Travel Road Safety for Baby Boomers 

In 2004, the World Health Organisation recognized road safety as a major preventable health issue.
On a worldwide scale, the anticipated growth in the number of vehicles in circulation (barely 1% per capita in China in 2001, 74% in the United States) has led the World Health Organisation (WHO) to forecast a considerable rise in the global death toll. Road crashes are set to become the 3rd greatest cause of death in the world by 2020, whereas in 1990 they were in 9th place. In Australia, it is already the fourth biggest killer of men after heart disease, suicide and lung disease.



Here are some (WHO) facts:

- Speed contributes to at least 30% of road traffic crashes and deaths.
- For every 1km/hr increase in speed there is a 3% increase in the incidence of injury crashes and a 5% increase in the risk of a fatal crash.
- Pedestrians are eight times more likely to be killed by cars travelling at 50km/h than 30km/h.

You might not like to hear this but ……… Key interventions they recommend that work to reduce fatalities are:

- setting and enforcing speed limits
- designing roads according to their function (e.g. highways, suburban roads)
- speed cameras or stationary enforcement
- traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps and traffic circles
- education and public information.

Avoiding the Risks

Driving a vehicle implies the acceptance of a certain number of risks. The careful driver will always be aware of the risks, while at the same time ensuring that the level of risk never rises to an unacceptable level. Alcohol alters a driver's subjective assessment of risk so that he or she drives more recklessly, while at the same time the ability to drive is impaired. In essence, alcohol abuse or drug dependency are addictive practices that can lead to neurological or psychiatric difficulties, which can in turn trigger a sudden alteration in brain function and thus endanger road safety. Certain drugs interact negatively with alcohol, and in particular some combinations are known to reduce alertness. When drugs, whether legal or illegal, are taken with alcohol, the effect of the latter is intensified. This mixture can trigger mental dysfunctions that are extremely dangerous for road users.

Driver fatigue

Fatigue is also a major factor in Death by driving, contributing about 20% of road deaths in NSW alone. It has particular relevance to Baby Boomers in that it can severely impair judgment and can affect anyone, no matter how experienced a driver they are. It is particularly dangerous because one of the symptoms is a decreased ability to judge your own level of tiredness. Other symptoms vary between drivers, but may include:

* Yawning.
* Restlessness.
* Drowsiness.
* Boredom.
* Micro sleeps.
* Poor concentration.

Australian Automobile Association of Australia -  http://www.aaa.asn.au/index.php

Current Australian Road Rules - constituted 1999 – form the basis of Road Rules of each Australian state and territory:

http://www.ntc.gov.au/viewpage.aspx?AreaId=35&DocumentId=794

Road Safety: AAA - http://www.aaa.asn.au/about/programs.htm#saferroads

Australian State & Territory Motoring Clubs           - http://www.aaa.asn.au/about/members.htm

Guidance for Australians Touring Overseas: AAA - http://www.aaa.asn.au/touring/default.htm

International Touring Associations

International Touring Alliance                    - http://www.aitgva.ch/AIT_Home.htm

Federation Internationale de l’Automobile - http://www.fia.com/en-GB/Pages/HomePage.aspx

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Disclaimer: The information contained in this section should not be used for individual travel advice. Please see your travel agent for more information regarding your individual requirements.