provided
any
that
five members
the
shall cons titute a quorum
Committee
shall
mee t
as
a
joint
camni ttee at all times.
(3)
'!hat Mr Jeimson, Mr O ' Neill , Mr Fischer , Mr Paciullo and
Dr Metherell be aw.>inted to serve on sudh Conuni ttee as
members of the Legislative Assembly .
(4)
'!hat the Conmittee have leave to sit during the sittings
or any adjournment of either or both Houses, to adjourn
fram place to place , to make visits of inspection within
the
State
of
New
South
Wales
other
and
States
and
Territories of Australia. "
Following
Ccuncil on Tuesday ,
agreement
to
30th MarCh ,
this
resolution
in
the Legislative
1982, the OJrmrittee - the first Joint
S1:Cirrling Committee ever aw.>inted by the Parliament of New South Wales \oJaS
established with the following merrbership '!he Honourable D . R. Burton , M.L.C.
'!he Honourable F . Calabro, M.L.C.
Mr T.A. Fischer , M.P.
'!he Honourable Dorothy Isaksen , M.L.C.
Mr A.V.P. Jeimson, M.P.
Dr T .A. Metherell, B.A. (H::>ns. ) , Dip . El::1 . ,
Ph . D . , M.T. C . P . , M . P .
Mr P . J . O ' Neill , M . P .
Mr G . Paciullo, M . P .
- 3 -
'!he a:xnmittee held its first meet ing on 200 April,
ela:::ted Mr G.
Paciullo as Clla i rman.
arii
'!his was the nembership of the
Catmittee throughout its inquiry into alcdlol , other drugs
arii
1982
road safety
an:l
was maintained through the present inquiry into driver licensing tmtil
the resignation of Mr Jdmson
the aFPOintment of Mr W.E. Robb, M . P . ,
an:l
on 18th Au:JUst, 1983 , in his place .
Cboourable G.
Knight , M.P. ,
'!hen, on 10th November ,
Paciullo was aFPOinted Minister for Roads
an:l
Mr
M. S .
aFPOinted a member of the Q:mnittee .
was
15th Noveni:>er ,
en
1983, the
1983,
the CbllInittee elected Mr Knight as
Clla irman, the membership of the Comm ittee then being : '!he Cboourable D . R. Burton, M.L.C.
'!he Honourable F. Calabro, M.L.C.
Mr T. FisCher , M.P.
'!he Hooourable Dorothy Isaksen, M.L.C.
Mr M.S. Knight, B .A. (fbns. ) , M . P .
Dr T .A. Metherell, B .A. (H::ns . ) , Dip . Ed . ,
Ph.D. , M.T.C. P . , M . P .
Mr P . J . O 'Neill, M . P .
Mr
W.E.
Roti>, M . P .
Having cx:ocluded its inquiry
arii
road safety,
canmittee took
traffic
arii
as
an:l
report
en
alcdlol , other drugs
traffic law enforcement measures related thereto, the
its next term of reference "'!he human factors affecting
accidents,
requirements
arii
especially
starrlards" ;
those
broadly,
relating
to
driver
driver licensing.
. • •
licensing
It has also
called for submissic:ns on rotorcycle safety but this will be the subject
of a separate report.
At its first meet ing after presenting its report on alcohol ,
other drugs
arii
road safety the Comm ittee decided to lodge advertisements
with the press throughout New South Wales
en
or near 1st February, 1983 ,
inviting su1.:tnissions from the p..tbl ic on all aspects of driver licensing
requirements
arii
standards
arii
this was accordingly done .
By 29th February, 1984, t� l'D.1rrlred
had been
received dealing with driver licens ing,
examined 33 witnesses,
report.
arii
fi fty-one su'bnissions
arii
the Comm ittee has
lists of Whan are included at the
end
of this
- 4 -
In anticipation of this inquiry the Conunittee inspected
Police Driver Training School at St Ives;
the Road Safety Instruction
Centre and the Vehicle InsPection Centre in Adelaide;
Traffic Authority in �lbourne;
Ibbart.
the
The Road Safety and
and the Division of lbad Safety in
Since then it has visited Brisbane, particularly the MoLmt Cotton
Driver Training Complex and the Brisbane City Council Training Complex.
It has held discussions with the Queensland Minister for Transport and
staff and proceeded by road back to Coffs Harbour, holding discussions
with Council representatives at
'!Weed
Heads, Ballina, Grafton and Coffs
Harbour .
The Comrndttee also visited Perth and Darwin holding discussions
with Police and licensing staff and viewing licensing procedures in both
cities.
The CoOOttee has raJ visited the capital cities of all States in
Australia.
Between 10th and 12th February, 1984, the Conunittee revisited
�lbourne and Hobart primarily in cormection with notorcycle safety, but
also took the oH?Ortunity to discuss driver licensing with Victorian and
Tasmanian authorities.
It has held discussions with the Director and the
Assistant Director of Road Safety of the Federal Department of Transport,
Canberra, particularly on the subject of graduated licensing and points
demerit systems.
The Conunittee also inspected the operations
of the
CaJmneray r-btor Registry and observed the retrieval of radio information
from licences and/or drivers I names from a Highway Patrol car.
From this great n1.lIlber of subnissions - 45 from professional
people in road safety matters and 206 from concerned citizens - fran the
33
witnesses
examined by the CoOOttee,
from the leading authorities
consulted throughout Australia, fran overseas research, fran on-the-spot
observations of licence procedures;
make reconunendations
road safety.
Organizations
numerous
The
aIrl
en
the Conunittee is raJ in a position to
hCM the driver licensing system can contribute to
CoOOttee
is
very
much
indebted
people who have contributed so helpfully;
to
all
these
they are too
to be listed here rut their involvement is recorded in the
Minutes of Proceedings of the Conunittee.
- 5 -
RECX:M-1ENDATICNS
The minimum licence age.
(1)
That the minil\UlIIl age for driving a car unaccanpanied in
N.S.W. remain at 17 years.
The licence test.
(2)
That
the
DMT
administered
test
for
car
drivers
remain
sUbstantially as it presently is.
(3)
That there be
IX)
requirement for any carxlidates to un1ertake
advanced driving training.
(4)
That
a::xnparative
the
Traffic
scientific
Accident
study
of
Research
driving
Unit
reoords
undertake
of
a
drivers
spcnsored by driving schools am those sponsored by friends am
relatives.
The learning experience.
(5)
That the minil\UlIIl age for holding a leamer' s permit for car
dri vers be reduced to 16 years 6 nonths.
(6)
Tha t a fixed minil\UlIIl perioo o f 3 nonths be introouced for the
holding of a learner' s permit iimnediately before a provisional
licence can be issued irrespective of age.
(7)
That a sponsorship system be introouced for learner drivers
urrler which a person with a minil\UlIIl of 4 years driving experience
is responsible for certifying that the learner has received certain
experiences.
(8)
That a sponsor can be either a paid driving instructor or an
unpaid friend or relative but that there be a penalty for wrongful
certification of the learner' s experience.
- 6 -
(9)
'lbat a proper harrlbcok for learners arrl sponsors be prcduce:J.
by the I:Ml'
am
that
certain
relevant learning
experiences be
prescribed including driving in heavy traffic, night driving
am
wet weather driving.
(10)
'lbat
a
log book
for
learners
to
record
their
learning
experience be prcduced by the I:Ml' .
(ll)
'lbat the
I:Ml'
maintain centralise:J. records of learners as they
already do with other categories of lic� holders.
The provisional licence.
(12)
'lbat the existing 12 month period be retaine:J. for provisional
licence holders.
(13)
'lbat failure to display a "P" plate be an offence attracting
3 demerit points.
(14)
'lbat "P " plate drivers be allowed to accumulate 4 points
without a mandatory 3 m:nths licence suspension.
(15 )
'!hat the existing absolute speed limit of 80 km/hr for
"p"
plate drivers be maintaine:J..
(16)
'!hat a Zero Blocrl Alcd10l Content rule be intrcduce:J. for "P"
plate drivers.
(17)
'lbat provisional licence holders be prchibited from towing
anything with their vehicles.
(18)
'lbat
fully
licensed
drivers
Who
presently
are
given
provisional licence because of accumulating demerit points
a
(but
without the normal provisional licence restrictions) be granted a
"probationary"
or
"corrlitional" licence to avoid confusion with
novice provisional licence holders.
- 7 -
'!he
licence format.
'!hat
(19)
tMI'
the
urgently
devise
a system
of proof of
identity
for people applying for and renewing driver's licences.
( 20 )
'!hat rore than one item of proof
be
necessary
to
authenticate
identity.
( 21)
'!hat all driver's licences in future
include a Fhotograp!1 of
the licen::e holder.
( 22 )
'!hat a central file of p!1otograIi1s of licence h:>lders
NOr be
maintained.
( 23 )
'!hat
a
colour
licence h:>lders
of
5
system
who
have
am
enforcement of penalties.
'!hat
tMI'
the
introduced
be
for
00 traffic off ences for a minimum period
review
maximum demerit points
'!hat
present
obviously
points
safety
system
related
to
include
offences,
for
a seatbelt.
an interdepartmental conmittee urgently examine simple
and effective
feasibility
the
for
to wear
example failure
( 25 )
incentive
years.
Traffic offences
( 24 )
coded
to
ways
of
not
collect
renewing
a
unpaid
traffic
driving
fines
licence
including
tmless
the
outstanding
fines are paid in full.
Treatment of casualties.
( 26 )
That the
citizens
as
a
tMI'
encourage the teaChing of basic First Aid
general
social benefit
oot
simply
related
to
to
all
rotor
vehicle crashes.
( 27 )
'!hat
the
tMI' han:fuook be
revised
to
upgrade
the First
Aid
informati01 ccntained in it.
( 28 )
'!hat
the Governmen t
Samaritan Act"
to
done in go::rl faith.
investigate
ir:demnify
the
introduction
ordinary citizens
for
of a
first
aid
"Good
acts
- 8 -
Retesting before licence renewals.
( 29 )
'!hat there be
change i n the present age at which an
ro
applicant must pass a medical and an optical test (80 years ) before
a licence is renewed .
( 30 )
'!hat the age at which a practical driving test is required
before a licence can be renewed be the same age as for the optical
and nedical tests ( L e .
( 31 )
That
suspensioo
new
80
years ) .
applicants
of a previous
for
a
licence
licence
rot be
following
subjected
loss
or
to arother
practical driving test .
( 32 )
'!hat
new
applicants
for
a
licence
following
loss
or
suspension of a previous liceral have to pass a knowledge test
before Obtaining a new licence .
Rehabilitation progranmes .
( 33 )
'!hat
a
controlled
experiment
behaviour of drink drivers along
Bartley, S.M. , and Mr M.
Baker
the
attempting
to
change
the
lines proposed by Mr R.J .
be cx:rxlucted .
- 9 -
ClIAPI'ER
1
'!HE MINIMtM LICENCE AGE
(1)
That
the
17
years.
N.S. W. remain at
1 .1
•
minirnt.ml
age
for
driving a
lmacrompanied
car
in
'!HE PRESENI' SYSI'EM
1 .1 . 1 .
to
(subject
Transport
M:>tor
for
Commissioner
The
Governmen t
direction) is the authority in New South Wales responsible for driver and
rrotor
cyclist
Regulations.
carrlidates
licensing,
as
set
out
to
pass
eyesight,
krxJwledge
prescribed criteria for medical fitness
1.1.2.
When
application
is
Act but it is
years
in
the
M:>tor
Traffic
His Department operates a licensirg sd1.erne
before
a
driver
is
ready
made for this.
rormal
being
for
and
for
There
drivers
tested.
and
is
tests,
practical
no minimtnn
are
and
to
and
for
meet
age.
a
to have
There
driving
Act
Which calls
to
no
driving
age
test,
specified
an
in
the
wait until they are aged
special
Commissiooer to issue licences to yo..mger drivers.
provisions
for
17
the
Upon passing the test
the driver is issued with a Provisional IJ cenc e Which allows solo driving
for the first time on a public street.
1 .1 . 3 .
The
Wales is
17
ranges from
cootext
usual
years;
16
minirnt.ml
on
in other States
means
I
learner s
penni ts
16
there
restrictions
are
special
In
driver
South
years
is
9 IOCI1ths
Australia
on
this
licensing
of Australia the usual
" licensed
States, usually fran
licensing.
o f car
years in South Australia to
"licensing"
supervision
age
to
18
New
drive
at
earlier
in New South Wales.
drivers
termed
in
their
In this
Driving
solo".
South
licensing age
years in Victoria.
penni tted
is
in
ages
under
in
some
In rrost States
first
"probationary
Whilst in New South Wales the term is " provisicnal licensing".
year
of
licensing"
- 10 -
1 . 1 .4.
IlOSt
I n New South Wales there is sane oontroversy over What is the
awropriate age to drive unaccx:xnpanied in a rotor car.
have been plt to the Cbmmittee that
Arguments
the road toll would be reduced by
increasing the minimum driving age.
'!hese arguments are invariably put by
people Who already hold licences.
Not surprisingly, many younger people
yet to acquire licences advocate a reduction of the minimum driving age.
'!hose people arguing for a higher driving age tend to couch
1.1 .5.
their
arguments
in
terms
of
reducing
accidents
am.
hence
driving
age
tend
deaths
am.
injuries.
1.1.6.
'!hose
arguments
favouring
Who
SUfPOI"t
increased
a
reduced
freedan,
less
restriction
to
on
rely
on
employment
CJHX)I"tunities am an assertien that younger people are o:xnpetent to drive
am. no more inherently dangerous than their elders.
1 . 1 . 7.
'!he
lobby
for
increasing
the
driving
age
is
ccnsiderably
strenger am better able to marshall its arguments than the lobby for a
reductien
in the minimum age.
'!he fact that the former are voters While
the latter are usually well below voting age is not
something that is
likely to be inccnsequential to governments of either political conplexion.
1 . 1 .8.
More importantly, the fact that the arguments for an increased
driving age are couched in terms of safety means that they must be given
special attention by the S'mYSAFE Committee.
1 .2
•
1.2.1.
'mE E.VIDEN:E
It is very likely that
a Change in the minimum driving age
would have a significant effect on the total n\Jlllber of road crashes am.
road deaths in New South Wales.
1.2.2.
At the very least an increase in the minimum age would reduce
the number of drivers on New South Wales roads.
For example, a raising of
the minimum age to 18 would reduce the number of licensed drivers in New
South Wales by 35,589.
It is not possible to say exactly haol many crashes
would be "avoided" by this method.
We
oould expect that the 3.7% of all
casualty crashes WhiCh 17 year old drivers are involved in would no longer
occur but we do not kn::>w What effect this would have en the 18 year old
rate When that became the first year of driving 0010.
- 11 -
Similarly the arbitrary rellOval of any age group would reduce
1.2.3.
the road toll simply by having less drivers
on
the road.
For example the
arbitrary disqualification of all 30 year old drivers fram the road should
result in the 2.1% of casualty crashes they are involved in also being
avoided.
Certainly New South Wales would have a l�r road toll if all
people over 40 or all people under 40 were banned from driving.
ban
Indeed
a
on private IlOtor vehicles would dramatically reduce the road toll.
1.2.4.
'!he central issue in the licence age controversy is n:Jt whether
the total volume of crashes can be reduced by increasing the minimum
driving age but whether 17 year olds are inherently IlOre dangerous than 18
year olds or 19 year olds.
Table 1 shc1.oJs for the year 1981 the percentage of all driver
casualties* that occurred in four age groups. D3.ta is presented for three
1.2.5.
States having different licensing ages.
'!he influence of licensing age is
seen in the fact that cnly 0.2 per cent of driver casualties in Victoria
occu rred in the urrler-17 year age group, with a minimum licensing age of
18 years; whereas in South Australia, with a licensing age of 16 years,
2.9 per cent of driver casualties were in the urrler-17 year old group.
Table 1:
STATE
LICERlING
l\GE
Driver casualties in three States
DRIVER O\SUALTIES* (KIILED AND INJURED)
t.kxler 17
17/ 20
21/ 25
Over 25 y.o.
S.A.
16
2.9%
20.7%
18.0%
58.4%
N.S.W.
17
0.4%
20.6%
20.0%
59.0%
VIC.
18
0.2%
18.7%
20.9%
60.2%
N.B. M:>tor cyclists excluded in above.
-
Fig.l:
Percentage of
gr oup
,2
-
all driver c asualties in each
(motorcyclists excluded);
S .A.
age
N . S . W . & S .A .
P E A K 6.3% A T A G E 18 Y E A R S
6
P E AK 5.7% A T A G E 19 Y E AR S
5
PER
4
CENT
-
3
S . A . 1981
2
I
16
17
18
19
20
AGE
21
22
23
24
YEARS
2S
- 13 -
Detailerl results could be obtainerl readily for South Australia
It can be seen that the
am New South Wales, as shown in Figure 1.
Australia was arrong the
South
highest proportion of driver casualties in
1.2.6.
18 year aIds Who had 6.3 per cent of all driver casualties. In New South
Wales, with a one year higher licensing age, the peak occurrerl one year
later,
am:JI1g the
Similar results \'.ere found with numbers of involvements in
casualties.
crashes.
am
19 year aIds who had 5.7 per cent of all driver
The peak involvement was arrong 18 year aIds in South Australia
arrong 19 year aIds in New South Wales.
in the Appenjix, Tables Al
am
(Detailerl results may be found
A2).
.South Australia has publisherl "accident involvement of drivers
riders per 100 licenserl drivers arrl riders". In Figure 2 (am in
1.2.7.
arrl
Table A3)
these data are s'l1aom in canparative form with the average
accident rate for all drivers
arrl
for various ages plotterl above
riders shown as 100 per cent
am
below the average.
arrl
rates
Once again it is
the 18 year aIds in South Australia Who had the highest crash rate of 188
per cent of the average that is, a rate of 13.7 crashes per 100 drivers
am
riders,
o:mparerl with the average of 7.3.
people Crl learner I s permits.
All these data include
Similar data canno t be computerl for New
South Wales with any accuracy because there is
breakdown of learners by age
am
rot
available a detailed
type of vehicle.
The data for young
people in South Australia could be criticiserl for not taking into account
the arrount of driving/riding dCrle by learners as carpared with licensed
persons.
1.2.8.
Nevertheless,
the
South
Australian
data
indicates
tw:>
conclusioos First, that South Australian drivers agerl less than 23 years
have higher crash rates than the group aged more than 23.
8eccnj ,
that crashes
am
casualties aH?E2r to be less probable
with increasing age ooly after the secorrl year of licensing.
The
crash
rates
increasing age.
for
teenagers
actually
got
w:>rse
with
- 14 -
Fig.2:
Driver-pIus-motorcyclist age-specif ic crash
as percentage of
200
average rate;
S.A.
S.A. PEAK 188% AT AGE 18 YEARS
PER
100
4-________ AVERAGE__________-+_
CENT
o
1981.
Ulder
1 6 16
I
17
18
19
20
21
AGE
22
23
24 2 5
YEARS
rate
- 15 -
'!he data presented aOOve is, however, complicated by the fact
1.2.9.
that
the drivers listed
nay have been
learners,
oolders, or oolders of standard licences.
provisional licence
'!his suggests that age effects
should be studied in drivers all having the same licence status.
problem
is
that
proper
crash
rates
ccntrolled for type of vehicle driven
N.S.W. CASUALTY
1.3.
1.3.1.
Casualty
injury-producing
figures
N:>
be
STATlE
(that
studied,
Another
preferably
AND AGE
is,
been
licence status having
cases by investigating ,PJlice.
involvements
in
supplied by the Traffic
been
determined in most
central record is, however, kept of
the
age of learners with permits, although the Department of r-btor.
arrl
Trans,PJrt is in the process of compiling one.
the nurrbers, ages
arrl
to
for the sex of the driver.
in fatal crashes) have
Authority for learners,
number
am
BY LIaNa!:
CRASH RATES
crash
am
need
1983.
arrl
sex of
"p"
'!he Department has supplied
plate provisional licensees for both 1982
'!he 1983 figures have been used to indicate the probable
nurrbers of learners during 1982 when, of course, they w:>uld have
been
one
year younger.
1.3.2.
For
in Figure 3.
simplicity only the nale car driver crash rates are shown
'!he bottom curve slools that crash rate increased fran the
youngest learners to the older mes. Although the small mmbers of people
in the 23
and
24 age groups explain the erratic curve (see Table A6), the
large number (3, 356) of nale
considerable
car
driver learners aged over 25 years allows
a::nfidence to be felt about their high crash rate of 75
casualty crashes per 10, 000 learners, far aOOve the rate of 31 experienced
by 17 year olds.
A sanewhat similar pattern is shown by the crash rates
for female car driver learners as can be seen by the data in Table A7;
the crash rates for
1.3.3.
women
are, however, lower than for men.
Alth0U3h the Department supplied separate figures for
oolders having provisional driving
licences,
licence
arrl
provisional
"
P"
motor-cycle
plate
riding
this separatim is of limited value because the oolder of a
to
drive
(for
example)
is
rot
required
to
go
through
provisional phase again after passing a learner I s test as a rider;
the
thus
many first year riders ride m full riding licences without restrictions
on speed etc., because they previously held licences to drive a
car .
It
- 16 -
1982;
400
~
/
'i
v.
a::
crash
Casualty
Fig.3:
0
>
\
�STANDARD PEAK
I
I
�
\
o
200 -+----
100
'�t-�d
\ /
\/
o
0-°",
00=9/
Lhoer
16
16
/
"tY -<:f"
�,.
I
I
I
I
17
18
19
20
AGE
AT
b
A GE
21
/
/<>
I
22
19
YEARS
\
-_
\
\
-1----
VJ
LLJ
:r
VI
<:
ex:
u
o
i\
269
/
\�
I
o
-+-
\
I
o
o
o
N.S.W.
only,
\
I
300 -+---
car drivers
__
I
�
male
/_"_PL_A _T_ E_P_EA_K_3t-_9 _9 A_T_A _G_E_l_8_Y_E_AR_S
I
LLJ
rate,
by licence status and age.
b--
_ -0
1
�EARNER PEAK 81 AT
/ \AGE 23 YEARS
---0
\
<>- -
\
'd
/
/
(Ner
23 24
25
YEARS
25
- 17 -
seems, however, that
have
of
fram
oome
crashes
and
contrary may rot be the case; few drivers will
the
ranks of licensed riders; so, for drivers, a comparison
the
licence
numbers
(Many drivers may,
realistic.
of
provisional
hc:1,o,oever,
have had
drivers
past
is
fairly
experience as
unlicensed riders).
1.3.4.
Provisional licences are issued in New South wales to full
licensees as a penalty, as well as to novice drivers and riders.
statistics fram police
do
not differentiate between the tl'.D,
Crash
probably
because they are both titled "Provisional M::>tor Vehicle Driver s Licence"
I
and can
and
be distinguished mly by a small ccxJe (lOP for "P" plate holders
10Pl for those
wh::>
to make a separation,
have
In an attempt
penalised for offences).
been
the Cc:tnmittee
obtained
data
on stated driving
experience for most
of the provisional drivers involved
crashes during 1982.
Those claiming less
assumed to be
"p"
plate drivers,
than
one year of experience were
those claiming rrore
and
were asst.nned to be mostly offenders.
in casualty
than
tl'.D years
Those in the 1 to 2 year category
were split in proportim between the tl'.D groups.
1.3.5.
plate
'!he top grafh in Figure 3 shows the crash rates for male "P"
car
drivers for 1982 (Table M).
213 casualty crashes per 10, 000
"p"
'!he crash rate rises fram a laN of
plate drivers at age 16 years, to a
maximum of 399 at age 18, then falls erratically to 169 for drivers aged
rrore
than
25, slightly belaN the rate for 16 year olds.
1.3.6.
'Ib
passed the
"p"
complete
the
plate stage
picture,
and can
crash rates for drivers
be said to be
01
years.
and
have
standard licences, are
also presented in Figure 3 as the central curve (Table AS).
laN of 91 crashes per 10, 000 drivers at age 17
wh::>
'!his shaNs a
a high of 269 at age 19
'!he rate for the over-25 group is 83, slightly belaN the rate for
17 year olds.
1. 3.7.
'!he
data
in Figure
3 has significant implications for the
question of age and driving. Certainly the 1982 New South Wales casualty
crash rates shaN that as a wlnle young male "p" plate and standard licence
drivers do worse
very similar.
than
older drivers.
'!he conclusim for female drivers is
- 18 -
<A1 the
1 . 3 .8 .
aRJear
to
be
Alternatively
1982 data for males a minimum driving age of 25 would
(so
safest
a
minimun
loog
age
of
as
they
20 for
learnt
plate
"P"
standard licence holders seems appreciably safer than
1 . 3 .9 .
However,
the
Caranittee
believes
that
the
as
24
year
drivers
and
oldsl) .
21 for
17 , 18 or 19 .
enornous
social
and
employment repercussions of sudh a drastic increase in the minimum driving
age would not be acceptable
1 . 3 .10.
to
the people of New South wales .
O f greater significance
to
the JIDre
the minimum driving age should be increased from
18 year old
"P"
plate
drivers are
rates are concerned) than
even worse
CXlIlIOCt'l argument of whether
17 to 18 is the fact that
(so far as casualty crash
17 year old "P" plate drivers .
starrlard licence holders are even worse than
And 19 year old
18 year old staOOard licence
bJlders .
1 . 3 . 11 .
For this reason the Ccmnittee OOes not believe that an increase
in the minimum driving age can be justified and it cxnsequently recaranerds
no dlange .
H::A«!ver, it is ccncerned about the bad casualty crash rates of
younger licence bJlders and deals with
this serious problem in later chapters .
s:me measures
to
attempt
to
tackle
- 19 -
'!HE LICENCE
TES"I'
�ATI(N;:
'lllat the Department of M;)tor Transport (rMr) administered
(2)
test for car drivers remain sUbstantially as it presently is.
(3)
'lllat
there
be
requirement
no
for
any
caroidates
to
undertake advanced driving training.
(4) 'lllat
the
Traffic
Accident
ResearCh
Unit
undertake
a
cx:mparative scientific study of driving records of drivers sponsored by
driving sdxx>ls am. those sponsored by friems am. relatives.
2.1.
'!HE
2.1.1.
� TES"I'
As menticned in Cllapter 1, the I:MI' administers basic eyesight,
krn.r1edge am. driving tests for new applicants for
a driving licence.
Every awlicant for a learner I s penni t is required to pass a knowledge
test of the road rules before
aw1ying
to
renew
a
licence
the
after
permit
a
is
lapse
iSSUed.
of
2
As well people
years
or
rore,
am.
applicants for a New South Wales li� woo b:>ld ooly licences issued
overseas, must pass a kt'nl 1edge test.
2.1.2.
The
questicns
00
knowledge
the
road
test
rules.
is
made
of
up
Seventeen
twenty
questions
multiple
must
be
dhoice
answered
correctly to adhieve a pass.
2.1.3.
Four
versicns in English of the test are provided at testing
locaticns to minimise the possibility of awlicants krn.ring in
advance
whidh test paper am. whidh set of answers will aChieve a pass.
As well,
two versiCtlS are provided in Italian,
Serbian,
Croatian,
Vietnamese,
Turkish
am.
Greek,
Arabic.
Polish,
The
Spanish,
awlicant
himself
or
- 20 -
herself chcoses which language to be tested in .
When an awl icant claims
rnt to be able to read any of the available languages , the kna.o.r1edge test
administered
is
orally
by
a
Departmental
officer
p:ipers
based
or
an
authorised
interpreter .
2 . 1 . 4.
The
contained
in the Department ' s futor Tra f fic Handbook .
knc:Aol1edge
test
are
on
the
infonnation
At Departmental
futor Registries knc:Aol1edge tests are conducted at counter booths which are
in:1ividually screened fran each other .
driver
examiners
supervise
Dep:irtmenta1 clerical officers or
aw1icants .
There
is
no
time
completion of the test rut 10 minutes is generally sufficient .
limit
on
The futor
Tra ffic Handbook cannot be used by aw1icants during the test .
2.1.5.
App licants must sign the knowledge test p:iper before commencing
the test .
The examiner or clerical officer supervising the test must also
sign for the p:iper's issue .
paper ,
Fbllowing completirn an:1 marking of the test
the awlicant must sign the test paper again.
During the perioo
between providing his two signatures rn the test paper , the applicant is
kept un:1er constant supervisirn.
2 . 1 .6 .
than
AJ:plicants failing the knowledge test , that is answering less
17 questions correctly, may re-take the test a fter two days .
cases a different test p:iper is administered .
In such
App l icants failing to pass
all papers in a set may continue to take the test by attenpting the papers
again in the same sequence .
2 . 1 .7.
A review of the adequacy an:J
fairness of the knowledge test
papers has been conducted by the Traj:fic Authority's
Research Unit for rMl'
•
Generally,
Tra ffic Accident
the S'mYSAFE Cbmmi ttee believes that
there is a aontinuing role for the kna.o.r1edge test although it may need
same fine tuning as a result of the T.hRU review .
2.2
•
'mE EYESIGm' TEST
2.2.1.
The rMl' administers an eyesight test for all new aw1icants for
a licence or permit, and for people renewing a fter the lapse of a previous
l icence .
Spectacles or aontact lenses may be worn during the. test but
then the licence is issued rn the con:1itirn that they are always worn when
driving .
- 21 -
2 . 2. 2.
For a class 1 or class 2 li� the vision standards are as
fo11011s:
OF A
PRE.VlotB LICENCE
RENEW\L AFTER lAPSE
ORIGINAL LICENCE
CIASS
1
2
2.2.3.
6/12 or better with either
6/18 or better with either
eye or both eyes together.
eye or both eyes together.
6/9 or better with ene eye,
6/18 or better with the
6/12 or better with one eye,
6/24 or better with the other
other eye , with a binocular
vision of 6/9 or better.
6/12 or better.
eye, with binocular visien of
The eyesight test awlied at Departmental M::>tor Registries is
conducted using a device with a different Snellen test chart en four sides
of an illumirn.ted box.
It is generally housed urrler a counter
an::l
read
fran a mirror Which reflects the image to the applicant standing at the
counter
an::l
provides the required sight distance.
fran test to test
The device is rotated
the light is turned off, or the device is covered
an::l
I
when it is rot in use so as to reduce the owortunity for can::lidates to
memorise
the letters.
2.2.4.
Naturally visien plays an inportant part- in safe driving.
A
blim person, for example, would find safe driving extremely difficult.
Ha.'>'ever,
the
research
evidence
on
what
degree
of
visual
imp:l.irment
actually impairs driving is equivocal.
2.2.5.
Investigators
Who
task (e.g., R.W. Cumning 1964
have attempted an analysis of the driving
and
P.O. Moore 1969) have noted that vision
is the main sense by which the driver gathers inforroatim about the
exterrn.l environment.
en
between visual abilities
the other
an::l
hand ,
IlOst studies of the relationship
involvement in crashes either have fourrl only
a very small correlatien or have failed to s11o,y that the correlation was
statistically different from zero (P.O. D3.vison 1978) .
a paradox.
This ar:pears to be
If visual informatien is inportant to driving then it appears
that driving with px>r visien should be particularly hazardous.
supported by reports from crash-involved drivers
not see the object with Which they collided.
Who
This is
state that they did
(D.G. Saffron 1981).
- 22 -
2.2 .6.
This
OJllege
of
aHJClrent
paradox
OfhthalJrologists
Australian House
The R.A.C.O.
was
(1978)
examined by the Royal Australian
in
a
written
submission
to
the
of Representatives Starrling OJrnmi ttee en Road Safety.
took as their example a driver reporting to investigating
police that he did not see the IlOtorbike with which he oollided.
The
R.A.C.O. said that this oould be due to ene or IlOre of the follCMing:-
(a)
The driver was not looking or not paying attention, or was
ooncentrating on something else�
(b)
The driver's visien was obstructed�
(c)
'!he driver had defective visien�
(d)
The IlOtorbike arrl its rider were not visible�
(e)
In
some
cases studied, a driver had manoeuvred his vehicle
into the path of a ootorcycle because he misjudged its
speed
or
direction
extremely
high
of
travel.
acce�eration
c:amnent
upon
the
manoeuvrability
of
(A
arrl
ootorcycles, in ccntrast to cars, am oore particularly in
ccntrast to trucks am buses).
'!he
2.2.7.
Representatives,
R.A.C.O.
(1978),
cx::ncluded:
in
their
submission
to
the
lbuse
of
"'!he opinion of this OJllege is that while
adequate vision is necessary for driving,
it is
oot
necessary to
see
exceptionally well to drive conpetently".
A host of research studies have looked at various aspects of
2.2.8.
vision sum as "static visual acuity", "dynamic visual acuity", "lateral
field vision",
"m:nocular
"depth perception",
blirrlness".
slllli
lIlaI sed as follCMS:
The
"oolour vision",
general
outcx::rne
of
"night vision"
these
studies
people with eyesight defects tend to
can
arrl
be
compensate
for these in their driving am are oot in IlOSt cases IlOre accident prone
than
other drivers.
In th::>se cases Where
there may be a
relationship
between particular eye defects am accidents the nuni:>ers involved are too
small
to
justify
the
huge
inccnvenience
arrl
expense
subjecting all drivers to a battery of complex eye tests.
of
regularly
- 23 -
In the cirCllIlStances, the Cbmmittee believes that it is IroSt
2.2.9.
---
awropriate
to
ccntinue
eliminates
those
with
potential
the
present
drivers
simple
whose
eyesight
visien
is
test
which
unquestionably
inadequate.
2.3.
'!HE
PRACI'ICAL DRIVING TEST
2.3.1.
some
For
years
there
has
been
ccnsiderable
surrounding the operation of the basic driving test.
centred
en
ccntroversy
This controversy has
First, whether the test is awlied fairly to
tI'.D major issues.
all applicants or whether some are given special consideration for any
reason including bribery.
2.3.2.
This
first
area
of ccntroversy has been
the
subject
of
an
inquiry by Mr Lewer, S.M., an1 subsequent Government action the details of
which are beyorD the scope of the S'mYSAFE Committee.
SUffice to say that
the Corrunittee feels the need for constant vigil� in this area.
2.3.3.
The
seccnj
area
of ccntroversy is
whether
or
not
a
fairly
administered DMT p ractical driving test is an awropriate one.
2.3.4.
It
isolatien
fran
is
inpossible
the
to
discuss
of wh:> should
issue
this
team
irrportant
learners
question
and
whether
in
a
collectien of techniques CCIIlIOCI'lly krx:Jwn as advanced driver training makes
for safer drivers.
2.3.5.
If
advanced
driver
training
techniques
deJOC)nstrated to make drivers significantly less
can
be
clearly
likely to have crashes
then any Government must consider the possibility of introducing a driving
test
which
rec;!Uires
teaches them.
these
skills
an1
a
driver
training
system
which
If they cannot be clearly deIOCl1strated to have significant
safety benefits,
then
any Government
should
rot
make possessing
these
skills a requirement to obtain a driving licence.
2.4.
ADVJ\NCED
2.4.1.
DRIVER
It is
row
TRAINING
AND
SAFEIY -
IS '!HERE A LINK?
a well establishErl fact that the predaninant factor
in driver-related road crashes is the am:x.mt of attention given by the
driver to the task of driving.
Lack of manipulatiVe skill is rarely an
- 24 -
important factor in road crashes although there may be sane individual
cases where a crash may have been either avoided or reduced in severity by
particular skills.
different.
<Xl
the race track the situation is of course very
There all of the cars are travelling in the one direction with
speed being the primary aim:
2.4 . 2.
there skill is all important.
Most of the mechanical aspects of the driving task are very
simple arrl are easily learned by young children.
For exanple, most young
children can arrl do steer toys aroum the rocm without hitting anything,
even before they can walk or talk.
2. 4 . 3 .
those
The aspects of th e driving task that are difficult to learn are
concerned
with
the
road
include
the
perception of speed arrl adjustment of speed to suit the environment;
the
and
environment.
'!hese
perception of gaps in the traffic and selection of overtaking manoeuvres;
arrl the simultaneous divisioo of attention between different parts of the
environment - between a pedestrian and a truck for example.
2. 4. 4.
These perceptual aspects are ro t ooly difficult t o learn but
they b econe more difficult for the b rain to process, when the driver is
tired, or worried by rosiness or danestic problems, or driving umer the
influence of even quite small amounts of alcd1ol.
It is difficult to see
how these perceptual factors can be assisted by advanced training, unless
this produces the same benefits as are gained fran the rormal learning
experience over many years of driving in traffic.
In 1976 the U.S.A. Federal Government decided to make a "last
2 . 4 . 5.
ditch"
attempt
training.
Georgia.
stated
to
produce
'!hey let a U)
an
effective
$6 Millioo
progranune
contract
to
of
a
improved
driver
group in Atlanta,
'!he U.S.A. 's Naticnal Highway and Traffic Safety Administration
that
the future of fuming
driver
education
depended
upon the
progranune producing at least 15 per cent fewer traffic violations and at
least 10 per cent fewer crashes for students Who completed the course,
canpared with students in a cootrol group Who did rot attempt the course.
2 . 4 . 6.
analysis
'!he
new
training
sdleme
was
carlucted by McKnight wlx>se
based
awroach
00
the
was
well
1m:::Mn
task
to ask professicnal
driving instructors what were the critical elements of a driver training
course.
In the Atlanta scheme, after a few h:>urs
got into a car and drove alooe
00
00
a simulator, pupils
a special training area fenced off from
- 25 -
the public.
helpers
'!hey were IOClIlitored by radio fran a control �r with two
an
the
ground.
'!he
aim
was
to
accelerate
the
Up to 3 0 cars with pupils were
experien:::e in handling a car.
gaining
en
of
the track
at any me time.
2. 4 . 7.
6, 0 0 0 did a conventional driver training course,
the new Special Course,
curl
6, 0 0 0 did
18, 000 pupils were involved in this experiment:
Saoo
6, 000 were given
'!he three groups were matched
formal training.
00
At the end of the
for sex, socia-economic status curl for school grades.
experiment the following results were obtained:
(a)
Special
Course
pupils
acquired
IlOre knowledge
than
the
others.
(b)
Ma.le p.lpils performed better on the Special Course
than
did females.
(c)
'!here
was
difference
00
between
the
three
groups
for
traffic violations, both for men and women.
(d)
'!here was 00 difference between the three groups for crash
frequency, again both for men curl women .
2. 4. 8 .
In
other
\'oOrds,
the
best,
IOClSt
thoroughly
evaluated
study
s� that people with m:>re intensive and advanced driver training are no
less likely to have accidents than other similar drivers Who den ' t have
that training.
2 . 4 . 9.
Saoo
other studies have suggested that drivers Who undertake
m:>re advanced training may actually be less safe
increase
attitude:
in
tedhnical
they
think
skills
their
may
extra
invulnerable an the p.lblic roads.
be
offset
skill
as
by
makes
a
result.
'!heir
a
deterioratien
them
invincible
Highly skilled
in
and
(on the race track)
drivers have been sloom to have poorer crash records on the road than
oormal drivers.
concluded
that
crash-avoidance
Williams
the
&
O 'Neill
assumption
tedhniques
can
( 1974)
that
be
carried
advanced
transferred
out
the
driver
into
experience was oot proven by the facts they encountered.
study and
education
reduced
crash
- 26 -
2 . 4 . 10 .
Early in his evidence to the Committee,
test had
proficiency
D3.vies,
J.W.
TransfOrt,
futor
43 1)
(page
said
rothing to
the Commissioner for
taking the
that
emfhasis
in
his
was
submission
on m:>tivation
driver
rot
an
He said that the
afPlicant for a licence was going to be a safe driver.
whole
or
Whether
with predicting
do
behaviour
and
of
He said that there was rothing to sUfPOrt the fOpular view that
dri vers.
if you had tougher licensing you w::> uld have fe\'oer accidents on the roads.
There was ro evidence that the test was a safety measure.
2. 4. 11 .
It w::>uld seem that the so-called "driver proficiency test" is
nothing
of
the
justifiable
as
sort
a
but
basis
that
of
its
a:ntinuance
providing
a
might
nevertheless
dem:>nstration
of
be
minimum
manipulative skill.
2. 5 .
'!HE
2. 5 . 1.
lis the
\'oe
here
DRIVING TEST AND DRIVER TRAINING
are
preceding secticn has sl'nm the mechanical skills
talking
about the
"mechanics"
ability to turn the steering wheel,
of the
driver,
apply the brakes,
(and
his or her
change gear etc.)
needed for driving are fairly basic and able to be mastered � almost all
citizens.
(Many
disabled people
for
example
can
master
the necessary
skills provided special modifications are made to their vehicles).
2. 5 . 2 .
'!he acquisition o f IIOre complex tedmical skills does rot of
itself make scmecne a safer driver.
Irxleed sane drivers have actually
becane less safe after improving their tedmical skills when there has
been
a corresponding deterioraticn in attitude.
2. 5 .3 .
For these reaSCllS the Comm ittee does rot recormnend a "tougher"
driving test or a test for which sane advanced driver training would be a
virtual
pre-requisite
for
passing.
'!he
existing
DMT
test
of
basic
mechanical skill to operate a m:> tor vehicle remains the IlOSt afPropriate
one.
2.5.4.
It DDlSt be stressed that the existing DMT test does rot sort
out safe drivers fran unsafe drivers.
It merely eliminates
that small
percentage of people tmable to master the mechanical skills to operate a
IIO tor
car
and delays
sane
impetuous learners
who
licence test before they have mastered th:>se skills.
limited value rut sane value rx:ne the less.
sit
for
their
first
As such the test has
- 27 -
'1l1e IlPre de manding driving tests provide no better guide to
2. 5 . 5 .
sorting out safe drivers
fr om unsafe drivers
larger allocation of both publi c
and
private resour ces .
developed a battery of ps ychologi cal tests
aim
and
yet they involve a
to
much
So far no-one has
reliabl y achieve a similar
the ve ry subjective nature of s uch tests makes the developnent of
an acceptable test hard
2. 5 . 6.
to
imagine.
Similarly, there is no evidence to s uggest that drivers taught
by ordinary driving s chJols have a better r eoord
friends or relatives.
aren ' t safer either I
than
those
taught by
However , there is no evidence to s uggest that the y
'lb
put it bluntly, in New South Wales there is
no
collected evidence which would i ndi cate whether there is an y di fferen ce or
not.
�. 5 . 7.
For
this
reason
the Committee
recanmerrls
that the Traffi c
Accident Research Unit undertake a a:>mparative stud y whi ch might shed some
light
00
this area of controversy.
The pr ocess
for
certi fi cation of
learners r ecommerrled in the ne xt chapter should help the
generate the relevant data.
IMl'
and
T ARU
- 28 -
REFERENCES FOR
CEAPTER
2
R.W. ctM-1ING (1964) , The analysis of skills of driving,
Aust. Road Res. 1964,
P.A.
D�VlSON
I,
pp. 4-14.
(1978 ) , The role of drivers' vision in road safety,
Ligh�ing Res. and Tech. , 1978, 10, pp. 125-13 9.
R.L.
MOORE
(1969) ,
Some
human factors affecting the design of
vehicles and roads, J. Inst. Hwy. Eng.13, 1969, 16, pp. 13- 22.
R.A.C.O. (1978 ) , Submission to the House of Representatives
Standing Conunittee on Road Safety, Roy. Aust. College of
ophthalmologists, Feb. 1978 .
D.C.
SAFFRON
(1981) , The vision test for drivers' licences in
the light of the Australian Optometrical Association's
re<XllIlIllendations, N.S.W. Traffic Autoority, 'mRlJ Res. Note
RNI3/ 81, Dec . 1981.
A.F.
WILLIAM:i and B.
O'NEIT..oL (1974) , On-the-road driving records
of licensed car drivers.
1974, 6, pp. 263- 270 .
Accident Analysis and Prevention,
- 29 -
CHAPI'ER
'!HE
LFARNm3
3
EXPERIENCE
RECXM-1ENDATlOOS :
(5)
car
That the minimum age for oolding a leamer's pennit
fo�­
drivers be reduced to 16 years 6 IOC1t1ths.
(6) That a fixed minimum period of 3 m::mths be introduced
fo'­
the holding of a learner's permit immediately before a proyisiona1 licEnc,·
can be issued irrespective of age.
( 7)
That
a
sponsorship
system
be
introduced
for
learner
drivers under whidh a person with a minimum of 4 years driving experienc€
is
resfOl1sib1e
for certifying that
the learner has
received certain
experiences.
( 8)
That a sponsor
can
be either a paid driving instructor or
an unpaid friend or relative but that there be a penalty for wrongful
certification of the leamer's experience.
( 9)
That
produced by the
IMI'
a
proper harrlbok
o
am
for
learners
and
sponsors be
that certain relevant learning experiences be
prescribed including driving in heavy traffic,
night driving
and
wet
weather driving.
(10) That a log beck for learners to record their learning
experierce be produced by the
(11) That the
IMI'
IMI' .
maintain centralised records of learners as
they already do with o� categories of licerce oolders.
- 30 -
3.1.
3 . 1. 1.
Persons who ha.ve not previously held a licence are required to
awly for a Learner ' s Permit .
'!he applicant must pass a test for vision,
also a test of knowledge before a permit is issued .
There is
l'XJ
minimum
age specified in the Act for the issue of a Learner ' s Permit for any type
Regulatioo 12. (1 ) irrlicates that the normal minimum age is 1 6
of vehicle .
years 9 m:nths .
3 . 1.2.
There
i s no minimurn period
considered by the
licence
is
not
Department
to have
received within
for Learner ' s Permi ts .
lapsed
i f an
twelve m:nths .
They are
application
The I:Ml' does
for
a
not yet
maintain a central record of Learner ' s Permits issued arrl there is nothing
to prevent a person simultaneously holding several suCh permits .
3 . 1 .3.
A
Learner ' s
Permit
authorises
the
holder
to
drive
whilst
accompanied by a licensed driver ( except a provisional driver ) seated next
to him/her .
('!his restrictioo is not imposed
may ride solo en a Learner ' s Permi t )
00
learner IIOtorcyclists who
All learners are restricted to a
•
speed of 70 km/hr, arrl must display "L" plates .
3 . 1. 4 .
Many
relatives .
learner
drivers
receive
tuition
from
Others atterrl a drivil'19' sdlool for their tuit ion .
frierrls
or
It is also
not uncanm:.m for learners to be taught by frierrls or relatives but to pay
for ene
t\',Q lessons fran a drivil'19' sdlool to " sha.rpen up" for their
or
test .
3 . 1. 5.
Essentially there are no formal requirements for what is taught
to a learner driver .
canpetently .
3 . 1. 6.
At best they are taught how to drive safely arrl
At \',Qrst they are taught how to pass the IMI' driving test .
'!here
is
no
requirement
for
learners
to
experience
night
driving , driving in wet weather or driving in heavy traffic s ituations .
I rrleed ,
there
is
often
a
difficult dr iving situations .
early days
or
terrlency
to
shield
the
While this may have
learner
same
from
suCh
advantages in the
weeks of driving it can be d isastrous if continUed right up
till the passing of the licence test .
- 31 -
3.1. 7.
Similarly,
learner ' s permit .
permit ene day
'lheoretically it is possible to apply for a learner ' s
arrl
poss ible for someone
IlOtor
there is ro minimum pericrl for the holding of a
successfully sit for a driving test the next .
wh:>
has mastered the med1anical skills
vehicle en private property to obtain a driver ' s
to
I t is
operate a
licE!1ce with
virtually ro experi ence of driving on the public road .
Unfortunately,
3.1.8.
for many new drivers their first confrontation
with di fficult driving corrl itions like rain,
occurs when they are roth inexperienced
a�ire their "P" plates .
darkness or heavy traffic
arrl
alone shortly a fter they
It is hardly surpr ising then that as a whole
"P" plate drivers have much w::>r se casualty crash records irrespective of
age
than do
3.2.
learner driVers .
SAFEI'Y
3.2.1.
AND
IEARNER DRIVERS
Learner drivers have
an
enviable
already seE!1 ,in Figure 3 in Cl1apter 1.
safety record as
we
have
'!hat diagram showed casualty crash
rates by roth age arrl licE!1ce status.
3.2.2.
EvE!1 allCMing for the lower exposure rates of learners - they
often drive for much less
arx1
rot as regularly as licence
holders - they do have a good safety record .
As Table 2 shows , learner
than
a full year
drivers in 1982 were involved in a total of only 173 crashes in which
injury occurred ,
(of which six were fatal ) .
learners was 24 casualty crashes for males
(Tables A6
arx1
A7).
an
The average rate per 10, 000
arx1
only 16
for
females .
- 32 -
Table 2: Casualty crash rates of learner car drivers
(male an:) ferna.le) , N.S .W. , 1982
AGE
(YEARS)
Urx:1er 16
16
FBI'IM1\TED NtM3ER
NtM3ER OF CRASHES
OF LFARNERS#
RECORDED* BY POLICE
CRASHES PER
10, 000 LFARNERS
0
113
0.0
22
33, 311
6 .6
24 .6
17
41
16, 685
18
24
8, 068
29 . 7
19
10
4, 754
21 . 0
20
8
3,397
23 .6
21
8
2, 577
31 . 0
22
7
2 , 030
34 .5
23
9
1, 592
56 . 5
24
2
1,398
14 .3
25
3
1,211
24 .8
39
10, 028
38.9
173
85, 164
20. 3
OVer
25
Koown
tJnkrx:7...n
0
173
'lbtal
l:htes:
* Data fran Traffic Authority of N . S .W.
# See text (para . 1 .3 .1.) for method used to mak e estimate
fran fo11On'ing year I S "P" plate figures provided by the
Department of M:>tor Transport, N. S. W.
Table 2 used to construct Fig .4 .
- 33 -
3 . 2. 3 .
supervision the
Umer
initially tmskilled
inexperienced and
It is when that
learner seems to fare prett y well .
same
person is turned
loose without supervisioo that the casualty crash rate increases, am in
the case of teenagers , sk yr ockets .
3 . 2. 4.
SUrprisingl y the younger the learner driver the safer he or she
appears to be while learning .
Figure 4 presents the 1982 casualty crash
data for learners according to age (Table 2) .
('!hese data are ool y for
learner car drivers i the picture for learner rotorcycle riders is very
di fferent and will be the sUbject of a further
3 . 2. 5 .
�YSAFE
report ) .
'!he lowest casualty crash rate i s for those tmder 1 6 years but
the " nUllber here is so small (a total o f 113 people ) that it is di fficult
to have a statistically valid rate .
3 . 2. 6.
The next lowest rate is for 16 year olds even though there are
rore 16 year old learners ( 33 , 311)
than
any other age group .
pattern is that generall y younger learners are safer .
.Again, the
It is impossible to
say whether this is because they are rore responsive to supervision or at
an age rore suited to master the mechanical skills of operating a rotor
vehicle although
3 . 2. 7.
the
cons istent pattern suggests it is the latter.
Iic:1.\1ever , these arrves do suggest that teenagers fim it easier
to learn to drive
than
errooeous caJ.clusiooi
do their elders .
'!hat ma y, however, be quite an
it ma y be that scene people have insufficient self
confidence to drive tmtil they are forced to py the pressures of business
or pleasure ,
and
that they then dem::xlStrate poor abilit y during the force:l
learning }i1ase (but rot necessari l y a fterw:3:rds , it must be added ) .
3.3.
3 . 3 . 1.
SCME &mFSI'ED IMPROIlEMENI'S
Since
learners
learners are even sa fer
are
than
generally ver y sa fe ,
and
some
yotmger
older learners, the camnittee sees ro reason
why the learning experience should rot be extended to younger teenagers .
Consequent ly we
reccmnend
teenagers at 16 years
and
that
6 JlO'lths .
a
learner I s
permit
be
available
to
- 34 -
Fig . 4 :
C a sualty
c r a sh r a t e ,
f em a l e ) ,
N. S . W.
l e a r n er
car
dr i v e r s
(male
1 98 2 .
r
Vl
a:::
u.J
>
60
23
VEARS
f¥
0
0::
and
( i . e . 9 c r a sh e s
e x pe r i en c e d b y t h e
1 , 5 9 2 dr i v e r s a g e d 2 3 )
50
UJ
Z
UJ
-..J
0
0
0
0-
3
�
20
a:::
u.J
a..
10
V')
LU
:I:
V')
«
a:::
LJ
17
18
1 9 20 21 22
A G E
23 2 4 2 5
Y E A R S
Dve
r
25
- 35 -
'!his will allOH many new . drivers to have a longer perioo of
3 . 3 .2.
driving urrler supervision before the y d:>tain their licences .
Because 39%
of all learners in 1982 were 16 year olds (or in reality alnost all aged
between 16 years
9 m:nths arrl
17 years ) ,
this change should mean an
additional perioo of experience for man y new drivers before the y drive
unaccanpanied .
3. 3 . 3 .
Naturally this extra experience will not have a great effect
00
the learner ' s ability to master the simple mechanical skills whi ch are
tested by the rMl' before a provisional licence is granted .
H�ver , it
should give the prospective licensee more experience in actual driving
ccn::1 i tioos . arrl a better d1ance to develop some "roadcraft" .
Many more
crashes result fran poor driving attitudes, poor judgement or a lack of
roadcraft than oocur due to a lack of mechanical COIIp9tence to operate a
motor vehicle .
3 . 3 . 4.
In keeping with
r ecommen:lation,
the
the
Committee
spirit
feels
arrl
that
intention
of
ever y learner
the previous
must
spend
a
mininrum of three m:nths en a learner ' s permit immediately before afPl ying
Cbviously rx:XJ.e of the bene fits described above
.
unless there is a reasonable mininrum learning perioo .
for a driver ' s licerx::e .
will
oocur
Similarly the Committee believes that the IMI' should prescribe
3 .3 . 5 .
certain forms of experience which a learner shalld have .
manda tory
night
to have same supervised experience driving
am ,
where
possible ,
in
wet
weather
in
It should be
heavy traffic, at
ccn::1 i tions .
A
learning
experience confined to back reads in dry, da ylight conditions should not
be ccnsidered adequate .
3 . 3 . 6.
To
this em , the
per son
who is responsible for teaching the
learner to drive should be someone with a minimum of four years driving
experience .
That person shalld sign a certificate for the rMl' declaring
that the learner has had certain prescribed experiences .
A corollar y of
this is that the rMl' must rapidly develop a harrlbok
o for learners arrl
their sponsors ( the people
Who
teach learners) whi ch sets out relevant
experiences arrl aspects of driving besides the formal road rules .
Such a
harrlboko should include a log (or separate logbook ) for the learner to
record his or her experiences .
- 36 -
3 .3 . 7 .
Cbvioos1y, there sheuld be a penalty for false certification .
3 .3 . 8.
'!he
Cbnmittee
is
oot
so
naive
to believe
that
un:1er
its
proposed system every lea rner will honestly and di ligently comply with the
new rules.
intend
to
Sane pecp1e
will appl y for a leamer ' s permit before they
dr ive and leave it in a draw:lr to build
I.p
their three m::n ths
( thcugh the requirement that the per mi t be held for the three nnnths
immediately before
aW1ying
for a
lice�e
wi ll
inhibit
this)
and
a
minor it y of sponsors will probably make false de::: larations.
3 .3 . 9 .
Ibwever ,
the Cbnunittee believes
that
the vast
ma jor i t y of
learners and spcxlsors will abide b y both the spirit and the letter of
these proposals .
Of equal inporta�e is the persuas ive and educat ional
e ffect that such proposals therse1ves will have .
The requirements to have
more experience, to dr ive in traffic, at night am in the w:lt wi ll make
YalIlJ
pecp1e in particular keen to have these essential experiences and
their friends and relatives less likely to shield lea rners fran the m .
It
may even delay th e cert i fication o f learners b y their spcxlsor s, beyarl the
rninirrurn 3 m::n th s, to gain adequate experi�e.
3 . 3 . 10 .
Finall y, the Cbl!lllittee was arrazed to fim that the
central register of learner ' s permits .
IMl'
had 00
It had no idea \'bo awlied for
permits, h<:::w long they held them, how many they had and how this related
to thei r later d riving re:::ord .
that it
'!he rMT has s i�e in fcrmed the Cbnunittee
is OCM integrating the records of leamer ' s permits with its
general conputer ised lice� re:::ords .
100;} overdue initiative.
We conunend the rMT on taJ<io;} this
- 37 -
'!liE
PROIlISICNAL LICENCE ('!he "P" Plate Licence)
(12) '!hat
the
existing
12
oonth
period
be
retained
for
provisional lic ence holders.
(13) That
failure
to
display
a
"p"
plate
be
an
offence
attracting 3 demerit points.
(14) '!hat "P" plate drivers be allowed to accumulate 4 points
without a mandatory 3 IlO'lths li cerx:e suspension.
(15) '!hat the existing absolute speed limit of 80
krn/hr for "P"
plate drivers be maintained .
(16) '!hat a Zero Blood Alccho1 Cbntent rule be introduced for
"P" plate drivers .
(17) '!hat provisicna1 licence holders be prooibited fran towing
anything with their vehicles.
(18) '!hat
fully
licensed
drivers
who
presently are
provisional licence because of accumulating demerit points
given
a
(but without
the norm1 provisicna1 licence restrictioos) be granted a "probaticnary"
or
"cxm:1iticna1"
licerx::e
to
avoid
CXXlfusion
with
novice
provisional
licence holders.
4.1.
4.1 .1.
Upcn passing
provisional li cerx:e.
the
licence
test,
a
learner
is
issued
with
a
'!his li cerx:e allows the novice driver for the first
time to drive unaccanpanied al a p..lblic road .
H�ver, the provisicna1
li cerx:e does have several restrictions pl aced al it.
- 38 -
A provisional licen:e holder must rot exceed 8 0 km/hr am must
4.1 .2.
always display a red arrl White
"p"
plate en a vehicle he or
she
is
Any detected traffic offence leads to a IlIal1datory three m::>nths
dri ving .
suspension of the provisional licence (though there is a provision for a
court to overrule this ) .
After twelve m::>nths of "offence free" driving a
provisional licence oolder progresses automatically to a full or standard
licence .
4.1 . 3 .
drivers
As \'.e saw in Chapter I , the casualty crash record of "P" plate
as
a group
causes
concern,
While
younger
"P" plate drivers ,
irrespective of age , perform worse than standard licence oolders .
4.1.4.
Cbviously experien:e is an important factor here .
'!he tightly
supervised learner driver is very safe am the driver wi th several years
driving experi en:e is also fairly safe (unless he or she impairs his or
her driving abi lity by the intake of d.ruJs or alcohol ) .
But the "P" plate
driver has a disproportionate m.unber of casualty crashes .
'!he 2 . 9% of all
drivers en "p" plates have 8 . 4% of all casualty crashes .
4 . 1. 5.
'!here are several obvious reasons for ,the high casualty crash
rate for "P" plate drivers .
In lIBlly \'ays they are still learning to drive
but without the benefit of an experienced driver sitting alongside them.
They are still learn ing to judge the flaw of traffic, to judge the speed
of other vehicles am to jucge Whether or rot the gap in the traffic is
big enoUJh for them to fit through or small enough to lead to a crash .
'!he natural exuberan:e of lIBlly young people am the peer group pressures
exacerbate
the
inherent
dangers
for
novice
drivers
if
they are
also
teenagers .
4 . 1 . 6.
dangers .
Regrettably,
the
cammm.i ty
has
to
accept
sane
of
these
We are all less safe drivers in our early years of motoring am
all road users face sane inherent risk in having new drivers en the road .
As we have seen in earlier dlapters , rals� the minimum driving age will
not solve this problem, only postp:ne it .
- 39 -
4 . 1. 7.
'!he challenge then is to try am. develop measures to minimise
the i nherent risk of novice drivers in their first year of unaCOJrnpanied
driving .
Ironically
one
of
the
present
restrictions
be
may
counterproductive . - At present a "p" plate driver Who commits any offence
due
to
inexperience
is
prevented
from
therefore
automatically
obtaining
susperrled
mudh
needed
for
three
IOCll1ths
exper ience .
and
For
this
reascn the Cormnittee recan:merrls that a limited number of points be given
to eadh "p" plate driver for their first year of driving .
SUdh a system
v.ould allow the "P" plate driver 4 points in the first year of driving .
Urrler the present points system (a system whidh the Committee reo:mnends
modi fying in Chapter
6) a
"p"
plate driver v.ould be allowed one major
off ence - sudh as Dr ive Contrary to Stop Sign Without Causing An Accident
- or tv.o lesser offences
incurring
a
suspension .
- sudh as Not Give Proper S ignal - without
However ,
any
further
off ence
\',Quld
lead
to
automatic licence suspension .
4 .1. 8 .
'!he Cormni ttee recan:merrls the ooninuation of some other existing
restricticns .
We
sUfPOrt the maintenance of the 8 0 km/hr limit am the
displaying of a "P" plate .
4 . 1 .9 .
warn ing
'!be displaying of a
"P" plate
is very inportant .
It
is a
to other drivers to I'Ietdh out for the novice driver who is more
prc:ne to make a mistcike .
'!be high casualty crash rate of
dri vers is rot purely made up of single car crashes .
accidents
involve the
"P" plate driver
"P" plate
Many "P" plate
crashing into a fully licensed
driver, so it is only fair that other drivers are warned to be especially
careful arourrl rovice drivers .
4 .1.10.
plates .
�ver ,
many " P " plate
drivers
fail
to
display their
"P"
After all why should a provisional li cence holder display a "p"
plate if he or she is stoIPrl for cx:rnmitting another offence .
Since for
any sudh offerx:e the "p" plate driver will lose his or her licence anYl'leY,
failure to display the
"P" plate will not make any difference to the
holding of the li cence but will simply increase the fine.
So why wear the
"P" plate especially as to 00 so will irrlicate that a "P" plate driver is
i tting an offence by doing 100
COIlUU
km/hr
in a
110 km/hr zone when a driver
not wearing the "P" plate will be assumed to be driving legally?
- 40 -
4 . 1 . 11.
Other licence oolders will
plate drivers i f there
only have fair warning about "P"
is some incentive for the latter to wear their
plates - or a clear dis incentive for them not to.
Rarrlan Breath Testing
with its accompanying li cence check should row be providing some pressure
on
provisional licence oolders to display their "P" plates .
'Ibe Committee
recommerrls that fai lure to display "P" plates be a 3 point offence .
means
'Ibis
that a driver failing to display his or her plates at the time of
commi tting
a first offerx:e will then incur a licence suspensioo Whereas a
driver displaying the "P" plate am camnitting the same offence would not .
4 . 1 . 12.
As a further restriction on the novice driver the Comm i ttee
recanmen:'is that he or she be prdlibited fran towing anything ( including
trailers, boats,
time
When
the
caravans ) during the provisional licence period.
novice
is
trying
to master
the
road
At a
craft of driving
unaccompanied it is unreasonable to expect him or her to also be trying to
master the skills of towing.
4 . 1 . 13 .
In
its
first
report
en Alcdlol am
reconunerrled a Zero Blood Alcchol Ccntent Limit
holders .
Road Use
the Committee
for provisional
licerx:e
Althou:rh the G::>vernment declined to immediately implement that
recamnendatien the Committee reiterates it in this repor t .
We
do so not
simply for the sake of ccns istency rut also as a means of encouraging less
drink driving .
Young "P" plate drivers are particularly vulnerable to
peer group pressure am a Zero B.A.C.
rule would relieve sane of the
pressure to drink am may help develop better drink driving habits for
later life .
(Althou:rh the camnittee re<:X:lllllleOOs a zero B .A.C. limit ,
in
practice 0 . 02 would be the reading at Which an offerx:e would be commi tted
since this would take into aCCX)lU1t the use of Cou:Jh medicines am other
substarx:es with a small alc::d101 ccntent ) .
4 . 1 . 14 .
OVerall , the Oommi ttee believes that the foregoing restrictioos
will help make the "P" plate period less dangerous for both provisional
licence oolders
am
other
road users .
True,
they do infringe on the
liberty of "P" plate holders am do discriminate against them.
in
view o f
their
casualty
craSh
record
such
restrictions
However ,
are
easi ly
justified am are o:nsiderably less harSh than some suggestions made to
the Ccmmi ttee - such as no weekerrl or after lx:lurs driving am no carrying
of passengers - Which may have to be cons idered in the future if there is
no improvement in the "P" plate road toll .
- 41 -
4 . 1. 15 .
I t should be noted that the restrictions 01 "P" plate drivers
outlined alx>ve should not be
cons idered
in isolat ion .
'!hey are designed
to w:Jrk in COOj uncti01 with the inproved learner training system ootlined
in the previoos dlapter , inprovements Which should make "P" plate drivers
a little better at the start of their unaccanpanied driving period than
they are at present .
4 . 1.16.
the
Lastly, 01
I:MI'
01e
administrative issue, the CbImnittee asks that
retitle the classi fication for fully licensed drivers Who have
accumulated so many points for traffic offences that they are again placed
on
a
provisional
restrictioos ) .
To
plate
to
drivers
licence
(but
without
the
"P"
plate
or
80
avoid coofusioo am. to allow proper statistics
be
collected,
such
people
should
be
km/hr
00
granted
probationary or conditional licence rather than a provisional one .
"P"
a
- 43 -
QIAPl'ER
5
'!HE LICENCE rolM\T
�TIOOS :
( 19 ) '!hat the IMr urgently devise a system of proof of identity
for people applying for
( 20 ) '!hat
and
rrore
renewing driver ' s licences .
than
one
item
of
proof
be
necessary
to
authenticate identity.
( 21) '!hat all driver ' s licences in future include a rnotograPh
of the lic� holder .
( 22) '!hat a central file of photograPhs of licence holders
NO!'
be maintained.
( 23 ) '!hat a colour ceded incentive system be
introduced
for
li� holders \'tb:) have no traffic off�s for a minimum period of 5
Ye:l.rs .
5 . 1.
5.1.1.
'!he present driver ' s licence i s printed
(Xl
he:l.VY paper which
requires folding to fit into an average wallet or harrlbag .
by law to be carried whenever driving.
year or $45 for three Ye:l.r s .
It is required
'!he current renewal fee is $15 per
Licerx::e renewal notices are sent out by mail
am the driver can either renew by mail or in person at a IMl' rrotor
registry.
5.1.2.
'!here are two possible reasons for having a driver ' s licence .
'!he first is as a tax or a fee for using the roods .
If this is the case
in N.S .W. then the present form of administering the sdleme is extremely
inefficient .
\mile some $45 Million is raised each year from driver ' s
licences the cost of collecting this noney at $15 a year per rrotorist must
-
be
en::>rrrous .
44
-
Certainly any Government
a:lUld
raise
$45
million more
easily, rore cheaply, am perhaps even less painfully by other methods .
For exanple , the abolition of the licmce fee CXlUpled with an increase of
$15 in registraticn fees would cost much less to admin ister and probably
be no less equitable .
5 .1. 3 .
The other poss ible reason for having a driver ' s licmce is to
idmtify th:>se people deemed COIlpetmt and respons ible to drive on the
public roads .
are
People Who are acmpetent are given a document to prove they
allowed
to
drive,
While
people
judged
not
competent
and
those
disqualified for failing to obey the road rules have no such document and
conunit a criminal offen:::e i f they drive without roe .
'!he secon:l reason for having driver ' s licmces is cnly valid if
5 . 1. 4.
there is some procedure for ensuring that the persoo carrying the licence
is the same person described on the licmce arrl that any driVer only has
roe licen:::e in his or her own name and no licen:::e s in other names .
is possible
for
If it
a disquali fied person to easily obtain a licmce in
an:::>ther name, to use a borrowed licen:::e or use a stolen licerx::e then there
seems little !Oint in having a licmce system except as a fund-rais ing
mechanism
5 . 1 . 5.
-
and
I'.e
have already seen that this is not very e fficient .
Unfortunately in N . S .W.
licen:::es is
s::>
the administration of m:>tor vehicle
lax that it has become a farce.
Granted, no system is ever
perfect arrl a clever and diligent criminal will eventually fim a way to
forge or fraudulently obtain a licence .
But the present system is
it doesn ' t evm present a challenge to the dunibest of wrongdoers .
system for honest men and �
Who
s::>
I'.eak
I t is a
are themselves often taken advantage
of by less hcnest IlIeIIiJers of the cx:mnunity.
5 . 1. 6.
Unfortunately,
many
people
in
the
commun ity
rely
dri ver ' s licmce as a verification of somea'1e else ' s identity .
\'as
upon
a
While this
never the intention of Governments in introducing or ma intaining a
licmce system it is a fact of rrodem life .
It is also a fact of rrodem
life that many halest citizens like to have a document Which veri fies
their
identity .
While
this
should
rot
be
the
central
issue
Whm
cons idering the awropriate form �ch a driver ' s licerx::e should take it
should rot be entirely neglected either .
Any road safety decisiro about
the awropriate format of driver ' 5 licen:::es canrx:lt be made in a social
vacuum.
- 45 -
5.1.7.
If the INI' is going to cx:ntinue to operate a driver ' s licence
scheme for the secorrl reason outlined above (viz . to identi fy the road
users judged cxmpetent to use the roads ) it must do t\o,O things .
5 . 1 .8 .
First,
the INI' IlD.lst cx:nsiderab1y inprove
checking the identi ty of licence applicants .
its procedures
for
At present anycne can give
any name arrl address they dl.Oose when aw1ying for a licence .
'!he same
pera::n can aw1y for a multitude of licences , in different names .
'!he only
tilOO any proof of identity DUst be prcduced is i f the staff in the INI'
'!hen a birth certi ficate
office suspect the applicant of being urrler-age .
DUst be prcduce:'1 .
'!he Conmi ttee feels that the INI' must insist cn proper proof of
5 .1.9.
identity for all applicants arrl that nnre than one class of proof should
be prcduced .
Acceptable proof of identity would include :
birth certificate
social secur ity pensicn or benefit card
personal irxx:me tax assessment
passp::>rt
natura1isaticn certificate .
'!he O::mni ttee recanmerrls that the I:Ml' urgently develop a full list of
acceptable documents am that those applicants eligible to be enrolle:'1 to
vote also are enrolled cn the joint electoral roll for the address they
cite on their aW1ication .
5 . 1 . 10 .
Once
the
INI'
tightens
its
up
identity of applicants - or to use
the
operaticns
tedmica1
to
term
establish
"base
the
document
security" - there still remains the problem of how to establish that the
person holding the licence in his or her haOO is the person described on
the licence .
5 . 1 . 1l .
first
is
birth-date
In
this
to
leave
arrl
regard there are basically three alternatives .
sex
identi fy the holder .
the
there
present
is
system
unchanged
nothing on
the
so
licence
that
aside
document
The
from
to help
'!he second alternative is to make it mandatory for a
licence holder to s ign a piece of paper when directed to do so by a p::>lice
officer .
is
the
'!hat can then be compared to the s ignature on the licence .
p::>s iticn
argued
by
the
IMr
in
its
subnission.
'!he
'!his
third
alternative is to have a ph::>tograph of the licence holder on the licence
document itself (a p::>s ition favoured by the p::>lice them;e1ves) .
46
-
5 . 1 . 12.
-
'!he Cbmrnittee spent a o.:nsiderable aJIOtmt of time investigating
the controversial area of What identi fying material should be en licence
documents .
forced
Ultimately
to s ign
pieces
signature with that
is
the
basic
we
00
form
rejected the
of paper
IMI'
for
police
their licence .
of
view that drivers should be
officers
to
compare
the
While it is true that a signature
identification
accepted
by
rrost
financial
institutiens , an honest person is usually fairly relaxed about signing his
or her
own
s ignature in a financial transaction .
person trying to impersonate
sanea1e
by
the police .
fust
drivers
experience a rush of adrenalin
police.
else Who is likely to be anxious
am
Yet the case is reversed When a driver is
prone to muck up the s ignature .
stor:ped
It is the dishonest
- both
inoocent
am
guilty -
some anxiety When stofPeCi by the
and
An honest person could have difficulty satisfying police of the
authentici ty of his or her s ignature urrler these circumstances .
5 . 1. 13 .
fure
inportantly though
is
the
furrlamental ci vi!
liberties
problem of What ha.r:pens to the piece of paper s igned by the rrotor ist for
the police .
'!he Cbmrnittee does rot believe that the majority of N.S .W.
rrotorists \',Quld feel comfortable signing a bit of paper which they had
C01trol
no
over .
5.1.14.
Q:nsequently, the Cormnittee has accepted the police suhnissien
that the rrost awropriate form of identi ficatien \',Quld be a Ih>tograph on
the licence .
5.2.
PfD'fOORAPHS CN
LICEN:ES
5.2.1.
NUmerous
licences .
Many of these cane from companies Whid! produce sud! documents
am
submissions
were
obviously have a vested interest .
received
seeking
Photographs
Other suhnissions inclUding
on
one
fran the IMI' am one fran the Council for Civil Liberties set out some of
the problems with photographic licences .
On balance the Conunittee is
reconunendin:J the introduction of Ih>tograFhs en liceOC'es but it recognises
several aspects Which DUst be given special attentien.
s ecur ity
5.2.2.
am
the prevention of
the
These are cost ,
misuse of data.
On th e questioo o f cost it i s essential that the additiooal
cost of a Ih>tograIilic liceOC'e should rot place an tmreasonable burden en
the Wividual licence holder
issuin:J the li cence .
Who
after all has to pay for the cost of
range from $1 a
'!he estimates of additional cost
- 47 -
licence (by a finn Whidl manufactures similar products) to $5 by the
(Who cppose them).
r:MI'
'!he real figure will probably fall someWhere in
between these t\'.Q estimates.
An issue related to the cost of a Ji1otographic licence is the
frequency with Which the licence is replaced. A three year licence waul.:"'
cost a::nsiderably less to prcduce than three ooe year licences. The term
5.2.3.
]t
for Which a licence is issued is rot essentialy a road safety matter .
is really an administrative matter for the
to resolve.
r:MI'
Consequently
the Committee makes ro specific recommendation on the appropriate term
a licence rut does ask that the
for
recognise that some licence holderf"
r:MI'
will need to voluntarily update their photograph
and
that appropnot e
arrangements must be built into the system.
placed
no'-
However th e Committee is concerned that an unfair burden is
5 . 2 .4.
00
people in isolated areas.
This applies to both the actual cost
of the photographic licence itself
the cost of travelling ta
and
appropriate location to obtain the licence.
In inplementing any
scheme
an
of
photograIilic licences the IMr must be sensitive to the needs of country
people
others living in isolated areas.
and
5.2.5.
'!he security of the licEm:e document itself is very inportant.
There is rot
licence
Whidl
much
p::>int in having gocxl base document security
readily
identifies
the
licEm:e holder
document itself is easy to tanper with.
if
the
and
a
licence
}b,o,1ever, this is the easiest
problem to overCOlle because it involves only a teChnological solution.
Processes for sealing a Ji1otograPh in a document in a way that any
tampering will destroy the entire document are
I'XJW
quite comnon.
So too
are various types of security laminations ' Whidh are difficult to duplicate.
5 .2.6.
W1ile there are several civil liberties questions involving
photograP"ls
00
licences the IlOst serious ooe involves the holding of a
secorii photograPh of a licEm:e holder on a file.
sought
to
do
so.
}b,o,1ever,
the Cbnmittee
is
Some submissions have
resolute that
ro
prcx::edure should be introdoc:ed in N . S .W.
'!here is
could <;XX!1pare 3 million photograPhs to
if any ooe person had IlOre
one
licence in different
authenticating
the
I'laIl¥3S ,
identity
of
see
00
such
koown system Which
than
so a central file would oot assist in
licence holders.
A
central
file
of
- 48 -
photographs could only be used for purposes other than driver ' s licences.
While the individual members of the Committee differ as to whether such a
centralised file should be set up by Government
decision to do
we
are unaninous that any
should be "up front " am oot via the back door of driver
ED
licence records .
5.3.
INCENTIVES FOR SI\FE DRIVING
5.3.1.
our present system of encouraging drivers to drive safely is
Those Who are caught exceeding the speed
based on p.mishment .
crossing
unbroken
generally fined .
lines,
N:J
to observe traffic signals,
failing
limit,
etc.
are
direct encouragement is given to people to obey the
road rules .
5.3.2.
In
to this
ccntrast
the
form
of
many
insurance
i ncentives
in
accidents .
The Committee feels it is time that the IMr intrcduced some
00
claim
COIIpCIIlies give lX'sitive
bonuses
to
incentive far the drivers Who obey the road rules .
drivers
While
we
who
avoid
do rot regard
a direct pecuniary incentive as being viable at this stage we seek some
recognition
recanmen1s
of
that
law
abiding
drivers
drivers .
who have
Consequently,
five
years
of
the
Committee
driving without
any
offences be given a different coloured licence ( say a silver licence) and
those
with
ten
}'ears
of offence
free
driving be given aoother ,
IlOre
prestigious form of licence (a gold licence ) .
5.3.3.
'!he Committee recognises that such incentives are oot huge am
may be ridiculed by drivers Who constantly offend .
provide
some
status
attitudes which are
be
ED
to
good
drivers
am
However, they also may
reinforce
crucial to accident avoidance .
the
And,
good
driving
there may even
some small financial benefits to the holders of such licences.
insurance companies may be prepared after a pericd of
discounts i
time
Some
to offer
an:'! lX'lice officers will probably be nore likely to issue a
caution rather than a traffic infringement ootice to a gold licence holder
who makes a rare am apparently undharacteristic mistake .
- 49 -
CliAPTER
6
TRAFFIC OFFENCES AND ENFORCEMENr OF PENALTIES
RJOCXl.1MENIlTIOOS
l\
:
( 24 ) That the I:Ml' review the present points system to include
maximum demerit points for obviously safety related offences , for example
failure to wear a seatbelt .
( 25 ) '!hat
an
interdepartmental
ccmnittee
urgently
examine
simple arrl effective ways to collect unpaid traffic fines including the .
feasibi lity of not renewing a driving licence unless outstarrling fines are
paid in full .
6.1.
6.1.1.
'lEE ENFORC»1ENI' SYSTEM
A full arrl proper discussioo of th e present traffic offence
enforcement system is a daunting task since it involves a detailed review
of the behaviour of police officers , magistrates am. judges .
The manner
in which police enforce traffic laws is a sUbject whidh greatly interests
every driver .
It is sanething which the S'mYst\FE Cbmmittee should deal
with as a sUbject in its own right arrl requires a detailed enquiry with
public sul:missions am. p..1bl ic hearings am. that should rot be pre-ellpted
by this report on li cens ing .
6. 1. 2 .
HcI.o.ever ,
there
system whidh bear directly
are
00
sane
this may be dcne.
aspects
of
the
enforcement
the issue of driver s licences arrl they are
briefly dealt with in this sectioo.
laws go . unreported .
s imple
t
f.bst offences against the traffic
If they are reported there are several ways in which
- 50 -
Most
6 .1 .3.
nly, a p:Jlicerna.n may decide to issue
COll1IIO
Traffic Infringement Notice.
a fine .
'lhe matter may be concluded by payment of
Departnent
an:]
may be heard .
the
allocation by I:Ml' of demerit p:Jints .
result in follow-up am a
OO-'lHE-sror
a
This is restricted to offences punishable by
Sllll1IOCOS
fine to the Police
Non-payment will
to ar.pear in Court Where aI1'€!als also
During 1981 some 517 , 798 T . I .N.s were issued on-the-sp:Jt
( 200, 725 of these for speed ing offence s ) .
Another procedure is for a p:Jliceman to mak e a Breach Rep:Jrt to
6 .1 .4.
the Police Traffic Branch .
Presumably a Breach Rep:Jrt is made When the
p:Jliceman is in doubt about, or believes in the inadequacy of a T . I .N.
Dlring 1981
some
77 , 532 Breach Rep:Jrts were made for driving offences ,
g them 1 7 , 792 for negligent driving leading to an accident, an offence
amon
Which separately accotmted for 29 , 795 of the on-the-sp:Jt T . I .N . s issued .
Breach Rep:Jrts are ccnsidered by the Adjudication Section of the Police
Department .
Dlring 1981 , T . I .N . s were nailed in 38 , 717 cases to settle
Breach Rep:Jrt cases, the largest number being 8 , 186 for negligent driving
involving crashes .
A SUIllI01S to ar.pear in a Court of Petty Sessions may be issued
6.1.5.
for an offence or for failure to pay a fine speci fied
on
a T . I .N. , or a
Court ar.pearance may follow arrest for a serious offence an:] release on
bail .
'lhe N . S .W. Bureau of Crime Statistics
&
Research has published the
following data alx>ut serious offences settled in 1981 :
Table 3 : Serious Offence s
Offence
NJt Guilty
or charge
witlrlrawn
or dismissed
Fined
Ccmnunity
Impr'is- Service
Order or
oned
Periodic
Detention
Other
Total
Dr ink-d.riving
642
21 , 655
432
260
3 , 006
25 , 995
Dmgerous
driving
5 38
1 , 934
41
21
130
2 , 664
Fail to s�
( accident )
86
1 , 007
6
2
42
1 , 143
Drive disq./
unlic.
103
1 , 532
543
238
479
2 , 895
1 , 369
26 , 128
1 , 022
521
3 , 657
32 , 697
'IOtals
- 51 -
It
6 . 1 .6.
is
on
settled
29 , 795
the
only 8, 186
accidents,
ammalous ,
mt
spot)
that
1981
in
determined
if
curious ,
sitting
police
out
in
should be punishErl
for
negligent road or vehicle workers?
mt p.mishErl?
fure importantly,
an
office
in
to
the
Sydney
reported
for
negligence .
What of
the
Were their accidents Acts of Gcd,
other 162 , OOO?
( in addition
drivers
200, 000
about
of
that
or \',ere they caused by
If the latter, Why \',ere these workers
What action did fOlice take to ensure
that the ccrrl i tions producing this huge number of accidents did not lead
to ITOre accidents involving other drivers?
It is to be noted that only
359 drivers offendErl twice in the year 1981/82 ( see Table 4 ) ,
so
accident­
prone drivers do not seem to be the problem .
DEMERIT POINTS SCHEME
6.2.
Many
6.2.1.
traffic
offences
attract
demerit
points
and
the
Conunissioner for M::> tor Transport must suspend or caocel liceoces When the
According to
limit of 12 fOints has been reached in any 2 year period .
his Annual Report for 1981-82 , in that year the Conuniss ioner susperrled 149
licences and cancelled 8 , 432 others in
He did mt
conn
ec tion with the fOints scheme .
refOrt Which offen:::e s \',ere ITOSt often the cause of loss of
licence urrler this scheme but they \<,Quld already have attracted fines as
outlined
in
the T . I .N.
sdlene described previously.
SUWlied by his Department, give
SC'tIle
5,
Tables 4 and
details .
'!he Cormnissiener also reported the loss of 13 , 402 liceoces by
6.2.2.
novice drivers en provisional licences.
offeoce attracting only 2 fOints
for
('!his can result fran a s ingle
the experieoced driver
urrler
the
effective
the
present arrangements . )
6.3 .
'!HE
6.3.1.
SAFEI'Y VAliJE OF DEMERIT
'!here
is
ccnsiderable
PO lNI'S
controversy
as
to
hCM
present dener it fOints system is in prevent ing accidents .
there
is
SOlIE
necessari ly the
For example ,
evidence that the peq:>le Who get caught speed ing a re mt
saJOO
people Who have crashes - though it
is likely that
when they do have crashes they will be nore severe .
6.3.2.
'While a detailed
review of
the
safety value of
the deJreri t
fOints scheme is beyorrl the scope of this report it has bee., apparel! L to
the Conunittee that there are some traffic offeoces which clearly in\''Jlve
unsa fe practices, Which attract a fine but do mt attract demerit poin ts .
- 52 No .
Offence
Exceed
speed
Cross centre
of
Persons Involved
3 3 , 303
3 1 , 61 5
129
128
5 , 61 6
5 , 578
143
143
l :im i t by more than 3 0 lanph
line
No .
of
Recordin2s
at grade or curve
Cross or drive on o f f - s id e of unbroken
separation line
Overtake
stat ionary vehicle
a t marked
footcrossing
346
346
3 , 30 5
3 , 302
20 , 693
28 , 1 9 1
Not g ive way to pedestrian a t marked footcrossing
Not give way a t intersec tion
Di sobey traffic
Not make
light
signal
turn safely
Not make U - turn s a f e l y
D r i v e contrary to
' S top'
D r i v e contrary to
' G ive Wa y '
sign
sign
D i sobey
' Truck Speed Limi t '
Disobey
' Truck Lane '
D i sobey
'Trucks Must Use Low Gea r '
5 , 098
5 , 0 92
1 , 14 3
1 , 143
14 , 4 8 2
14 , 386
5 , 804
5 , 795
84
84
1 76
175
8ign
sign
sign
Drive contrary to d e f e c t not ic e
Drive
contrary to roundabout
4
4
59
57
3
3
sign
Travel within 60 metres o f a heavy vehicle or
caravan
( se e n o t e s )
Exceed speed lim i t by more
more
than
1 5 lanph but not
3U lanph
than
1 3 2 , 4 58
1 2 0 , 969
2 b , 9l9
2 6 , 560
Negligent driving
Not make turu in prescr ibed manner
5 , 648
5 , 423
Make unlawful U-turn
8 , 9 58
8 , 913
595
594
1 5 , 64 0
1 5 , 4 68
1 , 262
1 , 2 58
3 , 485
3 , 48 0
Not keep l e f t
Not s t o p and
supply particulars of accident
Exceed speed limit by not more than
Not
draw out tram boundary at
2
15 lanph
c arri ag ewa y with
safety
Not cross lane line or
separation l ine with
safety
Cross unbroken
lane
Not keep who l l y in
line
209
209
4 50
448
5 , 086
5 , 01 1
traffic lane
Not g i ve proper
signal
Not have proper
control of vehicle
Overtake on kerbside
210
20 9
3 , 010
2 , 98 6
· 8
8
327
313
302 , 6 5 5
287 , 8 9 3
Not yield way to overtaking vehicle
Unauthorised carriage of p i l l ion passenger
TCYl'ALS
�:
1.
This data
2.
Only demerit point. scoring offenc e s are included .
3.
Offences committed by permit ho l d e r s are
these
4 .
for
the year 1 98 1/8 2 .
drivers and
riders
by
Offences committed
because
5.
is
these
provi s ional
l i c e n s e e s are excluded
l icences are cance l l ed .
Offences committed i n conjunction with charge matter
convictions are excluded
offences
because
into account when
other penalty
6.
excluded because
are not al located d em e r i t po in t s .
The o f f ence of
for
the courts
take
such
imposing di squa l i f i cation or
the charge matter offenc e .
' travel within 60 m e t r e s o f
vehicle or carava n '
was
a heavy
not a recordable o f f ence during
1981/8 2 .
7.
T abl e
4:
A to ta l
Demer it
of 2 53 , 3 2 0 people committed
poin t s :
recor dings
the above offences .
and per s ons
- 53 -
Demerit Points
Exceed
Cross
speed
limit by more than
centre
line
30
kmph
at grade or curve
CraBS or drive on off-side of unbroken
separa tion line
OVartakM atationary vahicl. at markMd tootcro MMing
Not give way to pedes trian at marked footcrossing
Not give way at intersection
Disobey traffic light signal
Not make turn safely
Not make U- turn safely
Drive contrary to
' S top '
Drive contrary to
' G ive Way '
sign
Disobey
' Truck Speed Limi t '
Disobey
'Truck Lane '
D i sobey
sign
' Trucks Must Use Low Gea r '
sign
60
metres of a heavy vehicle or
Exceed speed lilll i t by more than
more than
30
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
90
1)0
90
90
90
90
90
90
90
100
90
90
4
90
4
90
3
3
tl O
4
Drive contrary to roundabout sign
caravan
$100
90
4
sign
Drive contrary to defect notice
Travel within
4
4
4
sign
15
kmph but not
kDlph
Penalty
90
3
3
70
70
70
65
Not stop and supply particulars of accident
2
( see note)
Exceed speed l imit by not more than
2
50
2
50
2
50
50
50
50
50
50
40
30
Negligent driving
3
Not make turn in pre scribed manner
Make unlawful U-turn
Not keep left
15
kmph
Not draw out fram boundary of carriageway with
safety
Not cross lane line or separation l ine with
safe ty
Cross unbroken lane
Not keep who l l y in
2
line
traffic
2
lane
Not give proper signal
2
Not have proper control of vehicle
2
OVertake on kerbside
2
Not yield way to overtaking vehicle
2
Unauthor ised carriage of pi llion pas s enger
�:
2
I t is obviously not pos s ible for po lice to issue an
infri ng�ent notice for the o ffence o f
supply particular s o f accident ' .
' not stop and
These offences are
dealt with by way o f breach report and summo ns action
from i n formation received after the offence is
c....J. tted .
Table
5�
Demer it
poin t s :
points
and
p en a l t i e s
- 54 -
'Ihe nost dJvious one of these is fai lure to wear seat-belts .
6 .3 . 3 .
In 1981 police rep::>r ted 27, 913 such offences am issue:l T . LN. s for this
dJviously unsafe
pract ice .
Yet
rot one of
these
offeoces
attracted
demerit points .
Consequently,
6.3.4.
l-btor
Transport
review
the Committee recamnends that the Department of
the
present
points
system
to
include
maxilllUlll
demerit points for obviously safety related offences such as the fai lure
to wear seat-belts .
6.4.
THE
CClLLECl'ION OF UNPAID FINES
At
6.4.1 .
present
there
are
huge
numbers
of
outstanding
fines .
Essentially this is an administrative problem rather than a road safety
issue.
'Ihe
judicial
process
is
very
slow to catch up
with
offen:1ers, particularly those Who frequently change adlresses .
of allowing offenders to serve ti1n3
traffic
'Ihe system
in gaol for unpaid fines
-
known
colloquially as "cutting out the fine" - perversely costs the Goverrunent
noney
instead
of
recovering
it l
Because
fines
can
be
"cut
out"
concurrently a penon owing $3 , 000 in several f ines , the largest s ingle
one of which is $ 200 need only "cut out" the $ 200 one am the rest are
autonat ically "cut out" as having been served concurrently.
6 .4 .2 .
Althc:ugh this is nainly an administrative prdJlem, rc:a.d safety
is involved to the extent that any pmitive system for failure to obey
safe driving rules loses DUch of
easily avoided .
its
irrpact i f the pmish1n3nt can be
Consequently the Committee recommends that the Goverrunent
urga1tly set up an inter-departmental ccmnittee ( with a limited life span)
to report on w:iYS to recover traffic fines quickly and effect ively.
6.4.3.
'Ihat Conmittee shoold include representatives of the IMI' , the
Attorney General ' s Department,
AIIong other things it shoold
STAYSAFE
Commi ttee ' s
the Traffic Authority and the Treasury.
cons
preferred
ider the feasibility of inplementing the
option
conditional on paying all outstanding fines .
of
making
liceoce
renewal
- 55 -
CliAPI'ER 7
TREPt.'IMENl' OF C7\SUALTIES
�TIONS :
( 26 ) '!hat the IMI' encoorage the teaching of basic First Aid to
all citizens as a general
social benefit rot simply related to rotor
vehicle craShes .
( 27 ) '!hat the IMI' har:Obook be revised to q>grade the First Aid
informatial Caltained in it .
( 28 ) '!hat
"Gc:xx1
the Government
investigate
the
intrc:rluction of a
SalIB.ritan Act" to imemni fy ordinary citizens for first aid acts
dale in gcx:rl fai th.
7.1.
7.1.1.
craSh,
arrives.
Soc.tler or
\\here
s::>Ile:e
:n
later a..lloclst
has
every driver will cane upon a read
been hurt ,
before
the
police
or
anbularx:e
�t Shruld an ordinary uotorist do in sum a case?
7.1 .2.
Many attempts have been IIBde to deal with this question CNer
the years.
In
the
1960 ' s
the Australian Department of Shipping
am
Transport published, in associatial with State Read Safety bodies, an 18
page 1:x:oklet prepared by the St John Ambulance Association am Lions
Interrationa1 .
'!his \'as interned for distribution to ordinary rotorists.
It Caltained nuch useful inforlIBtion but did rot address the question of
action priorities at the scene of a serious crash .
7.1.3.
In
N.S .W.
the f.btor Traffic Hanfuook
(MllI )
Caltains a short
version of similar informtion, but stresses that giving First Aid is but
one of the things that needs to be dOle .
IIBjor tasks to be performed :
Essentially there are three
- 56 -
(1)
Control the traffic to avoid vehicles
cars
ing into crashed
over injured perS:lns on the readway and therefore
cr
causing
runn
Il¥Jre
injurie s .
someon
(2)
Send
(3)
Make an
assessment
planning
treatment .
e to telephcne for an antlulance.
of
the
('!his
casualties
with
a
view
to
includes deciding whether to
attenpt the extrication of people trafPed in vehicles, and
deciding whether
to Il¥Jve pecp1e whose
injuries may be
exacerbated by movement . )
7.1 .4.
For
one person alone,
deciding
the priorities i s the first
It should be mde clear to all JIOtorists that the first priority
problem.
is to ensure that addi tional people do not becane injured .
Hence Traffic
Control is often all that can be done tmtil SOIreOne else arrives .
'!he rM.I'
give the apprcpriate advice in their MIH:
" You may core upon a collis ion which has happened to other read
users .
stop to see if you
next casualty .
lights
Take care .
can
But do not becane the
help .
�rk ycxlI' vehicle safely.
at night to illuminate the scene.
Vehicle
Use your
indicator
lights or hazard \oarning flashers will alert orxx>mi.lXJ traffic.
Pecp1e starrling about 200 metres a\oay can also warn appreaching
traffic.
should be
A ressage
given by a
passing
car
or
te1epb::ne to the police or antlulance services . "
7.1.5.
Traffic cx:ntrol
would
d:>vious1y be
carried p:>rtable waming luminous tr iangles,
over 4 tormes IIJLlst by law earry.
'
II
Cbe s ign goes
aided i f
such as
every
vehicle
those which trucks
As the MIH says :
to the front,
and another goes to the rear .
'!hese JID..lSt be between 50 and 150 retres away.
'D1e third goes
at the side of the vEhicle nearest to the cen.tre of the read . "
7.1.6.
'!he
cc:nsideration
Cbmmittee
to
making
reconunerxls
it
that
canpulsory
for
the
three
rMI'
such
give
s igns
serious
(with
instructions for use) to be carried by every vehicle except a JIOtor cycle .
- 57 -
MmICAL AID AT '!HE CRAei SITE
7.2.
AIIong
7 . 2 .1 .
the meCl.ical profession there is nuch centroversy over
What treatment , if any, non-professionals should give at the scene of an
accident.
Each year in New South W:iles, as can be seen fran Figure 5 ,
7 . 2 .2 .
half the people Who are killed in road crashes die within one hour of the
crash .
It is often said that universal knowledge of First Aid by the
pcpulation would
save nany of
these
lives
as
well as
inproving
the
prospects for survival of rrany of those who die later in hospital .
In
7 .2 .3 .
1972
Dr
D:mald
W.
fbssack,
oonsult ing
surgeon
to
the
Melbourne City Corener , publishErl the results of his study of injuries
received in 500 fatal road crashes .
.An
tmexpected firrlinJ \'as that 7% of
victins of fatal crashes died fran asphyXia fran inhaling their own blooJ.
arrl vomit after ooIX:ussion .
were
of
special
interest ,
Dr fbssack said that these cases of asphyxia
as no other serious injury was present am
"early attention to victims in this group nay inprove the salvage rate" .
It was fOurxl that inhalation of blood am vc:mit was also present in other
case s ,
but \'as only a oontributory
factor
of death
rather
than
the
apparent single cause.
Dr fbssack ccncluded that these facts neant that more victims
7 . 2 .4 .
could
be saved by fairly s inple procedures .
"'Ihe semi-solid nature of the
vanitus \>,Quld irrl icate that p::!W9 rful suction Shoold be sl1J?Plenented by a
spooning rerocwal.
Spooning nay be carr i ed out by members of the public,
Who have resporrled so well to education en IlOUth-to-nouth resuscitation.
Ambulan::::e services should be alerted to the necess ity to have powerful
suction equipmant avai lable in all vehicles. "
7.2.5.
fbwever,
Dr J . I . 'lbnge et al.
( 1977)
of
the Department of
Health,
Queenslarrl , have \'amed about the dangers of powerful suction,
"sirx:e
the
respiratory
resuscitation attempts" .
tract
oould
have
been
sucked
out
during
- 58 -
F ig . 5 :
Time to die ,
N . S. W.
1 98 2
1 00
_ 0
o
ALL
W
I­
<{
l­
V')
....---.-/
�
P E D E S T R I AN S
I-
o
1
z
10
T I M E
AF T E R
1 00
CRASH - H OU R S ·
1 000
- 59 -
Komesaroff
Dr D .
7 .2 . 6 .
Melbourne Ibspital,
crash,
( 1978 ) ,
specialist
anaesthetist,
of
R::Jyal
writing about resuscitation at the s ite of a read
stressed that even doctors present may be unable to be of much
assistance because of their practice rot to carry emergE!1CY equipment in
their vehicle s .
Dr Komesaroff \'amed that "at the reads ide,
uD':X)nscious
patients shoold be resuscitated in the supine position" ( L e . lying face
upv.ards )
''with the head on a pillOiJ or folded coat, and the chin pulled
back firmly.
However, for breathing patients , the lateral posit ion ( L e .
lying on the side ) is essE!1t ial if suctioo i s unavai lable" .
7 . 2 .7 .
According
to
E.
Dr
Hoffman,
hcl10rary
coosultant
thoracic
surgeon in Englarrl, in the deeply UD':Onscious, oostruction of the llf:P9r
airway may be due either to the tongue falling back or to displacement of
fractured facial bone s .
"Cbmplete oostruction can lead to irrevers ible
brain damage within 3 to 5 minutes .
Fortunately the d:>struct ion usually
enc::o\.mtered is partial , with noisy breathing am oovious use of accessory
IIU.lSCles of respiration" .
Dr fbffman also noted that in his exp:!rience,
car occupants compr ised one41alf of all fatalities . "'!heir positioning is
usually not feasible am extraction shoold be left to the erergE!1CY
services" .
7 . 2 .8 .
The Commi ttee ro ted these difficulties and the widely di ffering
views en haol to deal with the proolem;
(a)
there
is
practice,
evidE!1ce
if
also that
that
resuscitation
the skills are
to be
needs
maintained
frequE!1t
(Medical
Journal , 1983 )
(b)
th e Japanese are claiming that one of th e nest signi ficant
methcrls they have employed to reciu=e read crash m:xtali ty
and
uorbidity
has
been
the
re-organisa tion
of
the
emergency departments of their hospitals (T. Ukai, 1983 ) .
- 60 -
7 .3
FIRS!' AID AND '!HE DRIVn13
•
Generally
7.3.1.
involved
here
are
the
LICEN:E
Cbmmittee
exceedingly
separate term of reference .
believes
conplex
that
should
and
the
be
medical
res:Jlved
issues
umer
'!he Cbmmi ttee sees great sccpe for
a
irrproving
the road toll by a greater invest:m?nt in the provis ion of highly skilled
medical
aid to
examine
this
crash
vict ilrs ,
further .
at
'1herefore
the scene cuD
the Cbmrnittee
in hospitals,
is
am
will
rot prepared at
this
stage to make First Aid training a condition of obtaining a licence.
lbwever,
7 .3 .2 .
the Cbmmi ttee does recognise that
s:JIre lIDtor ists will
cane across pecple in jured
in read crashes When profess ional medical ,help
is rot readily av
Even in sl.burban areas it may take longer for
a:i; lable .
an ani>ulance to reach a victim than the victim can stay alive w ithoot sane
basic treat:m?nt such as stcg:>ing severe bleeding.
7.3.3.
ensured
Having
that
lIDtor ists
umerstam
that
their
f ir st
priorities at a crash are to CXXltrol traffic and to sern for an ani>ulan::e ,
it
is
to
irrportant
give
th em
some
elezrentary
instruct ions
'!he ABC of
priorities in medical treat:m?nt Whilst awaitif)J the ani>ulan::e .
First Aid should be available in card or st icker form, i . e . A
be cleared:
B
=
BRE1\'lHn13 to be sustained:
C
=
AIRWAY to
=
C:m::u:r.ATION to be nur sed .
Attention shoold be dra \Oa'l to s imple procedures as are described i n the
7 .3 .4 .
leave
Al so ,
again as PJinted ou t
injured persons
in the VEhicle .
in
the Mm,
If
it
MIH.
i s often best
they have to be lIDved ,
very carefully, preferably rot 00 yarr own,
the
on
to
do it
be:::ause of the likelihocxl of
injuring the neck .
7.3.5.
Pecple
shoold
rot
law-suit from doing their best .
Gcx:x:1 Samaritan Act
hcw:!ver
be
disc auaged
by
the
threat
of
'1herefore the Cbmrnittee recolllmE!l')jg that a
S100ld be passed ,
irrlemn i fying all ordinary lIDtorists
fran such suit s .
7 . 3 .6 .
'!he
Ccmnittee
also
recamnerrl s
that
cx:mveyil1:J the s imple rules of Traffic a:ntrol ,
the
IMI'
explore
Gett ing Help,
ways
of
and the ABC
of First Aid , to existing cuD future drivers .
7 .3 .7 .
'!he Cbmrnittee also believes that every e n::ou ragement
given to pecple taking co..tr ses in basic First Aid ,
read crashes, but for general use .
should be
rot simply for use in
- 61 -
II)SS.l\O<,
D.W.
( 1972 ) , The pattern of injuries receive::! by 500
drivers am passengers killed in road accidents,
Mad J . Aust . , 1972 , 2: 193-195 .
.
'ION3E ,
J.r.
( 1977 ) , Traffic-crash fatalities ( 1978-73 ) : injury
patterns arrl other factors,
Mad Sci .
.
&
KC.ME'.SMOFF ,
the law, 1977, 1 7 , No. I , January: 9-24 .
D.
( 1978 ) ,
Resuscitation at the s ite of a road
accident ,
Aust . Family Phys . , 1978, 7 , April: 400-418 .
lDFFMAN ,
E. , Road accidents :
re susc itatien on site,
Injury (Brit. J . Acc . Surgery) , 14 , No . 3 : 245-249 .
MEDICAL JaJRNAL ( 1983 ) , lay peq:>le
-
arrl doctors tool - forget
CPR skills ,
Mad . J . Aust . , 1983, April 2 : 339-340.
UKAI , T. , 1983 , care
for
the road traffic accident victims in
Japan ,
Addre ss to W.H.O.
Seminar en the prevention of read traffic
accidents, Mani la , Feb. 1983 .
- 63 -
CliAPl'ER
( 29 ) '!hat there be
00
8
change in the present age at which an
awlicant IID.lst pass a medical am an CFtical test
(80 year s) before a
licence is renewed .
( 30 ) '!hat the age at which a practical driving test is required
before a licence can be renewed be the sane age as for the optical am
nelical tests ( L e . 80 years ) .
( 31 ) '!hat
new
applicants
for
a
liCEnce
following
loss
or
suspension of a previous licence oot be subjected to aoother practical
driving test .
( 32 ) '!hat
new
applicants
for
a
liCEnce
following
loss
or
suspension of a previous liceme have to pass a 'krnwled:Je test before
obtaining a new licence.
8.1 .
8 . 1 .1 .
retestin,;
driver.
various
(or
suggest ions
in oome cases
have
special
been
put
tests )
to
far
the
Cl::mnittee
about
certain categories of
'!hese prc:p:>sals generally fall into four categories: retesting of
offen1ers , retesting of aged perlDlS, medical tests far aged per eons, am
c:ptical tests for aged persons.
- 64 -
8 .2
REl'ESI'IN3
•
It
8.2.1.
OF OFFENIERS
been
has
sugge sted
once
that
lic� bEcause of driving off� s ,
new
a
sanea1e
l iceoce
new
unless that per!n1 passes the same test s that a
\mi le
8 . 2 .2 .
rCEd
rules
it
there
is
unlikely
is unawue of
dr iver
offence
is
i s plenty
t ra f f i c offerx::e .
As
Generally
cr
through carelessness
we
have seen
or
mt be
her
is sued
driver IIR.lSt pass .
people
in Olapter
every driver kn:Jws
yet
of
should
his
mt
dJeying
the
many rules are broken s :ilJply because the
that
them.
speed i ng
evid�
of
loses
people
that
....no break
6
the IIDst
speed ing
driving
COIIIn
I'ID
ccnstitutes
so
rules do
in the hcpe that they \OOn ' t get caught .
a
e i ther
In very
few cases is ignorarx::e of the rule the reas:n for its break .
'lhere fore
8.2 . 3 .
it
is
to
di fficult
recamnen:]
d i squa li f ied drivers Ul'l':lertake a new )m:)wledge
new licence .
which
Ho\o.ever ,
a�rue
might
perio.Hca11y be ing
of
that
test pr ior
suspended
or
to ootaining a
the O:mnittee believes that there are t\OO benef i t s
frCJI\
sum
an:'i
revised
new
the
a
prccedure .
there
is
By
rule s .
a
Fir s t ,
th e
r oa d
general proolem of
forcing
su.spen:1ed
or
rules
are
ne.k ing all
dr ivers
aW3.re
d i squa li f i ed
ill" i vers
to take a new test , th e IMI' would at least be ensur ing that th ese
people kept abreast o f the ne w rule s .
8 . 2 .4 .
Secx:n.Uy ,
there my
or
dr i ve r by IIaking him
re �Jur ces
devote.i
be scme
value in enbarrass ing the offeo::l ing
her umertake a new laowledge test .
to
sud!
admin istering
a
test
are
Si rx:: e the IMI'
miniml
it
is
IoOrthwhile us i.n:J them in this way.
8.2 .5.
tes t .
Hor.o.ever ,
N.::> t
only
it i s rot poss ible to just i fy a new practical driving
�d
elis
use
CXXlS ide rably
up
re s:xrr ces than the laowle.ige test dee s ,
for
sud1
a
because he
a
procedure .
cr
pract ical
ski 11 )
that
she
driving
slrll
test
dr iver
on
IooO..lld
just i fy devoting re�ces
alene .
hIt there is
dr iver
of
the
taxpayer I s
also little ra tionale
l i ce.rx::e
loses a
for
is umble to manipulate a car at a lower speed
dr ivers IoOUld be
any
IlJ
Af ter al l ,
IIDre
( ....ni cil
is
only
ilieir best
fai l
to
a
it
a
pract ical
in
test
behaviour .
the
of
It
dr i v ing
hcpe
of
bas ic
speed i ng
-
an:J in
llEJl ipulat ive
is highly unlikely
te st
caus ing
and
�
canmt
€'!lbarra ssment
- 65 -
8 .3
•
REI'ESl'IOO AGED PER9JNS
At present when a driver reaches 8 5 years of age he
8. 3 . 1 .
pass
an
Yhile this
is discriminatory it
advancing age
notor
or
she nust
annual practical driving test before the licel'Pe is renewed .
car .
can
can
be justi fied on the groorrl s that
affect the basic uanipulative skills needed to dr ive a
'!his is rot to say that all drivers at this age are llrBble to
dr iVe or that they should be discouraged from driving .
this age are safe
experiencErl notorists.
am.
HO\',ever ,
M3.ny people of
the test does
ensure that those people still driving at this age have rot suffered a
critical
deterioration
of
their
skills
am.
the
Cbmmittee
therefore
recommerrls the ccntinuation of this procedure .
8 . 3 .2 .
In the next section the exist ing
medical tests for people aged 80
arx1
IMI'
procErlure for annual
over is dealt with .
FOr the sake of
ccnsistency the OJumittee recxmnends that the age for the annual practical
driviIl3 test also be 80 .
MEDICAL AND OPrICAL TESl'S FOR
8.4.
8 .4 . 1 .
fran his
CUrrently, eve ry driver ag ed 8 0 or over lIU.lst proChx:e a document
or her
a notor vehicle
8.4.2.
JlGED PERSON:>
doctor that certifies the pers:>n is medically fi t to drive
arx1
thus his
or
her eyes ight is satisfactory.
'!he Cbnmittee receivErl numerous subniss ions , particularly fran
optoretr ists,
seeking
tou:Jher
tests at a yrunger
age .
lbwever,
the
Conmittee was strongly influencErl by the relatively sa fe driving record of
drivers aged 80 am over .
were
I:Uring l982 ( the latest published data) there
39 recorded road deaths in N.S .W. anDIl3 people agErl 80 years
or
JOClre . AnDIl3 these 39, S)me 28 \l2re pedestrians , 7 \l2re passengers, arx1
only 4 were drivers ( 2 men am. 2 w::>men ) . Since there were 9 , 6 19 licensed
drivers aged 80 or JOClre , that is a death rate of 2 . 0 per 10, 000 licensees
\'hich is about half the average for all age grCAlps .
'!his w::>uld seem ·to
iriiicate that the present ar�ements are working well in keeping the
crash rate of the 80 plus grCAlp
dcw1 .
- 66 -
Drivers agerl 80 arrl over probably drive ruch less than younger
8.4.3 .
drivers
ro
their expJsure to r isk is
cons iderably
redlx::ed .
W1ether they
are safer per kiloIretre drivE!1 than the average driver is rot clear, but
their relat ively � accident
rate - even i f it
is a factor of lo\'.er
eXfOsure - makes it hard to justify IIDre str ingE!1t centrals en them.
8 .4 .4 .
It is s ignificant that in 1982 the death rate of drivers in the
70 to 79 age group was eVE!1 lower than that in the 80 plus group .
year there \'.ere only 16 deaths am a rate of 1 . 5 per 10 , 000 .
of
such
evidE!1ce the Cbnmittee certainly canmt
In that
In the face
justify exterrl ing the
special cx:mtro1s on drivers over 80 to t:h::>se in the 70 to 79 age raIl9'e .
The fact that the optometry profession would benefit financially fram such
an
extensicn w:IS rot lost on the CDmmittee .
- 67 -
REEABILI'mTION P�
�TION:
a CO'ltrolled experinent attempting to dlange the
( 33 ) '!hat
bEi1aviour of drink drivers aloo:J the lines proposed by Mr R.J. Bartley,
S .M. ,
arxl
Mr M. Baker be caxlucted .
9.1 .
Basically,
9.1 . 1 .
a rehabilitation
progranme
perxranent � in a pers::>n ' s bEi1avioor .
said than dale .
rehabi litation
aims to bring about a
In pract ice this is much easier
Htma.n behaviour is rotorious by resistance to so called
there is ro reaa:n why this should be any
prograIl1IIBS and
di fferent in the field of driving behaviour .
In Australia the main attempts at driver rehabi litation have
9 . 1 .2 .
been made with drink drivers.
successful .
'!hese attempts have so far rot been very
'!he following discussion of the 1976 Sydney
indicative of the poor success of
9 .2 .
9.2 .1 .
'!HE 1976
SY'INEY
sud1
programme
is
programme s .
PRX31Wf.lE
'!he N.S .W. Bureau of Crime Statistics
&
Research ( 1982 ) has
publishe:l a review of a pi lot diversiomry sdleme in Sydney, conuneoce:l in
1976 .
The inforDation presente:l here is taken fran that report .
Drivers
\',ere admitte:l to the sdleme i f :
(a)
'!hey
hcd
of ferx::e r
(b)
'!bey
hcd
a t least
ale
prior CO'lviction for a drink-driving
or
a
SAC
of 0 .15 or above.
- 68 -
Four
9 . 2 .2 .
d1osen,
and
ca.rr t s
11
new
additional \'>Ork .
t:.c:>d<
( Central , BankstOW'l , North Sydney am Hornsby) were
probation
offioers
aRJOinted
to help
with
the
In 1977 three nore Sydney coorts \ooe re a&:lerl am chan:1es
place in per s:mnel am in co-operating agencies.
Entry
9 . 2 .3 .
different,
requirements
\ooe re
canplex am
rehabi litaticn progranmes avai lable .
there \ooe re
Bureau
am
quite
'!he need for evaluation
was recogniserl at the ootset but the Bureau ccncluderl ,
detai lerl
five,
in spite of its
painstaking analys is, that m conclus icn could be drawn.
recarmenderl
that
in
any
future
programne ,
the
'!he
treatment
am
evaluation processes should be joined together .
9 . 2 .4 .
Because drink driving is suCh a serious problem am because
there is clearly a group of pers istent offerrlers \'vho are mt deterrerl by
punitive ueasures it is probably \'Orth st ill persevering with attempts to
develop a suitable rehabi litaticn programme .
carefully IIOnitored
9 .3 .
'!HE
9.3.1.
SUch a programme must be
evaluated .
am
1983 PR)�
A submission to the Cbllllli. ttee was made in 1983 by R.J . Bartley,
(Alechol ) Licensing CoJrts of N.S.W. ,
OlairlIBIl of the
suppor ted by M.
Baker, Psycholog ist with the N.S .W. Departmmt of Health.
9 .3 . 2 .
In his
submissicn
Mr
Bartley referred
to
the
1976
Sydney
Progranme as a disml fai lure , pr iuBrily because it was based on the
coor t
sentencing
proces s .
He said that its final demise follo\ooed the
introducticn of minillUlll periods of disquali fication am the realisation of
offemers (arXi their legal advisers ) that they could m l0D39r lIBIlipulate
the
sentencing
process
by a tteming
a
progranme.
Acccrding
to
his
sli:lmission
" Some
18 DDnths ago there were about 18 iOO ividual progranmes
thrcx.r::jhout
N.S.W.
drink-drivers.
1!D1eY,
lack
trying
to
do
S)IJ)9thing
for
the
Many have since collapsed , minly for lack of
of guidarce am lack of official sUfP%t. "
- 69 -
9 .3 .3 .
the
(be of these progranmes \'as the Drink-driving Programrre
O!.ats.«>eii
CbIIInunity
Health
Centre .
It
was
evolvErl
run
with
by
the
co--ope ration of the then StiperxUary Ma.gistrate at J)brth �ey, Mr Roger
D:l.vey .
Once the 3
am
6 m:nth miniuum disquali fication period Cam:! inOO
being he would recomroerrl that "00 further liceme be issued to the driver
until he CO!pletErl the Cllatswood Dr ink-driving Programre" .
Mr Bartley
said that the recoIl'llllerx:1ations of Mr Davey were generally accepted by the
CoItlllis sioner for M:>tor Transport am a very active progranune arose at
i:l1ats.«>eii .
Sime then Mr Davey has lOCI'Jed to aoother court and his
successors "are oot prepared to make the reccmnendations he did " ,
so
the
CllatSlo.Uod programne collapsed through lack of numbers .
9.3.4.
am
Mr Bartley prq:osErl that a new schene be attenpted at CllatSi.'ood
gradually extemed throujhout the state .
After the first year i t
It w::>uld
w::>uld be self-supporting fr an the prq:osErl $50 fees for courses.
be
run
by the Drug
(a)
am
Alcchol Authority.
Dr ivers
disquali fied
'!he key points would be :
for
drink-driving would have
Progranme
progranme
poss ible
thEn
am
would
allocation
to
months
to corrplete
apply
irx::lude
3
for
a
more
for
a Better-Driving
liCEnce
individual
ma rriage
or
afresh .
'!he
assessment
with
camselling,
treatment or examination of work problems
medical
involved
in
drinking, over a 7 week period .
(b)
In oIder to s irrpli fy the gather ing of
meeting the nee:lS of cO'lfidEntiality,
am
information, yet
for purposes of
evaluation, drivers �ld prior to assessment be divided
inOO tw::> groups :
(i)
Those with
no
prior cQwictions mose treatment w::>uld
be oonfidEntial ;
( i i ) '!hose for
years
me
M1an
and
the C01viction is the secarl in 10
�ld be informed at the outset that their
reports w::>uld be forwardErl to the Conmiss ioner.
- 70 -
(c)
Persons
calld re fuse the
crur se ,
the Cbnmissioner then
refuses a licen:::e , but the driver calld appeal to the
Cburt.
Similarly i f he does rot catplete the crurse , or
is declare::l a problem drinker or
(b)
( ii )
an
alcdlolic .
For group
the Cbnmiss ioner calld call for evidence fran
health workers .
Mr Baker said he believe::l it was a waste of e ffort to try to
9.3.5 .
reform people
\>h)
drove regularly over 0 . 15 SAC .
level have serious problems .
level, before the pers:t'l had
It was better to try to intervene at a lower
an
am::>ng
pecple in the 20 to 30 year age
"we are starting to piCk up detectable phys ical damage
peripheral neuritis
• • • •
'!be JrOst
enlarge::l livers - ard this is in
ccmnon
an
the Wications of nervcus disease
SJme
But even at
establishe::l alcdlol problem.
lower levels of drinking am even
group,
People \'he drank to that
• • . .
like
ooes we pick up are th ings like
age grolJ> of less than 30 .
• • • .
'!here are
'!bis fits in quite strongly with
of the other research that has been dooe recently on brain damage ard
social drinking . "
While th e CbIlInittee
9 . 3 .6 .
prop::>sal
still
needed
SJme
felt
worthWhile for it to be iDplemente::l
�
that Mr Bartley ' s
develcpnE!1t,
00
it
felt
of
it
Mr Baker ' s
\',Olld
be
a pi lot basis , p3.rticularly as it
rot require nruch in the way of taxpayer ' s noney.
shcul.d be the subject
am
that
SUch a pilot
a thcrough evaluation before a dec is ion is made
W1ether to exterd it .
Bureau of exime Statistics
&
�search.
- 71 -
APPENDIX
Table Al : Driver casualties (killro
am
injured ) by age,
South Australia* 1981 am New South WaleS# 1982
South Australia
AGE
(Years)
No.
16
N.S .W.
No.
%
%
8
0.2
30
0.2
16
111
2 .8
44
0 .3
17
206
5 .2
501
3 .5
Urrler
18
248
6 .3
718
5.1
19
218
5 .6
806
5 .7
20
188
4 .8
721
5.1
21
698
4.9
186
4.7
22
158
4.0
598
4.2
23
155
4.0
567
4.0
24
122
3.1
475
3 .4
125
3 .2
477
3 .4
25
Over 25
2 , 204
56 .0
8 , 488
60 . 1
�
3 , 929
100 .0
14 , 123
100 .0
Unkoown
'Iotal
Note s :
* rata
223
41
4 , 152
14 , 164
fran
Australian Bureau o f Statistics, Adelaide .
# rata from Traffic Authority of N . S .W. , S}'dney.
Table Al was usro to ccnstruct Figure 1 .
- 72 -
Table A2: Driver involvements in all re;x>Ided crashes by age ,
South Australia· 1981 am New South Wa1est 1982
N.S .W.
South Australia
AGE
(Years)
No.
ltDer 16
70
0.2
%
No.
%
99
0 .1
16
1 ,037
2 .4
186
0.2
17
1 , 989
4.5
3 , 597
3 .6
18
2 , 375
5 .4
4 , 848
4 .8
19
2 , 225
5 .0
5 , 257
5 .2
20
2 ,038
4.6
4 , 895
4 .9
21
1 ,827
4.1
4 , 556
4 .5
22
1 , 593
3 .6
4 , 272
4.3
23
1 , 511
3 .4
3 ,648
3 .6
24
1 , 375
3.1
3 , 347
3 .3
25
1 , 291
2 .9
3 , 105
3 .1
OVer 25
26 , 789 ¢
60 . 7
62 , 476
62 .3
Kr¥:lN'l
44 , 120 ¢
100 .0
100, 286
100 .0
t.Jnkmwl
10 , 576 ¢
'Ibtal
54,696
Notes:
Oita
fr cm
f Oita
frcm
*
¢ Est iDa.ted
3 , 645
103 , 931
Australian Bureau of Statist ics, Adelaide.
Traffic Aut:hcrity of N.S .W. , �ey.
•
- 73 -
Table
A3:
Ddver-plus-m:>torcyclist crash#rate per 100 licence holders :
South Australia* 1981
Crash Iete per 100
licence holders
AGE
(Years)
Crash rate as % of average
( L e . of 7 . 3 )
th:1er 16
16
9 .6
132
17
13 .3
182
18
13 � 7
188
19
12.1
166
20
10 . 5
144
21
9.2
126
22
8 .0
110
23
7.5
103
24
7.1
97
25
6 .6
90
25/ 29
5 .8
79
30/34
5 .0
68
35/39
4 .9
67
40/44
4 .8
66
45/49
4.7
64
50/ 54
4 .7
64
55
5 5/ 59
4 .0
60/64
3 .6
49
65/69
3 .3
45
70/74
3 .6
49
7 5/79
4.1
56
80 plus
5 .5
75
'Ibtal
7 . 3 ( L e . average)
N:>te s :
100
* ra ta fr an Australian Bureau o f Statist ics , Adelaide.
# Iocludes learners in roth crash arrl licensee data .
Table
A3
was used. to exnstruct Figure 2 .
- 74 -
Table A4 : Casualty crash rates of "p" plate male car driver s ,
N.S .W. , 1982
lDlBER CF CRASiES* REX:OIDED BY POLICE
NlMBER
AGE
(Years )
In 1st
Year
In 200 After
Year
Year
2rxl
UnkrX>Wn en " P"
plates
00.
years
UrDer 16
0
ON #
CRASHES PER
10, 000
"p"
"p"
Plates
Plates
(est. )
0
0
0
0
2
16
2
0
0
0
2
94
213
17
750
47
1
8
805
22 , 294
361
18
291
157
12
2
444
11 , 130
399
19
105
41
40
2
136
4 ,747
286
20
37
13
39
2
44
2 , 506
176
21
32
9
29
0
37
1 ,593
232
22
23
7
17
0
27
1 , 197
226
23
21
6
10
1
26
875
297
24
15
2
9
1
17
7CY:J
240
25
8
1
9
1
9
564
160
68
10
81
4
74
4 , :132
169
1 , 35 2
293
247
21
1 ,617
SO , CY:J3
324
3
2
. 0
1
6
1 , 355
295
247
22
1 ,623
OVer 25
Krx:w1
tJnkra.m
'Ibtal
Notes:
* lata
fran
Traffic Authority of N.S .W. for provis ional drivers.
t rata
fran
Department of M:>tor Transpcrt , N . S .W.
Table M was USErl to CCI'lstruct part of Figure 3 .
- 75 -
Table AS: casualty crash rates of starmro. nale car driver s ,
N.S .W. , 1982
NlJ.1BER OF CRAlXiES ROCOIDED*
BY roLICE
.AGE
NlJ.mER
LICENSED#
(Years )
CRAmES PER
10 , 000
licmsees
16
1
0
16
0
0
17
13
1 , 424
91
Urrler
18
541
22 , 811
237
19
891
33 ,128
269
20
909
37 , 681
241
21
834
39, 779
210
22
805
39,705
al3
23
642
40, 779
157
24
626
40, 715
154
25
563
40, 745
138
OVer 25
1l , 941
1 , 443 , 562
83
I<roo.n
17, 766
1 , 740, 329
102
Unknown
59
Total
17,825
N:>tes: * I:e.ta
fran
Traffic Authority of N.S .W.
i I:e.ta from Department of M:>tor Transpor t , N.S .W.
Table AS use:] to ccnstruct part of Figure 3 .
- 76 -
Table A6: casualty crash rates of learner male
car
dr iver s ,
N.S .W. , 1982
NtJ.mER
.AGE
OF CRA&iES REX::QR)El)*
BY roLICE
ESI'IMATED WM8ER
OF LEARNERS#
(Years)
CRAemS PER
10 , 000
�
16
0
82
0
16
12
21 , 063
6
17
29
9 , 403
31
IS
16
4 , 281
37
19
4
2 , 249
is
34
thler
20
5
1 , 457
21
4
1 , 032
39
22
5
831
60
23
5
6�
Sl
�
24
1
509
25
3
460
65
OVer 25
25
3 , 356
75
109
45 , 343
24
KnoN:I
Unkrx:.Jwn
0
Total
109
N:>te s : * rata fran Traffic Authority of N.S .W.
i
See
text for metho:1 used to make estimate from follCMing
year I s "p" plate figures providErl by the Department of
futor Transport, N . S .W.
Table A6 used to ocnstruct part of Figure 3 .
- 77 -
Table A7 : Casualty crash rates of learner ferre.l.e
car
dr iver s ,
N.S .W. , 1982
NlMBER OF CRru:EES ROCOIDED*
BY roLICE
AGE
(Years)
FSl'�TED N.JMBER
OF LEARNERB#
CAAffiES PER
10 , 000
LEMNERS
Urxler 16
0
31
0
12 , 248
8
16
10
17
12
7, 282
16
18
8
3 , 787
21
19
6
2 , 505
24
20
3
1 , 940
15
21
4
1 , 545
26
22
2
1 , 199
17
23
4
972
41
24
1
889
11
25
0
751
0
OVer 25
14
6 , 672
21
l<rlaoIn
64
39 , 821
16
Unkoown
0
Total
64
NJtes : * rata fran Traffic Authority of N.S .W.
i
See
text for IIEthoo. used to make estimate from follCMing
year ' s "P" plate figures providaJ by the DepartllEnt of
�tor Transport , N.S .W.
- 1 -
PRCCEEDlN3S OF '!HE JOlNT srANDIm CGMITl'EE
ON RJAD S1\FEl'Y OF '!HE PARLIAMENT OF NEW roJ'IH WALEE
'IUESDAY, 7 DEX::EMBER, 1982
At Parliament Ibuse, Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m.
�
PRESENT
Mr G . Pac iullo ( in the Clair)
Legislative Cbuncil
'lhe fbrx:lllrable D.R. Burtal
'!he Ibnourable I):)rothy Isaksen
Legislative AsseIIbly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdmeon
Apologies were
receivEd
fran the fboourable F . Calabro,
Dr
Metherell am Mr O ' Neill.
Mr Herbert, Adviser, was in atten3ance.
'!he Minutes of the thirty secom meet ing, on 28 SepteIIber ,
1982,
as
circulated, were COlfirmed.
'lhe Cbmmittee delibetated.
ResolvEd ,
Mr Johnson :
00
the
notion
of
Mr
Fismer I
secorrlEd
by
'!hat in accordance with the O:mmittee ' s terns of reference,
particularly its respons ibi lity to nonitor , investigate am report on the
road safety situation in New South Wales,
the Cbllllil ttee suppor ts the
Olairuan to awroach the Minister for R::> lice for
inforrred
cam
am
try areas .
atterrl
taman breath
test ing
in
the Cbmmittee to be
some
metropolitan am
- 2 .Agreed,
'!hat
as
a
matter
of
priority
the
Conanittee
investigate the a1cd101 content and the labelling of beer .
Rero1ved,
on
the
rotion
of
Mr
Fischer,
seoorrled
by
the
'!hat the Conmittee review the human factors
I-bn:>urab1e I:brothy Isaksen :
affect ing traffic accidents .
'!his
will
CCfIler all aspects of dr iver
licensing .
Agreed,
That
advertisements
be
lodged
with
the
press
throughoot New South Wales on 1 February, 1983 , invit in:] submissions fran
the public.
The following dates
we re
set aside for Conmittee business -
9 February, 1983 - Review progress
12, 13 , 14 April, 1983 - Comnittee proceedings
'!he Connni ttee adjoorned at 12 .45 p.m.
to 10 .30 a.m.
February, 1983 .
*
�,
. At
*
*
9 FEBRUARY, 1983
Parliallelt lblse, Sydney, at 10 . 30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G. Paciul10 ( in the Clair)
legislative Council
'!he lbrx::urab1e D.R. Bur ton
'!he lboourab1e I:brothy Isaksen
'!he lbrx::urab1e F. Calabro
legislative Asseui:>ly
Mr Fischer
Mr O' Neill
Mr Jdmson
Dr
foE there 11
Mr Herbert , Adviser, was in attendan:e.
on 9
- 3 on
�&>lved,
IbIDurable D. Burton,
De::ember,
the
notion
of
Mr
Fisdler,
secorrled
by
the
that the Minutes of the thirty-third rreeting on 7
1982, be amerrled &> that the secorrl re&>lution a:>nforms with
the advertisement, viz .
That the Committee give immediate consideration
to all aspects of driver licens ing requirements arrl standards .
The Minutes of the thirty-third rreeting on 7 Decenber,
1982,
as amerrled, \'.ere confirmed i arrl the Minutes of the thirty-fourth meet ing
.
on
27 January, 1983 , as circulated , \'.ere ccnfirmed.
�&>lved, on the IIOtion of Mr Fiscner, secorrled by Mr Jdill &>n,
that the Olairrran be asked to discuss with the Comniss ioner of Police
whether ' the explanatory opening rene.rks · nade to the notor ist at rarrlom
breath test ing stations could be streamlined or poss ibly eliminated .
�&>lved,
IbIDurable F.
on
Calabro,
the
IIOtion
of
Mr
Fisdler,
secorrled
by
the
that the Sydney �rning Herald be congratulated
for irrlicating the raid toll on a �ly bas is, arrl be advised that the
Committee �uld welcane daily publication of the raid toll .
� &>lved, on the IIOtion of Mr O '.Neill, secorrled by Mr Fisdler,
that the Comnittee prcx'luce a nonthly statement of the raid toll in the
style of a bank book , sh<::Ming lives saved as conpared to 1982 , arrl make
it available to the pre ss .
'!he Conunittee further deliberated .
Re&>lved, on the notion of the IbIDurable D. Burton, secorrled
by Dr Metherell, that the Conunittee adept as a further term of reference
for 198 3 , all aspects of IlOtorcycle safety.
'!he Conunittee set as ide the follONing dates : (p.m. ) 11 arrl 12 April - Vis it to North Ooast , N.S .W.
13 arrl 14 Apri l - Visit Br isbane
3 , 4 arrl 5 May - Meetings
24, 25 arrl 26 May - Meet ings
20
to 24 June - Visit Iarwin arrl Perth
5 , 6 arrl 7 July - Meetings
19, 20 arrl 21 July - Meetings
- 4 Resolve:1,
on
the
IrOtion
of
Mr
O 'Neill ,
seccn::1e:1
by the
H:JlUlrable F. Calabro, that the Cbrranittee purchase a Lion Alcoroo ter 5-D2
am 200 llOuthpieces .
until 5 . 00 p.m. on 11
'!he CblllIli ttee adjourne:1 at 1 . 00 p.m.
April, 1983 .
*
*
*
'IUESDAY, 1 2 APRIL, 1983
At Transport House , Valley Centre Plaza, Brisbane, at 9 a . m .
MEMBERS PRESENl'
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Olair )
Legislative Cbuncil
'lhe H:JlUlrable D . R . Burton
The Honourable ll:>rothy Isaksen
'lhe HolUlrable F . Calabro
Legislative Assenibly
Mr Fischer
Dr Metherell
Mr Jdms:m
Mr O ' Neill
Mr Helbert, Adviser, was in attendance.
Mr Graham Morrow , \<i1o had studied driver training in Japan in
1981 on an Australia-Japan Fourrla tion grant, addressed the CblllIli t tee on
that swject .
Dr B.A. Srnithurst addressed the CblllIlittee on rce.d accident
medical problems in coontry areas .
Messrs
C.A.
M3.rsh,
swain,
Senior
Secretary of the Queenslarrl &ad Safety
Cbuncil;
J.
Officer,
addressed the Cbrranittee on
am
Field Officer ;
driver
A.
Graham,
edocat ion,
Prcuotions
the IlOtorcycle
pro:;ranm:l , the sdlool advisory service am student driver e:1ucation.
'lhe H:JlUlrable D . F . Lane, M.L .A. , Minister for Tran.sport am
Messrs G.
Goebel,
J. Corpplia,
Minister ' s Secretary;
Deputy
Cbrraniss ioner ;
am
T .M.
Nash,
D.G.
Cbllllli s sioner, held discuss ions with the CblllIlittee .
Press Secretary;
5 tevmron ,
Assistant
- 5 The
Cbmplex,
Cbrnmittee
accanpanied
visited
by r-Essrs
the
N.
Mount
Cbtton
Hami lton-Brnith,
Driver
Executive
Training
Officer,
Training am K. Fell , Training .
The Cbrrmit tee
vis ited the M::>torcycle Tra ining Prograrrane at
Lutwyd1.e Showing Village urrler the direct ion of Mr T. Klein.
The
Cbrrmittee
adjourned
at
9 . 30
p.m.
until
9
on
a . m.
Wednesday, 13th April, 1983 .
*
WEI:NESDAY,
*
*
13 APRIL, 1983
At the Brisbane City Cbuncil Driver Training Cbmplex,
Toowong at 9 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Chair )
Legislative Cbuncil
The Iboourable D . R. Burtoo
The H:n::>urable Dorothy Isaksen
The Iboourable F. Calabro
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fischer
Dr Metherell
Mr Jdmeon
Mr O ' Neill
Mr Herbert , Jldviser, was in attendance .
The
Cbrnmittee
was
Manager ; R. Sherman, O. I . C . i
affiressed
by
Messrs
W.
Cbles ,
Traffic
am L. Dermis , Superintendent of Training .
The Cbmmittee proceeded by Br isbane City Council bus to Mount
Cbot-tha .
by
the
The Cbrrani ttee returned to the Training Cbmplex am proceeded
\'Estern
Freeway
to
Gailes
Weighbridge
Olecking
Station
am
returned to Transport Ibuse .
The camnittee
was addressed by Mr R.
Kermedy ,
Director of
Drug-Arm, the camm.mity service arm of the O-leenslam Temperance League .
- 6 -
The
O:munittee
proceeded
to
Parlia.ma1t
lbuse
and
had
discussions CNer luncheon with the lboourable W.H . Glasson, Minister for
Police ;
Mr H. Gordon , Fditor-in-01ief of Queensland Newspapers ;
and
Mr J. Kenny of the R:Jyal Autonobile Club of Queenslam .
The
Conunittee
visited
the
Police
Academy
and
observed
a
denonstration of the detection of drugs by a tra ined d03, Sergeant R.
Clo,.,es in dlarge .
The
Committee
proceeded
by
discuss ions with Messrs J . C . Boyd, M.P . ;
bus
to
Tweed
Heads
am
had
Camcillor Yvonne RcMse , Shire
President ; J . Nixon, Shire Clerk ; Sergeant Hennessy, 0 . 1 .C. , Police; am
P . Border , Shire Engineer .
The
Committee
viewed
random breath testing
of
north-bound
traffic on the Pacific Highway.
The
Collllli ttee
adjourned
at
midnight
until
8 . 30
Thursday, 14th April, 1983 .
*
'lHURSDAY,
*
*
14 APRIL, 1983
At the Fairlight t-btor Inn , '!Weed Heads, at 8 . 30 a . m.
MEMBERS
PRESENr
Mr G. Paciul10 ( in the Clair)
Legislative Council
The lblU.lrab1e D.R. Burton
The lboourable D:>rothy Isaksen
The lboourab1e F. Calabro
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fischer
Dr Metherell
Mr Jdms:m
Mr O ' Neill
Mr Herbert, Adviser, was in attendance.
a. m.
on
- 7 to
Ballina
R.B.
D"mean,
'!he Cbnmittee proceeded by the Pacific High\\6Y
an:1 had d iscussions with Messrs
Slire Ca.m:: i l O1anbers
M.P . ;
'
CbunCillor G . Ellis , Shire President;
G. Pearse , Shire Clerk ;
F.
Wcxrls , Slire Engineer ; an:1 Sergeant Allen, O . I . C . RJlice.
'!he Cbnmittee proceeded to Grafton an:1 had discuss ions over
luncheon
with
G.
Alderman
Jabalr ,
Inspector Parsons, O . I .C. , Police;
Mayor ;
J.
Gaudry,
ToWn
Clerk ;
am M. Garr ie, City Engineer.
'!he CbIIUIlittee proceeded to Cbffs H:l.rbo.rr an:1 had discuss ions
with Messrs M. Singleton, M.P . ;
R.
Firman ,
Slire Clerk ;
0 . 1 .C. , Police.
K.
CbunC i llor J . Smith, Shire Pres ident;
Gentle ,
Slire Engineer ;
an:1 J.
Leonard,
A buffet meal was provided at the Cburx:il Olanbers.
'!he CbIIUIlittee returned to Sydney by Air New Scoth Wales am
adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10 a . m. on 'l\lesday, 3rd M3.y, 1983 .
*
'lUES)AY,
At
*
*
3 MAY, 1983
Parliament House , Sydney , at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESF.NI'
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Clair)
,
Legislative Cbunc i 1
'!he lbnourable Dorothy Isaksen
'!he HoIDUrable F. Calabro
legislative Assenbly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdlnson
Mr O ' Neill
Apol.cgies were received fran r-Essrs Burton an:1 Metherell .
Mr Herbert , Adviser \\6S in attendan:::e .
- 8 -
Agreed that 'fuesday, 31 May, 1983 , be set aside for hearing
the DepartIoont of M:>tor Transport submiss ion
and
that 'fuesday, 7 June,
1983 , be set as ide for inspections of Stay Upright M:>torcyc1e Techniques
at Oran Park
and
of research into drug inpairment at the DepartIoon t of
Pharmacy, Uni vers ity of Sydney.
O1ief SuperintendE!1t G. D . Shaw, Inspector G.H . R . Gr ieves
and
Inspector A . B . Denn is were s\lllUOC.nsed by order of the Conunittee.
The press
and
public were admitted .
By direction of
the
Clairman
the
Clerk
read Legislat ive
Standing Order No. 362 relating to the Examination of Witnesses .
O1ief SuperintendE!1t Shaw,
Inspector Grieves
and
Inspector
Dennis, all of the New South Wales Police Force, called as witnesses
sworn :
and
'!he witnesses severally ackn::M1edged having received SUlIUlOnses
urrler the Parliamentary EvidE!1ce Act, 1901 .
Eviden::=e concluded the witnesses witlrlrew.
'!he
Corrmi ttee
adjourned
at
3 .30
p.m.
until
Thursday, 5 May, 1983 .
*
*
�,
*
5 MAY, 1983
At Parliament H:luse, Sydney, at 10 a . m.
�
PRESENT
Mr G . paciul10 ( in the Clair)
Leg islative Counc il
'!he lbrnlrab1e Dorothy Isaksen
'!he lboourab1e F. calabro
Legislative Asseni:>ly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdms::m
Mr O ' Nei ll
10
a.m.
on
- 9 Apologies were r�ived fran Messrs Burton an:1 Metherell
Mr Herbert , Adviser, was in attendance .
'Ihe Minutes of the thirty-fifth to forty-first meetings, on 9
an:1
24 February,
30 March,
13 am 14 April,
12,
an:1 3 May,
1983,
as
circulated, were cx::nf irmed.
Mr
C.R.
Briese,
Mr
R.J .
Bartley am
Mr
R.M.
Baker
were
Clerk
read
Legislative
surraronsed by order of the Cbmrnittee .
The press an:1 pUblic were admdtted .
By
direction
of
the
Chairman
the
Assembly Stan:1ing Order No . 362 relating to the Examination of Witnesses.
Mr
Magistrates,
C . R.
Briese,
Chairman
called as a witness
an:1
of
the
eMJrn :
Bench
of
Stipen:1iary
The witness ackrDwledged
having re=eived a SUIl1llalS un:1er the Parliamentary Evideoce Act, 1901 .
Evidence
ccnc
luded , the witness witlrlrew.
Mr R.J. Bartley, Chairman of the Licensing Courts of New South
Wales,
an:1 Mr R.M.
ChateMJOd,
called
Baker,
as
Co-ordinator of Drug am Alcd101 Services,
witnesses
and
sworn :
'Ihe
witnesses
severally
ackrDwledged having received sunm:>nses urrler the Parliamentary Evidence
Act, 1901 .
Mr O ' Neill SO\J3ht leave of the Chair .
Eviderx:e concluded, the witnesses witlrlrew.
The O:mnittee adjoumed at 3 . 30 p.m. until 10 a . m. on 'I\1esday,
24 May, 1983 .
*
*
*
- 10 'IUESI:lA.Y, 24 MAY, 1983
At Parliament House, Sydney, at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G. Paciullo ( in the Chair )
Legislative Council
'!he Hon:>urable Dorothy Isaksen
'!he HOlx>urable F . calabro
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdmson
Mr O ' Neill
Apologies were received from Messrs Burton and Metherell .
Mr Herbert , Adviser, was in attendance .
Mr G. .
Blackley,
P . B . Terry and Dr R.J . E . D .
A.M. Jamieson,
Hi93S were SU!JlllCl1sed by order o f th e Conmtittee .
'!he press and p.lblic were admitted.
By direction
of
the
Chairman
the
Clerk
read
Legislative
Assembly Standing Order No. 362 relating to . the Examination of Witnesses .
Mr G . P . Blockley, A.M. Jamieson
Australia pty.
Ltd.
called as
and
P.B.
Terry of Polaroid
witnesses and affirmed :
'!he witnesses
severally ad<rn.'ledged having received SUll1l101ses un:ler the Parliamentary
Evidence Act, 1901 .
Evidence cx:ncluded, the witnesses withkew.
Dr
R.J . E . D .
Higgs
of
the
Surgeons called as a witness and S\\Urn :
Poyal
Australasian
College
of
'!he witness ac�ledged having
received a sunm:ns uOOer the Parliamentary Eviderx::e Act , 1901 .
Mr O ' Neill sought leave of the Olair.
- 11 Mr Herbert tendered a letter dated 29 December, 1978 , from him
to
Dr Higgs as Exhibit A.
Evidence
'!he
ccnc
lude:l , the witness withdrew.
Cbmmittee
adjeAlmed
at
3 .40
p.m.
lIDti l
10
a . m.
on
Wednes::lay , 25 May, 1983 .
*
WEnmSDAY,
*
*
25 MAY, 1983
At Parliament House , Sydney at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENI'
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Olair)
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he H:mo..lrable Dorothy Isaksen
'!he H:>oourable F. calabro
Legislative Assenbly
Mr Jdms:rl
Mr O ' Nei ll
Apologies \J,ere received fran M:!ssrs Burton, Fisdler am M:!therell .
Mr Herbert , Adviser, \\as in attendame.
A message was received fran Mr O ' Neill that he was delayed .
Dr D.G.
SUDJIOnsed
Saffron,
Mr E .A .
Huxtable am Mr B .
Searles \J,ere
by ceder of the Cbmnittee .
'Ihe
press am plblic were admitted.
By
direction
of
the
Olairman
the
Clerk
read
Legis lative
Asselli>ly Starrl ing Order No. 362 relatin:J to the Examination of Witnesses.
Mr O 'Neill took up his place Q'l the Cbmnittee .
-
12
-
Dr D.F. Saffron of the Traffic Accident Research Unit called
as a witness am affirmed :
SUImDIlS
The witness ackn:>W1edgerl having received a
urrler the Parliamentary Evid� Act, 1901 .
Evidence ccnc1uderl , the witness witlrlrew.
Mr E .A. Huxtable arrl Mr B . Searles of the N3.t iona1 Reads am
f.btorists '
Associatioo called as witnesses
am
sworn :
The witnesses
severally acl<Jn.l1edged having received SUlIlIlOl1ses urrler the Parliament
Evidence
Act,
1901 .
Evidence ccnc1uderl , the witnesses witlrlrew.
'!he Conunittee adjourned at 3 . 30 p.m.
until
10 . 30 a.m.
on
Thursday, 26 May, 1983 .
*
*
*
'I'.HURSD1\Y, 26 MAY, 1983
At Parliament House, Sydney, at 10 . 30 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENI'
Mr G . Paciul10 ( in the <l1air )
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he tbrnlrable lXx'othy Isaksen
'!he Fbrx>urable F. calabro
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fischer
Mr O ' Nei ll
Apologies were receiverl fran M:!ssrs Burton, Johnson
Mr Herbert , Adviser,
W3.S
The press
am
M:!there11.
in attenc:'iame .
Mr K.J . O ' Sullivan, Mr L.M. George
sllI1UlOnsed by order of the CoImnit tee
am
•
pUblic were admitted .
am
Mr A . S . Cboper were
- 13 By direction of
the Chairman,
the Clerk read Legislative
Assembly Starrl ing Order No. 362 relatirg to the Examinat ion of Witnesses.
Messrs. K.J. O ' Sullivan, L .M. George arrl A.S . Cooper of the
futor Sdlcols Association of New South Wales called as wi tnesses and
sworn :
'!he witnesses severally ackrx:lwledgErl having receivErl summ:mses
under the ParliamEntary Eviden:e Act, 1901 .
EvidEnce ccncludErl , the witnesses wit.lrlrew.
'nle Cbmmittee adjoomed at 12 . 30 p . m.
unti l 9 . 30 a . m.
on
Tuesday, 31st May, 1983.
*
'IDESDAY,
*
*
31 MAY, 1983
At Parliament House, Sydney, at 9 . 30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G. paciullo ( in the Chair)
Legislative Cbuncil
'nle H:mClurable D:>rothy Isaksen
Leg islative Assenbly
Mr Fisdler
Mr Jd'ms:m
Mr O ' Nei ll
Apologies �re receivErl frem M:!ssrs Burton, calabro and Metherell .
Mr Herbert , Adviser, W'l S in attendan:e.
Frem a patrol car parkErl in the foreca.trt of Parliament House,
Sergeant C . Arrler S)n arrl First Class Constable J. Ormsby dellDnstrated the
techniques of obtaining radio inforlIBtion frem liCEnCes arrl/or names.
'!he Cbmmittee proceErled to the camreray futor Registry and W'lS
addressErl by Mr B . Sdlipp, Regional SuperintendEnt, and Mr C. SteW'lrt ,
Senica: Dr iving Examiner
00.
the c:peratic:ns of the futor Registry.
- 14 'D1e CbIIUnittee adjoomed at 11 . 50 a.m. lIDtil 9 a.m. on 'I\1esday,
7th JlIDe, 1983 .
*
*
*
MJNDAY, 20 JUNE, 1983
At Police Traffic
Branch
Headquarters, Perth
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G. paciu110 ( in the Chair )
Leg is lative Cbuncil
'!he lbOCIUrable D.R. Burton
'!he lbrourable D::>rothy Isaksen
Legislative Assembly
Mr Jdmsm
Dr Metherell
Apologies \',ere received frem Messrs calabro, Fischer am O ' Neill .
Mr Herbert , Adv iser,
'!he
CbIllllittee
met
\E. S
in attendarx:e.
Ass istant
Conmiss ioner
C.
Johnson,
Stperinterxlent P . LidHelow, Senior Inspectors T. Clews an:l D. Nidlolson,
am Inspectors B. Lawler, T . ravies am L. Grey of the West Australian
Police Force.
O1ie f Superinten:lent F. M3.tson adlressed the CbIlllli ttee on the
role of the Department in traffic law enforcement .
'!he Cbnmittee DDVeJ on to the theatrette am was adlressed by
Sergeants L . '!hickbrcom an:l D. Blad<\',ell on the law pertainin:] to drink
driving ;
Sergeant A. carse ad:lressed the Cbnmittee on the Air Wing of
the West Australian Police Force.
'!he Cbnmittee proceeded to the National Sa fety Council, l>bunt
Lawley am met Mr B . Boolton, Director an:l Mr M. Raper , Executive Officer
of the Road Safety Divis ion .
- 15 '!he CbIllllittee adjourned at 4 p.m. lU1til 10 a . m. on 21st JlU1e,
1983 .
." ." ."
'IUESDAY, 21 JUNE , 1983
At the Licensing am Services Omtre , Perth at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRFSENl'
Mr G. paciullo ( in the Olair )
Legislative Cbunci 1
'!he fbOCAlrab1e D.R. Burton
'!he fboourab1e Ik:>rothy Isaksen
Legislative Assenbly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdms:>n
Dr Metherell
Apok9ies were received fran M:!s.srs Calabro am O ' Ne i ll .
Mr Herbert , Adviser, \'a s in attendan::e .
'!he CblImittee met Mr J . Crago, Ass istant Secretary, am was
aCliressed by Mr P. CalIpbell en general licensing matters, Mr S . Mukharn
cn
driver
test ing
am
Mr
C.
Saurrlers
on
research,
particularly
Fhotografi1s on licen::es am the effectiveness of aerial surveillame .
'!he Cbnmittee lunched at Parliament Ibuse as guests of the
, fbOCAlrable J .P. Carr , B .A. , M .L .A. , Minister for .tblice.
'!he Cbnmittee proceeded to Jolinont an:] observErl the operation
of an Action Squad fran the Read Patrol carrying out liceme am vehicle
chErl<s.
'!he CblImittee adjourned at 3 .30 p.m.
June, 1983 .
." ." ."
until 7 p.m. on 22rrl
- 16 WEOOESDAY,
22 JUNE, 1983
At Farmie Bay, [alWin, at 7 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . paciullo ( in the Clair )
Legislative Cbunci1
'lhe lbnoo rab1e D.R. Burton
The lboourab1e Lbrothy Isaksen
Legislative Assenb1y
Mr Fisdler
Mr Jeilneon
Dr Metherell
Apologies were received fran Messrs calabro am O ' Neill.
Mr Herbert , Adviser, was in attendan::e .
Accanpanied
by
O1.ief
Inspector
M.
Smith,
th e
Cbnmittee
inspected the operation of rarrlom breath test ing , Traffic Inspector D.
I>leehan in marge.
The Cbnmittee adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10 a . m. on 23rd June ,
1983 .
*
'Il:IURSDAY,
*
*
23 JUNE , 1983
At the O1.an Building. [alWin, at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . Paciu110 ( in the Chair)
Legislative Cbunci1
The lboourable D.R. Burton
The lbnoo rable Dorothy Isaksen
Leg islative Assenbly
Mr Fisdler
Mr Jeilneon
Dr Metherell
- 17 Af.01ogies \\ere re:eivErl frem Messrs calabro
Mr
and
O ' Neill.
Adviser, was in attendance .
Herbert,
'!he Committee ret the H::>nourab1e R . Steele, M.L .A. , Min ister
for Transport am W::>r ksi am. Messrs J. Hewitt , Transport Officer (Lam. ) i
B . P1ew, Dire::: tor of Read SafetYi P . Winkler, Read Safety Ca.ln::::i l i am.
B.
Sarrl""' ,
Research Officer.
Discuss ions E!1sued .
'!he ColIII\ittee proceedErl to the M:>tor Vehicle Registry, Parap ,
meeting Mr M.
Licence ' Tester.
keyhole
circuit
Tra iner ,
The
Acting Reg istrar,
ColIII\ittee
rrotor
and
inspected
vEilic1e
and Mr J.
Crocker ,
rrotorcycle
test ing on
testing ,
part icularly
Senior
with
the
the
'I'ycrypton Brake Tester.
'!he ColIII\ittee proceedErl
to
casuarina and was acXiressErl by Mr C.
the St John Ambulance Centre ,
Burden,
in Clla rge,
am. Mr R.
Branley, Training Officer .
'!he
Cbllll\ittee
proceedErl
to
the
Police
Tra ffic
Centre ,
Winnellie, meeting Commissioner P . M:Aulay and alief Inspector M. Smith .
'!he Collllli ttee adjoumErl at 4 p.m. until 10 a . m. on 24th June ,
1983 .
.,..
.,..
*
FRIDAY, 24 JUNE, 1983
At the Mind il
Beach
Federal H::> tel, Iarwin, at 10 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENr
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Clla ir )
Legislative Coun:::: i l
'!he H::>nourab1e D.R. Burton
'!he H::>oourab1e Dorothy Isaksen
- 18 Legislat ive Assembly
Mr Fischer
Mr Jdms:m
Dr r-Etherell
Apologies \',ere receive:! from r-Essrs calabro am O ' Neill .
Mr Herbert , Adviser , \\as in atten<lame .
Infornal discuss ions \',ere held with Mr Terence Smith, M.L.A.
( the ShadCM Minister for Transport am Works ) .
'!he Cbnmittee adjourned at midday until 10 a.m. on Tuesday,
5th July, 1983 .
*
*
*
'IUESDAY, 5 JULY, 1983
At Parliament Ibuse , Sydney, at 10 . 30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . Paciullo { in the Clair )
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he H::>rx:urable D.R. Burton
'!he H::>rourable Ihrothy Isaksen
Legislative Assenbly
Mr Fischer
Dr r-Etherell
Mr O ' Nei ll
Mr Herbert , Adviser, \\as in attendame .
Apologies were received frem r-Essrs calabro am Johnson :
a
nessage was receive:! from Mr Fischer that he was delaye:! .
Mr R .J . Buglass, Mr L . E . Jdlansam, Mr P . M. Cbmelly am Mr
M.A. Green \',ere surrm:msed by crder of the Cbnmittee .
'!he press am public \',ere admitted .
- 19 By direction of
the
Chairman
the
Clerk
read
Leg islat ive
Assem1y Starrl ing Order No. 362 relating to the Examination of Witnesses.
Mr R .J . Buglass called as a witness and sworn :
lO s under the
'!he witness ackIDWledged having received a s Ull1ln
Par liamentary Eviderce Act, 1901 .
'!he witness
instructors
gave evidence on
in the tmited King::'l.om.
the
appointment
Evideoce concluded,
of
driving
the
witness
withdrew.
Mr FisCher took
'!he
up
his place on the Cbmmittee .
meetiIl3' \'as closed to the public .
'!h e Minutes of th e forty-seccrrl to fi fty-seccrrl neet ings , on
5 , 24 , 25 ,
26
am 31 May, am 7,
20 ,
21 , 22 , 23
am
24 June, 1983 , as
circulated , were ccnfirmed .
Rewlved ,
Metherell and carried
en
the
unan
IlDtion
of
Mr
O 'Neill ,
seccrrl ed
by
Dr
il\O.lsly that subject to the avai labi lity of
fun:1s, the CbImlittee purChase a Kaypro II caIputer and suitable ancillary
equipment .
'!he Cbnmittee deliberated on future hearing dates.
'!he press arrl public \t,ere re-admitted .
Messrs Burton and O 'Neill obtained leave of the Clair .
Mr L . E . Jc:hanswn calle1 as a witness am
sworn :
'1he witness
ackIDW1edged having received a sunm:ms un:1er the Parliamentary Evidence
Act, 1901 .
'!he witness gave evidence of the identity card system arrl
related retters in Sweden .
Eviderce coocluded the witness with:lrew
•
.
- 20 -
Mr P . M. Cormelly am Mr M.A. Green of the New South Wales
State Cbun::: i1 of Youth called as witnesses arrl
'!he witnesses
S't.Qm :
severally acKlX1.'I1ed::led having r�eived SUII1llOl1se s un1er the Parliamentary
Evidence Act, 1901 .
Evidence concluded , the witnesses withdrew.
'!he Committee adjoorned at 4 . 15 p . m.
tmti l
10 . 30 a . m.
on
Wedneaiay, 6th July, 1983 .
*
*
*
�AY, 6 JULY, 1983
At Parliam:mt H:::>use , Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESFNT
Mr G . Paciu110 ( in the Cla ir )
Legislative Coun::: i 1
'!he Hor:o.lrab1e Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative Asse!lb1y
Mr Fisd1er
Mr
Jdma:m
Dr Metherell
Apologies
O ' Nei ll :
a massage
were
\\BS
received
fran Messrs
Burton,
Calabro
am
r�ived fran Mr Jdmson that he \'as delayed.
Mr Herbert , Adviser, was in atterrlance.
Mr
B.
lay1an:l,
Dr
J .E .
Hirshnan
am
Mr
D.
Jaman
\',ere
sUllln
lD sed by c:rder of the Colll1littee .
'!he press arrl public \',ere admitted .
By direction
of
the
Olairmm
the
Clerl<
read Legislative
Assembly Stan:ling Order No. 362 relat il'l3 to the Examinat ion of witnesses.
- 21 -
Mr
B.
Layland of
called as a witness arrl
Che
Australian
Qptometrical
Association
'!he witness ackoowledgerl having receiverl
sworn :
a SUII1IOCli1S un:ler the Parliamentary Evideoce Act, 1901 .
Evidence CQ1cluderl , Che witness withdrew.
Dr J .H . Hirshnan of the IXctors lEform Society called as a
e
witn ss arrl affirual : '!he witness ackoowledgerl having receiverl a swmons
Un:ler Che Parliamentary Evideoce Act, 1901 .
Evidence
CQ1C
luderl , Che witness withdrew.
Mr JdUUDn joined Che OJrnmittee .
Mr D. Jarnan of Che Safety Inst itute of Australia called as a
witness arrl sworn :
'!he witness ackoowledJerl having re:eived a swrarons
urrler Che Parlianentary Evidence Act, 1901 .
Eviden::-e concluded, Che witness witlrlrew.
'!he CbIlmittee adjournerl at 3 .30
p.m.
lU'ltil 10 . 30 a . m. on
Thursday, 7Ch July, 1983 .
*
'llIJRSDAY,
*
*
7 JULY, 1983
At Parliament Ii:luse, Sydney, at 10 .30
� PRESENT
Mr
G . paciullo ( in the Chair )
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he Ibl'Dlrable D.R.
Bur tal
'!he Iboourable IX>rothy Isaksen
Le;Jislative Assenbly
Mr
Ik
Fischer
Metherell
Mr
O ' Nei ll
a . m.
- 22 Apologies �re re::::e ived fran Messrs Calabro am Jdms:m .
Mr Herbert, Adviser, was in attendance.
Mr
B.G.
Phelps,
Mr
E.K.
Ball
am
Dr
R.C.
Gcrles:tr
�re
sUIlllOnsed by crder of the Cbnmittee .
'!he press am public �re admitted .
Mr B . C. Phelps from Cali fornia, am representing TraITOnt Pty.
Ltd .
showed
s lides
on
varioos
a8pe:)ts
of
secur ity
and
perSJnal
identificaton am carmented thereoo.
Mr B .C. Phelps am Mr E .K. Ball fran Cali fornia, U. S . of A. ,
am Dr R. C. Gcrlesar of Tranont Pty . Ltd. , called as witnesses and sworn :
'!he witnesses severally having received sUIllIOn ses un::1er the Parliamentary
Eviden:e Act, 1901 .
Evidence C01cluded , the witnesses withdrew.
'!he Cbmmittee adjoorned at 1 .05 p . m.
unti l 10 . 30 a . m.
on
Wednes:'iay, 2Jth July, 1983 .
*
WErNESDAY,
*
*
20 JULY, 1983
At Parliament Ibuse, Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m .
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . paciullo ( in the Clair )
Legislative Cbuncil
'Ihe. H:moorable n.R.
Bur ton
The H:>rourable Lbrothy Isaksen
Legislative Assenbly
Mr Fisdler
Dr Metherell
Apolcgies
O ' Nei ll :
were
receiVed
from Messrs
Calabro,
JohnSJn. am
a message \\as re:eived fran Mr Fischer that he was delayed .
- 23 Mr Herbert , Adviser, \'as in attendarx::e .
'!h e Cbnmittee deliberated .
Mr N.G.D. Scott
an:'!
Mr R. Paterson \\ere sUlTm:msed by order of
the Cbnunittee.
'!he press
public \\ere admitted .
an:'!
By d irection of
the
Cha irman
the
Clerk
read
Legislat ive
Assellb1y Staming Order No. 362 relating to the Examination of Witnesses .
Mr Fischer took
up
h is place on the Cbnunittee .
Mr N.G.D. Scott an:'! Mr R. Paterson of Mitsubishi Australia
Ltd. called as witnesses am sworn :
'lhe witnesses severally ackrnol1edged
having received SlllTm:mses urrler the Parliamentary Evidence Act, 1901 .
Eviderx::e corx::1uded, the witnesses wi tlrlrew.
'!he
Cbnmittee
adjourned
at
1 1 .40
a.m.
until
Thursday, 4th August, 1983 .
*
*
*
'lHJRSDAY, 4 Aurusr, 1983
At Parliament li:>use, Sydney, at 10.00 a . m.
MEMBERS
PRESENT
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Clair )
Legislative Cburx:il
'!he fbrrurab1e D . R . Burtal
'!he fboourab1e F. calabro
'lhe fbrrurab1e Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative Asserrb1y
Mr Fisdler
Dr
Matherell
Mr
O ' Nei ll
10
a . m.
on
- 24 Mr Herbert , Adviser, \>,as in attendarce .
Resolve:'l.
rn
the
IrOtion
of
Mr
Fischer,
secon:1Erl
by
the
IblU.lrable F. Calabro am carrie:'l. unaniIrOusly that the OJrrunittee place on
record its appreciation of the service extende:'l. by Mr A.V.P. Johnson ,
M.P. , sin:e its ircept ion .
'!hat the OJrranittee authorize the Clerk to cx:nvey the saJre to
Mr Jdmson am arrange a luc:heon for all the original OJrrunittee plus
Mr Jacksoo , Mr Herbert am Miss Rice before Which a formal photo shoold
be taken .
'!he CbImnittee deliberatErl .
Mr J .W. ravies, Mr M.J . Butler, Mr C.R. Ailwood am Mr L.G.
Apolony W3re summ::nsErl by order of the OJrranittee .
'!he press am public were admittErl .
By direction
of
the
Chairman
the
Clerk
read
Legislative
Assembly Starrling Order No . 362 relating to the Examination of Witnesses .
Mr J .W. ravies, Mr M . J . Butler, Mr C.R. Ailwood a m Mr L .
Apolrny o f the Department o f Motor Transport callErl a s witnesses am
sworn :
'!he witnesses severally ackrnwled:]Erl having receivErl surnm::mse s
urrler the Parliamentary Evidence Act, 1901 .
Mr 'O ' Neill ootainErl leave of the Chair .
Evidence crncluded , the witnesses withdrew.
'!he Cbrnrnittee adjournErl at 4 .45 p . m.
Tuesday, 30th August , 1983 .
*
*
*
until
10 . 30 a.m.
on
- 25 'IUFSDAY, 30 AU3Usr, 1983
At Parliam:mt Ibuse, Sydney, at 10 . 30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G. Paciullo ( in the Chair)
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he FbnJUrable F. Calabro
'!he Fboourable I)Jrothy Isaksen
Legislative Assembly
Dr Metherell
Mr O ' Neill
Mr Ibbb
Mr H3rbert , Adv iser , \',as in at ten:laoce
•
Apologies were received from Messrs Burton and FisCher .
'!he Chairrran exterrled a welcome to Mr W.E. Rol:i:> on joining the
Cornrni ttee •
Agreed that a telegram of carlolence be sent to Mr FisCher on
the death of his rother .
'!he Minutes of the fifty-third to fi fty-seventh neetings, on
5 , 6 , 7 and 20 July and 4 August, 1983 , as circulated, were confirmed.
'!he CbImnittee deliberated .
Mr Rol:i:> ootained leave of the Chair .
'!he CbImnittee set aside the following dates :
10 . 30
a.m.
on
5,
6,
25 ,
26
and
and
16 NoveIIber ,
27
OctOber,
1983 ,
for
deliberation .
10 .00 a.m.
on 15
1983
for hearings on
rotorcycle safety and/or deliberat ion .
Resolved on the rotion of Dr Methere ll , secarled by Mr O ' Neill
and carried
unan
irously that the Cbrnrnittee rot arrange for the atten:laoce
of an expert witness from the Motorcycle Safety Fbundation, Pennsylvania,
U . S .A.
- 26 -
'!he
Cbnunittee
adjoomed
at
midday
unti l
10 .30
a . m.
on
Wedneroay, 5th October, 198 3 .
*
WECNESDAY, 5
*
*
CCTOBER,
1983
At Parliammt lbuse , Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Clla ir )
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he lbtnlrable D . R . Burton
'!he lboourable F . Calabro
'!he lbtnlrable Dorothy Isak sen
Legislative Assenbly
Dr Metherell
Mr O ' Nei ll
Mr lbbb
Mr Herbert , Adv iser, \'as in attendal'Pe .
Apologies were receival frCl1\ Mr Fischer.
'!he Minutes of the fi fty-eighth meet ing on 30 August, 1983 , as
circulated, were exnfirmed.
'!he Cbnunittee deliberated.
Mr 0' Neill obtainal leave of the O1air.
'!he
Cbnunittee adjoomed at
'!hurroay , 6 October, 198 3 .
*
*
*
1
p . m.
unti l
10 .30
a . m.
on
- 27 'IHURSDAY, 6 OC'roBER, 1983
At Parliament lbuse, Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m.
PRESENT
MBMBERS
Mr G . paciullo ( in the Clla ir )
Legislative Cbuncil
'!he Iboourable D.R. Burton
'!he Iboourable F. Calabro
Legislative Assenbly
Mr Fischer
Dr Metherell
Mr O ' N;!ill
Mr
Ro1:iJ
Mr Helbert, Adviser, was in atterrlance.
Apologies W3re ra::e ived fran the Iboourable Dorothy Isaksen.
'!he CbIlllli ttee deliberated .
Dr Metherell d::J tained leave of the Clla ir .
'!he CbIllllittee adjourned at midday until 10 . 30 a . m.
25th CCtd::Jer , 1983 .
*
'lUESDAY,
*
*
25 OC'roBER, 1983
At Parliament lbuse, Sydney, at 10 .30 a . m.
MBMBERS
PRESENT
Mr G . Paciullo ( in the Clla ir )
Legislative Cbunc il
'!he lboourable D.R. Burton
'!he Iboourable F . Calabro
'!he Iboourable Dorothy Isaksen
Leg islative Assenbly
Mr Fischer
Mr 0 ' N;! i 11
Dr Metherell
Mr R:>bb
on
'fuesday,
- 28 -
Mr H3rbert, Adviser, \'.as in attermn:::e .
The Oornmittee deliberated .
Messrs
W.G.
Upton,
Director ,
am.
R.A.
Budd ,
Ass istant
Director, of the Office of Road Safety, Department of Transport, Canberra
addressed the Cbmrnittee
00
Graduated Licensing, Points Dererit Systems
am other intervention strategies .
Discussion ensuErl .
Messrs Upton am. Budd withdrew.
Messrs
Calabro arrl O ' Neill obtainErl leave of the Clair .
'!he CbllUlli ttee further deliberated .
Agreed that the IlOrning of Friday, 16th December, 1983 , be set
as ide for Oornmittee activity in view of the fact that raman breath
testing \'.as introdu:::Erl in New South wales on 17th December, 1982 .
* * *
'IUFSDAY, 15
NJVEMBER,
1983
At ParliaIrent Ibuse, Sydney, at 10 . 30 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Legislative Oouncil
'!he tblXlUrable D.R.
Bur ton
'!he Horx:>urable F. calabro
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fisd1er
Mr Knight
Mr O ' Neill
Mr Ibbb
Mr H3rbert , Adviser, \'.as in attermn:::e .
Entry
No.
13
in
Votes
am.
Proceedings
No.
27
of
the
Legislative Assembly of '!hursday, 10th November, 1983 , \'.as read by the
Clerk .
- 29 -
en
Honourable F.
the notion of the lbnourab1e D.R. Burton, secorrlErl by the
Calabro,
Mr M. S .
Knight was called to the Chair arrl
thereupoo. made his ackn::M1edgements to the Cbmmittee .
Apologies �re receivErl
M:!there ll
from Dr
arrl
the Honourable
Dorothy Isaksen .
The Minutes of the fi fty-ninth to s ixty-first meetings on 5 , 6
arrl 25 <X:tober, 1983 , as circulated,
\',ere
confirmed .
The Cbmmittee deliberated .
The Conunittee set as ide the follc::M ing dates : 10 . 30
a.m.
to
4
p.m. ,
r-brrlay ,
21st
N::>vember,
for
7th
December,
for
8th
December,
for
16th
Decerber,
for
deliberat ion .
10 . 30
a.m.
to
4
p.m. ,
Wednesday ,
hearings en notor cycle safety.
10 . 30
a.m.
to
4
p.m. ,
Thursday ,
hearings en notor cycle safety.
10 . 30
a.m.
to
2
p.m. ,
Friday,
inspections in a:mnection. wi th rarrlom breath testing .
The CbImlittee adjourned at 11 . 30 a.m.
until 10 . 30 a.m. on
r-brrlay, 21st N::>veurer, 1983 .
*
M:>NDAY,
21
*
*
N:>VEMBER,
1983
At Parliarrent lbuse, Sydney, at 10 . 30 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Mr M. Knight ( in the Chair )
Legislative Council
The lbnourab1e D.R. Burton
The lbnourab1e F . Calabro
'!he H::>nourab1e Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative Assembly
Mr Fischer
Dr M:!therell
Mr O ' Nei ll
Mr Robb
- 30 Mr Herbert , Adviser,
IoeS
in attendame .
Messages we re receivErl from The Honourable D:>rothy Isaksen, Dr
Metherell
an:'i
Messrs 0 ' Naill
The
Honourable
O ' Naill am Ibl::b took
lp
an:'i
Ibl::b that they were delayed.
D:>rothy
Isaksen,
Dr
Methere ll
am
M:!ssrs
their plcw:es on the Conunittee .
The Conmi ttee deliberated .
The Committee set aside Tuesday, 6th December, 1983, for its
next meeting at 2 p.m.
The Conmittee adjoumErl at 4 . 50 p.m. lIDtil 2 p.m. on Tuesday,
6th De:::enOOr, 1983 .
*
'lUESDAY,
*
*
6 DEOlMBER, 1983
At Parlianent li:>use, Sydney, at 2 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENr
Mr M. Knight ( in the Clair)
legislat ive Cam::i l
The Hol'Olrab1e D . R . Burton
The Honourable F . calabro
'D1e Hol'Olrable Dorothy Isaksen
legislatiye Assellbly
Mr Fischer
Dr Metherell
Mr O ' Naill
Mr Ibbb
Mr Herbert , Adv iser,
Re�lvErl ,
by Mr Ibbb
an:'i
O'l
IoeS
in attendame.
the notion of the Horourable F. calabro, secorrlErl
carried unanillO.lsly, that the Conunittee record its great
appreciation of the service to read sa fety of the Horourable GeOrge
Paciullo, its former Cla irnan i congratulate him on his an:ointment as a
Minister; am wish him every success in his Ministry.
- 31 '!he Minutes of the sixty-third uee ting , on 21 NoveIIber, 1983,
as circulated, \',ere a:n firmed .
'!he chnmittee deliberated.
'!he Cbnmittee adjourned at 4 p.m. until tonorro,.,> at 10 .30 a . m.
*
FRIDAY, 10
*
*
FEBRJARY,
1984
At the Road Traffic Authority, Carlton, Victor ia, at 1 2 .30 p.m.
MEMBEru> PRESENT
Mr M. Knight ( in the Clair )
Legislative Cal1'�il
'!he tbncurable D.R. Burton
'!he tbrourable F . Calabro
'!he tbncurable Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative AsseIIbly
Mr Fisdler
Dr Metherell
Mr :R:)bb
Mr Herbert, Adviser, \'as in attendarx::e .
An apology \'as received from Mr O ' Ne i ll .
'!he Cbrnrnittee held discuss ions with Mr Alan Ieiher, Director
General of Transport ;
Mr Kevin Shea,
Traffic Authority; Dr Peter Vulcan,
SWann ,
of
Managing Director
of
the Foad
Chief General Manager ; Dr Phi lip
General Manager, Road Sa fety; Mr Vin Smith , Chief General Manager
Re:Julations
arrl
Registrations;
Mr Gerry Kelly of LicE!1S ing ;
am
Mr Ian Jchnston of the Road User Divis ion.
'!he Cbrnrnittee
\>as
a&lressed by Mr 'Ibm
Wocrl
on the backgraurl
to the Victorian progranme of MJtorcycle Rider LicEnsing .
'!he Cbrnrnittee adjoorned at 5 .00 p.m. unti l 2 p.m. on Saturday,
11th February, 1984.
*
*
*
- 32 Si\'IURDhY,
11 FEBRUARY, 1984
At Technical am Further Frlucation Centre ,
Moorabbin, Victoria, at 2 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENI'
Mr M. Knight ( in the Clair )
Legislat ive Council
'!he ibl'X>Urable D . R. Burton
'!he H::>ou
o rable F . Calabro
'!he ibnourable Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative Assembly
Dr Metherell
Mr O'Nei ll
Mr Robb
Mr H3rbert , Adviser, \'as in atterrlan::e .
An apology
'!he Cbrnmittee
\'2S
\'2S
receive::! fran Mr O ' Neill .
addrese;ep. by Mr 'Ibm
Wood
on MJtorcycle Rider
Training and discuss ion ensue::! .
'!he Q:mrnittee viewed the video fi lm "MJtorcycle Survival" .
'!he Cbrnmittee ooserved dellOnstrat ions of Level l and Level 2
Courses with Mr Ray Newland and
Esther Birchall as instructors and Mr
Rolarrl Collins and Mr Blythe Osborne as "pupi ls " .
Ms
'!he CbImnittee viewed the video film "Getting the M:>st alt of
M:>st " by the MJtorcycle Safety Foundation of Anerica.
'!he CbImnittee adjourne::! at 5 . 00 p.m. until lO a.m. on Surrlay ,
12th February, 1 984 .
*
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- 33 SUNDAY, 12
FEBIUARY,
1984
At the forner Ibbart Ra.ilway Tennina1,
Tasmania, at 10 a.m.
MEMBERS
PRESENT
Mr M. Knight ( in the Chair)
Legislat ive CalIx:!i l
'!he lblDlrab1e D.R. Burton
'!he lbmurab1e F . Calabro
'!he lblDlrab1e Dorothy Isaksen
Legislative Assellb1y
Dr �therell
Mr o ' Nei ll
Mr Ibbb
Mr Herbert , Adviser,
An apology
'!he Cbnunittee
Transport,
W3.S
W3.S
W3.S
in atterrln:e .
receive:1 from Mr O'Ne ill .
ne t by Mr A .L . Fisher , lldmin istrator of Read
Mr ravid Closs,
Course P1amer arrl Mr Barry Hill,
Course
Organization .
'!he Cblllllittee vie� a level 1 Training Course in Operation
un:Jer Instructor Arxly Cranooo.
The Cbllllli ttee vie� a New Zealarrl video film " Riding to a
System" .
'!he Cbllllil ttee proceede:1 via the pontoon bridge to the Iblice
Academy, Rd<:eby am ciJserved a Level 2 Tra ining CaJrse un:Jer Instructor
Peter '!hcrpe .
The Cbllllli ttee sat in en an instructor ' s semiinar carlucted by
Mr Alex Jerrim.
Mr Fisher amre ssed the Cbmnittee en the Tasmanian M:>torcyc1e
Rider Training PrOJraII'IIOO am d iscuss ion
Ensued .
'!he Cbmnittee adjourned at 2 .15 p.m. to a date to be fixe:1 .
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LIST OF SUEMISSIONS
Abela
M.
lIdvancErl Dr iver Training Club
Aladdin Driving School
K.W.
Allum
J.
Anderson
J .M.
An:lerron
L .W.
Anderson
Aoonynous ( 2 )
I.
Armstrong
J.
Astle
Australian O:mncil for Rehabilitation of Disabled
Australian Labor Party, Bankstown State Electorate Council
Australian Labor Party, Blacktown State Electorate Oouncil
Australian Labor Party, M:lrayong/OJakers Hill Branch
Australian Medical Association (N.S .W. )
Australian <:pt:c>metrical Associat ion (N. S . W. )
Australian Red Cross Society
Australian Transport Officers Federation
M.
Avery
K.
Ballantine
S.
Bann ister
R.J.
Bartley
B .J .
Batt
H.C.
Begg
R.S .
Bell
Better Vision Institute, The
F.
Blake
P.
Bol.aIrl
R.J .T.
Bourne
H.
Bcji,r
&
H.O.
G.
Boyle
- 2 C . R.
Briese
J.H.
Brown
S.
Brown
D.J.
Browning
R.J.
Buglass
C.R.
Bult
P.W.
Butler
Canberra Developoont �rd
L.M.
Carter
Cash-M::lre Enterprises
R.J.
Castine
B.
Chamberlain
P.
O1anrx:>n
P.
Chap!lBl1
W.
Olristian
P.
Clifford
M.
Cdlen am group
C.C.
O:::x:>k
R.A.
O:::x:>k
G.
Cooobes
J.
Cordeiro
K.M.
Cbre
K.A.
Cbrke
K.
Cottrell-Corner
W.A.
Craigie
B.
Crawford
B .V.
Cross
J.T.
CrCMther
Cronulla-SUtherlam Leagues Club Board
P.
Cubbin arrl
J.P.
CUmingham
K.
D3.rke
J .W.
Davies
R.
Daynoro
R.
Debus
£ami ly
Delairco Group
C.H.R.
Dent
H.E.
J:'obson
J:'octors I Peform Society
H.
van der Dr i ft
- 3 Fd\\ards nmlcp and B .J . Ball
M .J . E .
ELl-is
Endeavour High School, Principal
L.J.
EWing
R.
Fairfax
R.
Featherstone
J.
Feneck
K.
Fenton
W.H.
Field
H.J.
Fisher
T.M.
Flower
E.
Fortescue
I.
Francis
A.J. and J .A. Fuller
F.
Gardner & R.M. Smith
c.c.
Glynn
F.
Goddard
D. & B .
Godden
J.
Goodl
J .J .
Grace
R.
Greentree
P . C.
Griffin
G.
Grimes
H.
Haasnann
R.D.M.
Halliday
H.A.
HallJlan
A. S .
Hamilton
F.S .
Hamilton
J.
Hatton
P.C.
Hattal
R.R.
Hawes
N.J.
Hewitt
R.J .E.D. Higgs
c.
Hill
H.T.
Holsten
R.
fb:oel
F.C.
Horsley
G.S.
Ib:'Slell
L.
Fblell
F.
B..Jd son
F.J.
Hutchins
- 4 Institute of Advanced Motor ists
P.
Irwin
J.
Jackson-Galway
L.
JOhansson
D.
Johnson
J.
Jone s
D.
Julier
G.
Jussberg
P.
Karrlelas
M.F.
Keane
C . S .L .
Keay
B.P.
Keegan
R.
Kelly
R.
Kingston
G.
Krooglik
B.
Lakin
A.E.
Lean
W.
Leech
Leigh-Mardoo Graphics
G.
Leyson
Liberal Party of Australia, Beverly Hills BranCh
Liberal Party of Australia , Bexley North/Bardwell Park BranCh
P.
I.cwings
I .R.
Luff
P.B.
Lycn
R.S.
Mackay
G.J.
Mackenzie
N.R.M.
Mackeras
T .J.
Martin
C.V.J.
Mason
A.
Masters am group
H.V.
B . D.
Matthews
Mathieson
B.
McGregor
C .N.
t-k:Gregor
W.
McIllhatton
Minister for Transport , Federal
Minister for Transport, N.S .W.
Mi tsubishi Australia Ltd.
L .A.
Morarrla
Motor Cycle Council of New South W:lles
- 5 f.btor Sdlools ' Association of New South Wales
f.btor Traders ' Association of New South Wales
f.btor Transport , Der:artment of
L .S .
r-bunser
I.
Moxtin
P .J.
M.lllens
P.J.
Murphy
National lbads and f.btorists ' Association
National Safety Council of Australia
G.
Nelson
New England Traffic Education Board
New South Wales Read Freight Transport Industry Cruncil
New South Wales State OJuncil of Youth
New South Wales State Council of Youth, Riverina Region
S.
Newnan
D.H.
Noble
J.
O ' Brien
A.
Oliver
R.T.W.
Pain
A.D.
Paine
F.J.
Parker
G.M.
Paterson
C.
Pearsall
A.W.
Pearson
Photomaton (Australia) pty. Ltd.
R.
Pinkstone
S.G.
Pitt
Polaroid Australia pty. Ltd.
Police, Cbmmi ssicner of
D.
Pollak
Port Hacking High School, Principal
R.M. , Sydney
S.
Raynorrl
E.G.
Reeve and J .M. Stevenson
M.
Ieid
Rex Aviation Ltd .
C.W.
Ritchie
lbad Trauma Cbmnittee
K.W.
Ibse
Ibtary International R:lad Safety CoIIIni ttee , District 970
- 6 P.B.
Russell
Safety Institute of Australia
D.G.
Saffron
S .A.L.A.D. MJvement
N.
R.
SchUIIBnl1
Scott
P.
Scully
B.E.
Semmle r
J .M.
SerCOIlibe
E.
Shead
C.
S1eridan
w.
Shute
C . G.
Skilbeck
R.F .
Slym
J .H.
SItale
K.
Smith
K.A.
Smith
P.
Smith
R.M.
Smith
S.
Smith
W.
Smith
Society of Advancoo MJtorists
K.J.
Sperx:e
J.C.
Spencer
St Jolm Ambulance Association New South W3.les centre
C . M.
Stahl
S .A.
Stanley
J.
Step;ens
J . R.
Stewart
P.
Stewart
R.
Stuart-BQbertson
G.
SUtherlaOO
Sylvania High Sdlool Year 11 Students
J.
Taylor
Telvue Prorrotions pty. Ltd.
G . D.
'Ihane
F.J.
Todd
Traffic Authority of New South W3.les
Trancnt pty . Ltd
A.M.
Turnbull
- 7 G.W.
tpton
R.W.
Wade-Ferrell
M.J.
Walker
R. I .
Walter
S .A.
W:lrburton
G.C.
watkins
W:lyback Conmittee , '!he
B.
Weli:>
J.
Wellspring
J.
West
W.J .
White
P R.
Wi J..lx7../
B.H.
B.
Williamson
Wils:m
B.
Wright
M.J.
Yeomans
•
Young National O::>untry Party of Australia (N.S .W. )
8YN)PSIS FRCM '!HE VOTES lIND PROCEED INGS OF
'!HE LEX3ISIATIVE ASSEMBLY AND FRCM '!HE MINUl'ES
OF '!HE PROCEEDINGS OF '!HE LEJ3ISIATIVE ca.JK'CIL
Item 9, Votes and Proceedings of the Legislat ive Assembly, 17th M:l.rch, 1982 :
Resolved tl1at a Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety be appointed and
that the Legislat ive Counci l be requested to aH.X>int three of
its
Members to serve with five Members of the Legislative Assembly upon suCh
Joint Standing Cbmmittee .
Item 5, Minutes of the Proceedings of the Legislative Cbuncil, 17th MarCh,
1982 :
Ordered that ccnsideration of the Legislative Assembly ' s nessage stand
an Order of the ray for the next Sitt ing ray.
Item 12 , Minutes of the Proceedings of the Legislative Cbuncil, 30th MarCh,
1982 :
Resolved that a nessage be forwarded to the Legislative Assenbly that
the Legislat ive Counci l agrees to the Iesolution of the Legislative
Assembly
and
appoints
its
representatives
on
the
Joint
Standing
Camnittee .
Item 9, Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly, 30th M3.rCh , 1982 :
Mr Deputy-Speaker reported receipt of that IOOSsage from the Legislative
Cbuncil.
Item 5 , Votes am. Proceedings of the Legislative Assenbly, 18th August , 1983 :
Ordered that William E]\\ard :R:>bb be aH.X>inted to serve in the place of
Anthcny Valentine Patrick Johnson .
Item 13 , Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assenbly,
lOth Novenber,
1983 :
Ordered that Mr Pac iullo be disCharged
fran attendance and that Mr
Knight be appointed a IlJeJIber of the Cbmmittee.
LIST OF WI'lNESSES
L.G.
Ailwood , Department of llitor Transport
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Apolony,
E . K.
Ball, Cbnputer Identification Systems Incorporated, Cali fornia
R.J.
Bartley, Olairman of the Licensing Courts
G.P.
Blackley, Polaroid Australia pty . Ltd.
C.R.
Briese, O1airman of the Bench of Stipendiary M3.gistrates
R.J.
Buglass
M.J.
Butler, Department of llitor Transport
C . R.
P.
Connelly, N . S .W. State Counci l of Youth
A.S.
Cooper , '!he llitor Sdlools ' Association of N . S .W.
J.W.
ravies, Department of llitor Transport
A.B.
Dennis , Department of Police
F.
Gardner , B .M.W. llitorsport
L.M.
George, '!he llitor Schools ' Association of N . S .W.
R.C.
Go:lesar, Trarront pty . Ltd .
G.H.R.
Greaves , Department of Police
M.
Green, N.S .W. State Counci l of Youth
R.J . E . D . Higgs, R.A.C.S . PDad Trawna Cbmnittee
J .H.
HirShman, Doctors ' Reform Society
E .A.
Huxtable, National
A.M.
Jamieson, Department of Police
D.
Jarnan, Safety Institute o f Australia
lbads
am llitor ists ' Association
L.E.
Jdlansson
B.
Laylarrl , Australian Optometrical Society
R.M.
Martin, Public Health Department
K.J .
O ' Sullivan, '!he MJtor SChools ' Association of N . S .W.
R.A.
Paterson, Mitsubishi Australia Ltd .
B.C.
Phelps, Computer Identification Systems Incorporated, Cali fornia
D.G.
Saffron, Traffic Accident Research Unit
N.G.D.
Scott , Mitsubishi Australia Ltd .
. B .O.
Searles, National
Reads
an:i llitorists ' Association
G.D.
Shaw, Department of Police
P.B.
'Ierry, Department of Police