Why safer cars deserve credit for lower road toll | comment

Safer vehicles -- and car affordability at a 38-year high -- deserve at least some of the credit for the record-low road toll announced this week.
 
Figures for July released by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development show 1157 people died on Australian roads over the past 12 months, down from the 2013 calendar-year tally of 1193 deaths.
 
The latest 12-month tally is the lowest since 1935 when 1100 people died, and is down from a peak of 3978 deaths in 1970 when there were fewer cars on the road -- and the population stood at 12.2 million, a little more than half what it is today.
 
Governments across Australia will no doubt take the credit for the latest reductions in the road toll as speed cameras continue to rake in the cash.
 
But it is worth noting that five of the past six years have been records for new-car sales and most new models have six airbags and stability control (which can prevent a skid) these days.
 
That means there is a greater chance the cars alongside you can avoid a crash in the first place and, if things do sadly go awry, you're more likely to be in a car that's better protected by airbags.
 
The old adage that we don't make 'em like we used to is true when it comes to cars.
 
Back in the Kingswood era, cars were designed to be strong -- and the human body took the brunt of the impact.
 
Modern cars are in fact designed to crumple around you so that the forces on the body -- the rapid deceleration -- are minimised.
 
We shouldn't pat ourselves on the back just yet, however. The average age of cars on our roads is getting younger but it is still not as good as other developed countries.
 
The average age of all cars on Australian roads has dipped to below 10 years for the first time, but is still not as low as Japan, the UK and the USA whose vehicle fleets are an average of six to eight years old.
 
Which is why the thought of opening the floodgates to imported used cars is disturbing. The Federal Government is still considering this flawed proposal.
 
We need to find ways to continue to make new cars more affordable so they can filter onto the used market and be within reach of the masses.
 
Today, you can have a brand-new Honda Jazz with six airbags, a five star safety rating and a rear-view camera for $14,990.
 
Given that Australia's used-car prices are at 10-year lows, chances are near-new two- or three-year-old cars will soon be in the $8000-$9000 price bracket.
 
Imagine how many more lives we can save as the nation's car fleet gets newer and safer -- and imagine the tragedy if a flood of older used cars led to an increase in the road toll.
 
That would most certainly not be progress. Here's hoping common sense prevails.
 
Fast facts
 
Motorists need to give cyclists a bigger safety gap as the number of fatalities has risen by a staggering 44 per cent over the past year -- to 56 deaths in the 12 months to July 2014, or more than one fatality a week.
 
The latest figures show Australia's road toll has fallen to a new low -- and deaths of 17-to-25-year-olds have dropped by 33 per cent over the past five years -- but fatalities among those aged over 65 have increased by 10 per cent over the same period.
 
Five years ago, 307 drivers aged 17-to-25 died on the nation's roads compared to 235 road users over the age of 65. But in the 12 months to July, 204 young drivers died compared to 258 deaths of those aged over 65.
 
Road deaths over the past five years are down in every state in Australia except Tasmania, where the road toll is up by 28 per cent (from 32 in the 12 months to July 2010, to 41 deaths in the 12 months to July 2014).
 
The latest figures show motor vehicle fatalities in Australia have fallen to five deaths per 100,000 people for the first time since records were kept -- but our roads are still the 16th most dangerous among OECD countries, behind Turkey (4.99), Finland (4.71), Germany (4.39), Switzerland (4.26) and Spain (4.12).
 
Figures from the World Health Organisation show China and India have much higher road fatality rates (approximately 20 deaths per 100,000 people according to 2010 data).
 
The worst places on the planet for road deaths are the Dominican Republic (41.7 fatalities per 100,000 people), Thailand (38.1), Venezuela (37.2), South Africa (31.9), Iran (34.1), Iraq (31.5) and Oman (30.4), the WHO data showed.