Road guardians

THE Institute for Research in Safety and Transport at Murdoch University (formalised in 1992) has a strong community focus on improving research and safety for road user behaviour, transport, resource and agricultural industries.

Consultancies have included problems with maritime shift work problems and fly in-fly out mining operations, road accident analyses and providing expert advice to road safety committees and to the legal profession.

In one recent court case where I was called to give expert evidence, there was a lady who had been out with friends and at parties all weekend and had only six hours of sleep between Saturday and Monday morning, said Centre Director, Associate Professor Laurence Hartley.

She then drove to work, fell asleep and killed a pedestrian. She claimed she sneezed, closed her eyes and didn’t see him. However, we could demonstrate that at the speed she was travelling, she could have seen the pedestrian for 15 seconds before killing him, and that the angle of run-off was such that she was not controlling the vehicle for 15 seconds.

The jury rejected her defence and she got a custodial sentence.

Shiftwork is a growing activity and presents a danger of fatigue due to sleep loss with increased risk of accidents at work and when driving.

Recently completed projects for Vicroads include information brochures and Occupational Safety and Health training videos on shiftwork and napping countermeasures for shiftworkers. These are available from the WA Office of Road Safety.