Rural and remote road crashes: piecing together the story

Deaths from rural road crashes continue at a higher rate per head of population than that for major cities, with the risk of dying on rural roads exceeding that on motorways by four to six times. In response to such evidence and the paucity of research specifically examining rural road trauma, a five-year multi-component study aimed at increasing knowledge about rural and remote road crashes and informing road safety policy was designed. This paper presents some initial results from two components of the study: interviews with road crash patients admitted to hospital between March 2004 and May 31 2006; and interviews with road users passing the sites where the hospital interviewees’ crashes occurred 1-2 weeks previously. Demographic data, use of safety restraints and helmets, levels of drinking and attitudes to road safety practices and enforcement are reported