Decades of gains in road safety are being set back by the rise in SUV ownership and impatient drivers used to empty lockdown streets
Last modified on Sat 20 May 2023 21.23 BSTfter decades of progress that made Australian roads considerably safer, fatalities have been steadily increasing in recent years – and research suggests the pandemic, as well as a love affair with large four-wheel drives, may be to blame.
He explained that researchers see two broad categories of factors that influence road danger – exposure, which is how much people are driving, and risk, which is driver behaviour, vehicle choice and road design.During the pandemic travel exposure went down, particularly in cars, by about 70%, while road trauma only dropped by 20%, said Newstead.
The pandemic also led many Australians to ditch public transport permanently, whether that be because they can now work from home and have more time to drive for leisure, or because they grew accustomed to the comfort of driving to work during the pandemic. Public transport patronage of about, according to University of Sydney research.
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