Annual Report 2009
www.monash.edu.au/muarc
2009 Annual Report
Chair’s Foreword
In the context of a complex global
financial situation, 2009 has been a
challenging but important year for the
future development of the Monash
University Accident Research Centre
(MUARC). With the support of the
Office of the Senior Deputy ViceChancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Research), MUARC consolidated its
existing relationships with government,
industry and the community and
broadened its partner base across a
range of new areas. Throughout 2009,
MUARC continued its commitment to
the provision of high quality research to
support our partners in reducing death
and serious injury from all causes.
Professor Edwina Cornish
Chair, MUARC Board
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor
& DVC, Research,
Monash University
Substantial efforts were made to
continue to establish local and regional
links and increase research output
from our nodes in Malaysia, Prato and
South Africa. It is expected that while
MUARC international nodes may take
some time to develop, their potential
to increase MUARC’s capacity to work
with the global community to address
the international burden of injury is
exciting and positive.
MUARC has a strong reputation for
the translation of research outcomes
into policy development and practice.
In 2009 the Centre initiated changes
that will enhance MUARC’s focus
on providing solutions to priority
questions. MUARC also has a strong
reputation for research excellence,
and 2009 saw a dramatic escalation
of MUARC’s academic productivity
and peer reviewed scientific outputs.
Most striking however, was MUARC’s
success in combining high quality
science with government- and
industry-driven practical results.
Highlights in 2009 that demonstrated
this integrated strength that is a feature
of MUARCs identity include:
• Success with the NHMRC
Partnership Grant “Evidence based
targeting of state-wide strategies for
preventing falls among community
dwelling older people in Victoria”,
that was developed in concert with
the Department of Health Victoria;
• Success with an ARC Linkage
Grant “Managing Older Driver
Safe Mobility: an International
Collaboration”, that will be
conducted in collaboration
with the Department of Justice,
Eastern Health, Road Safety Trust,
Transport Accident Commission,
University of Ottawa and VicRoads;
• A lead role in Monash’s
commitment with WorkSafe and
TAC, to establish the Institute
for Safety, Compensation and
Recovery Research (ISCRR);
• An agreement between Curtin
University, The Office of Road
Safety (Western Australia) and
MUARC to establish the Curtin
Monash Accident Research Centre
in Western Australia.
This has been an interesting and
exciting year of growth and change.
MUARC continues to evolve and
build on its outstanding reputation
as one of the world’s leading injury
research centres. I thank the staff and
the many sponsors and partners for
their ongoing commitment to injury
prevention.
Photo left: Nebojsa Tomasevic, Ashley Verdoorn
and Judith Charlton with the portable simulator
Chair's Foreword 3
Contents
Director’s Report...................................................................................... 5
Team Highlights:
Directorate.......................................................................................... 6
Behavioural Safety Science................................................................ 9
Human Factors................................................................................. 14
Injury Analysis & Data....................................................................... 17
Injury Surveillance and Epidemiology................................................ 22
Safe Systems Strategy & Infrastructure............................................. 25
Safety Science Biomechanics & Innovation....................................... 28
Vehicle Safety Test, Evaluation & Crash Research............................. 30
MUARC Europe (Prato).......................................................................... 32
MUARC Malaysia................................................................................... 34
MUARC South Africa............................................................................. 36
Monash University Accident Research Foundation................................. 38
Research Training.................................................................................. 39
External project committee members.................................................... 49
Statement of Income and Expenditure................................................... 51
Publications........................................................................................... 52
4
Contents
2009 Annual Report
Director’s Report
Professor Rod McClure MBBS BA PhD
FAFPHM FAICD
Director
In a challenging year, three
characteristics of MUARC research
staff have ensured that in 2009 we
not only responded to the challenges,
but used the environment created
by the global financial situation and
the changing university sector to
substantially enhance our partnership
base and increase our research
performance. Peer review publications
produced by MUARC staff increased
by 15% in 2009 compared to 2008,
and while research income from
government and industry decreased
marginally this was a satisfying result
considering the crisis in the automotive
industry.
The key MUARC staff characteristics
on which the success of 2009
depended were an unwavering belief
in the importance of MUARC’s core
values and activities, a belief in our
ability to perform these activities with
excellence, and a day-to-day focus
on just getting on with the job, so
that over the course of the year the
collective effort resulted in a major
body of work.
MUARC is known for its effective
partnerships with government,
community and industry. It is also
known for its delivery of high quality
scientific products. In 2009 MUARC
demonstrated perhaps more effectively
than ever, that these two capacities are
two sides of the same coin. Quality
science is of little use unless it has
practical application, and solutions
provided to priority questions posed
by our partners are of little benefit
unless they are based on high quality
science. Major breakthroughs in
solving community problems come
from innovative, inspired researchers
driven to achieve the highest quality
product specifically focused on real
world solutions. MUARC highlights for
2009 demonstrated the dual pillars of
our research contribution to the local,
national and global community.
The MUARC culture is a product of
our staff and to a large extent, the
attitude and commitment of our cohort
of postgraduate students. Using a
consultative process we reviewed the
postgraduate program with a view to
increasing the vitality and relevance of
what it means to be a postgraduate
scholar at MUARC and designed a
comprehensive new program that will
be introduced in 2010.
Critical to MUARC’s success is the
way in which we work holistically so
that the Centre’s outputs are overtly
acknowledged as the product of both
the research and administrative staff
of the Centre. The excellent support
provided across all levels of the
Centre in areas of finance, general
administration, human resources, IT,
communications and publications is
such that without the efforts of these
core staff the Centre would have little
capacity to function. In addition I
would like to thank the members of
the Centre Directorate and heads of
the international nodes for their role in
leading the Centre’s activities this year.
In 2009 MUARC staff and students
have been organised within seven
areas of expertise: Behavioural Safety
Science; Human Factors; Injury
Analysis and Data; Injury Surveillance
and Epidemiology; Safe Systems
Strategy & Infrastructure; Safety
Science Biomechanics & Innovation;
and Vehicle Safety Test, Evaluation &
Crash Research. The work of these
teams throughout 2009 is presented
in this report. As Director of this
aggregation of dedicated professionals,
I offer all at MUARC, and all of the
partners who have been so supportive
of our work this year, heartfelt thanks.
I invite you all to read through this
report and gain an understanding of
the range of work for which these
people have been responsible.
Director's Report 5
Directorate
Director:
Professor Rod McClure
Throughout 2009, Rod McClure
maintained an active research
program across the injury continuum.
His scientific publications and
presentations for 2009 reflect this
activity.
Dr. Lesley Day
Professor Rod McClure MBBS BA
PhD FAFPHM FAICD
Deputy Director:
Dr. Lesley Day is the Deputy Director
with responsibility to encourage
research excellence throughout the
Centre. She co-leads the Injury
Surveillance and Epidemiology Team.
Full details of her team’s research
program are on page 22.
Dr. Judith Charlton
Dr. Lesley Day PhD, MPH, BSc(Hons)
Associate Director (Education and
Research Training):
Dr. Judith Charlton is Associate
Director (Education and Research
Training) with responsibility to develop
the postgraduate training activities of
the Centre. She leads the Behavioural
Safety Science Team. Full details of her
team’s research program are listed on
page 9.
Professor Max Cameron
Dr. Judith Charlton PhD, MSc, BEd,
MAPS
Professor Max Cameron PhD, MSc,
Principal Research Fellow
BSc
Appointed as a Professor in December
2007, Max Cameron continued parttime this role with MUARC during
2009. His important contributions
include being an advisor and mentor
for staff throughout the Centre and
particularly in the Injury Analysis
and Data Team. He also leads and
undertakes a number of specific
projects in relation to enforcement
issues, speed and alcohol
management.
Adjunct Professor Mike Regan
Professor Ian Johnston AM PhD,
BA(Hons), FTSE
Professorial Research Fellow
Adjunct Professor Michael Regan
PhD, BSc(Hons), MESA
Senior Research Fellow (D)
(on secondment) /Research Director,
INRETS France
6
Directorate
Adjunct Professor Mike Regan is
currently on a 4-year secondment
from MUARC as a Research
Director with the French National
Institute for Transport and Safety
Research, (INRETS) in Lyon, France.
He is affiliated with two of INRETS’
laboratories – the Laboratory for
Ergonomics and Cognitive Sciences
Applied to Transport (LESCOT), in
Lyon, and the Modelling, Simulations
and Simulators (MSIS) laboratory in
Paris. The aims of Mike’s secondment
are: to (a) support INRETS/MUARC
involvement in EU-funded FP7
Centre Executive: Lesley Day,
Ron Smith, Judith Charlton and
Rod McClure
projects; (b) identify, initiate and
undertake new collaborative research
activities; and (c) facilitate broader,
enduring collaborations between
INRETS, MUARC and other research
institutes.
Mike was awarded the 2009 Cumming
Memorial Medal by the Human Factors
and Ergonomics Society of Australia
for “highly esteemed human factors
and ergonomics-related research or
application in a relevant area of human
factors and ergonomics”.
Professor Tom Triggs
Emeritus Professor Tom Triggs
continued his association with the
Centre and its Human Factors Group
in 2009. He continued as a member
of the VicRoads New Driver Licensing
program. Tom is Chair of the Board
of Management for the Victorian
Problem Gambling Research and
Treatment Centre, and is a member
of the Research Degrees Committee
of the Monash School of Psychology,
Psychiatry and Psychological
Medicine. Tom is involved in the
supervision of three PhD students at
the Centre.
Dr. Eric Wrigglesworth
Dr. Eric Wigglesworth passed away
on the 23rd March 2009. The
Centre is privileged to have had
Dr. Wigglesworth as an Honorary
2009 Annual Report
Professor Claes Tingvall DrMedSci,
MSc
Senior Research Fellow for many
years. Eric’s broad experience over
many forms of injury prevention,
particularly in the areas of Level
Crossings and Occupational Health
and Safety were of great value to
the research base of the Centre. His
outstanding contribution will be greatly
missed.
Presentations
Professor Tom Triggs PhD, MEngSci,
BE, BSc
McClure, R. (2009) 'Collaboration
across the continuum', Safety in Action
2009 Conference, Melbourne, 1 April
McClure, R. (2009) 'External cause
codes in preventive strategies',
National Centre for Classification
in Health NCCH Conference 2009,
Sydney, NSW, 12 March
Emeritus Professor
Professor Peter Vulcan AM
Deng(honoris causa), PhD, MSEM, MechE,
BA
Honorary Professor
Dr. Eric Wigglesworth AM Hon MD,
DAppSc, MSc, DipEd, BSc
Honorary Senior Research Fellow
Administration Staff:
McClure, R. J. (2009) 'Special
issues in injury prevention research',
Trauma Melbourne Conference
2009' Research Methods & Practice
Workshop, Melbourne, 19-21
November
Regan, M.A (2009) ‘Field Operational
testing of Intelligent Speed Adaptation:
Findings and Lessons Learned from
the Australian TAC SafeCar project’,
2009 Intelligent Speed Adaptation
Conference, Sydney, Australia, 10
November
Regan, M.A (2009) ‘The latest road
safety technology developments in
Europe’, Roads and Traffic Authority
of New South Wales Technology
Learning Workshop. Sydney, Australia,
8 November
Regan, M.A (2009) ‘Human factors
– the driving future’, Cumming
Memorial Lecture, Human Factors
and Ergonomics Society of Australia
Annual Conference, 15-17 November,
Melbourne, Australia [Keynote address]
Lorraine Atkinson
HR Officer
Regan, M.A (2009) ‘New vehicle
technologies: The Human Factor’,
(Insititut Universitaire de Technologie
Lumiere) – Lyon, France, 17 December
Odette Barrie
Exec. Assistant to Director
Glenda Cairns
Senior Admin. Officer/Webmaster
Christine Chesterman Dip.Hol.Kin
Finance Administration Officer
Samarakkody, D., Gunathunga, M. W.
& McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘ Influence of
childcare pattern and behaviour on
unintentional injuries among preschool
children’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference Injury Prevention & Safety
Promotion, 26-28 July, Melbourne
Vulcan, A. P. (2009) 'Witness at
Public Hearing for the Inquiry into the
Process of Development, Adoption and
Implementation of Australian Design
Rules', Parliamentary Road Safety
Committee, Melbourne, 20 April
Directorate’s Membership
of Boards and Committees
• Accident Analysis & Prevention,
Associate Editor (I. Johnston)
• Australasian College of Road Safety
(Victorian Chapter) Committee,
(M. Regan)
• Australian e-Safety Working
Group, Chair/Member (I. Johnston,
M. Regan)
• Commonwealth Working Party on
Truck Driver shortages, Member
(I. Johnston)
• Human Factors, Editorial Board
(M. Regan)
• First International Conference on
Driver Distraction and Inattention,
Organising and Scientific
Committees, Gothenburg, Sweden,
28-29 September Co-Chair
(M. Regan)
• IET Intelligent Transport Systems
Journal, Editorial Board (M. Regan)
• Injury Prevention Research
Institutes of Australasia (I. Johnston
(Member))
• International Organisation for
Standardization (ISO) Technical
Committee 22, Sub-Committee 13
– Ergonomics Applicable to Road
Vehicles (M. Regan)
• Injury Prevention, Editorial Board
(P. Vulcan)
• International Task Force on Vehicle
Highway Automation, Member
(M. Regan)
• International Working Group on
Speed Control, Member (M. Regan)
• ISO TC 22, Sub-Committee 13
“Ergonomics as applicable to road
vehicles” (Australian Representative)
(M. Regan)
• Journal of the Australasian College
of Road Safety, Editorial Board,
Member (M. Regan)
• Journal of European Transport
Research, Editorial Board, Member
(M. Regan)
• Road Engineering Association of
Asia and Australasia, Past President
(and Life Member) (I. Johnston)
• Road Safety Reference Group,
Victoria, Member (I. Johnston)
• Road Safety Sub-Committee, Amy
Gillett Foundation (M. Cameron)
• Standards Australia Committee SF
21*: Human Factors (M. Regan)
Directorate 7
• Standards Australia Committee
IT23*: Traffic Information and
Control Systems (M. Regan)
• Transport Industry Safety Group,
Member (I. Johnston)
Noelene Deveson
Senior Project Officer
Ryan Dowd
Computer Support
Brenda Gibson BA, DipEd,
PGradDipHistory
Senior HR Advisor
• Trauma systems performance
improvement and registries subcommittee, Trauma committee,
Royal Australasian College of
Surgeons, Member (R. McClure)
• Victorian Institute of Forensic
Medicine Research Advisory
Group, Member (R. McClure)
• Identification and evaluation of
existing and potential, measures in
Australia and world-wide to prevent
road crashes and resulting injury
• Development of data and research
findings on road crashes and their
causes
• Development of road safety
strategies
• Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative
Evaluation Committee, Member
(R. McClure)
• Making recommendations to
the State and its agencies in
connection to road safety
• Victorian Road Trauma Committee
of the Royal Australasian College of
Surgeons, Member (I. Johnston)
• Making public its findings and
recommendations
• Victorian Trauma Committee, Royal
Australasian College of Surgeons,
Member (R. McClure)
C-MARC Curtin Monash
Accident Research Centre
Ron Smith BA, DipEd
Chief Operating Officer
• Investigation of, and research
into, the causes of road crashes
and resulting injuries in Western
Australia
CMARC was established in late 2008early 2009 as a partnership between
Curtin University of Technology
(Western Australia) and Monash
University supported by the State
of Western Australia. The Centre’s
activities include:
• Ensuring that all possible means
of, and methods for, improving
road safety in Western Australia are
considered.
Professor Ian Johnston was appointed
Interim Director in 2009 and the first
ten projects commenced. MUARC
staff are directly involved in these
research projects.
In December 2009, Associate
Professor Brett Hughes was appointed
Director, to take up the appointment in
January 2010.
David Stroud GradDip Computer
Systems Engineering, BEng
Computer Systems Officer
Rachel Whitworth BEd, PGCert(HRM)
HR Officer
C-MARC launch - left to right: Professor Rod McClure, MUARC;
Dr Andrew Robertson, HDWA; Professor Ian Johnston, C-MARC;
Jim Langford, C-MARC; Jenny Jones, C-MARC; Peter Palamara,
C-MARC
8
Directorate
2009 Annual Report
Behavioural Safety Science
Team Leader:
Dr. Judith Charlton PhD, MSc, BEd,
MAPS Senior Research Fellow (D)
& Associate Director (Education &
Research Training)
The Behavioural Safety Science Team was launched early in 2008 and assembled
selected MUARC researchers into a single administrative unit with a capacity to
address relevant behavioural themes. The research activity of the team focuses
on understanding and managing human behaviour to meet the challenge of
preventing injury and improving safety. Under the leadership of Senior Research
Fellow, Dr. Judith Charlton, the team’s research priorities centre on the vulnerable
road user and particularly the safety of seniors, youth and children as drivers
and vehicle occupants, pedestrians and cyclists. It is estimated that around 90
per cent of crashes involve road user variables and the team’s research can make
a major contribution to reducing road crashes and injury severity. A significant
feature of the team’s activity is the safe transportation and mobility of the ageing
population and those with impairments which impact on their safety as road
users. The team has a strong commitment to independent and evidence-based
approaches to study human performance and injury prevention using a variety
of research methods and technologies including driving simulation, instrumented
vehicles and real-world observation, survey and interview techniques and mass
data analysis.
Team expertise
The team’s disciplinary expertise
includes psychology, applied health
sciences, epidemiology, education and
social sciences. Their research also
draws on strong links with engineering
and technical experts at MUARC
and neuroscience, medical and
gerontology experts in other faculties
and institutions. The team brings a
multidisciplinary perspective to the
scientific study of road user safety.
The researchers actively engage with
government, industry and professional
groups in the local community,
nationally and globally through project
activities as highlighted in the projects
described below.
Megan Bohensky MPH, BA
Research Fellow
Anna Devlin BAppSc(Psych)(Hons)
Research Assistant
Resources
Dr. Sjaanie Koppel PhD, BAppSc(Hons),
BA ,
Senior Research Fellow
Chelvi Kopinathan BBSc
Research Assistant (until November)
Jim Langford MEdSt, BA(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Simulation research
The team employs the MUARC
instrumented vehicle fleet as well as
the MUARC advanced driving simulator
and portable simulator laboratories
in much of its research. The team
draws upon multidisciplinary expertise
in behavioural, engineering, human
factors and cognitive neurosciences
within the Centre, as well through
its links with Monash faculties
and internationally. The team has
generated a range of simulated driving
environments for different experimental
needs including different road types,
traffic and signage, intersection
signal controls, and light and weather
conditions. The portable simulator
offers a unique capacity for off-campus
research and is easily transported to
community and clinical settings. The
simulator offers a very safe and efficient
method of collecting information on
how drivers behave in challenging
traffic situations and provides collision
and near-collision data that cannot
easily be observed in the real world.
Using evidence from crash data,
experimental traffic scenarios are
skilfully designed to simulate realworld driving situations which pose
a significant challenge for seniors
or other groups of interest such as
drivers with early dementia, Parkinson’s
disease and vision impairments.
Simulator validation: A critical question
in simulation research is the extent
to which the simulator elicits the
same driving behaviors that occur
when driving in the real world - called
behavioural validity. This research
compares performance of drivers in
simulators with their performance
in instrumented vehicles under
similar traffic/road conditions. This is
important for simulator acceptance and
credibility, and is vital when simulator
performance influences real world
outcomes, such as designing roads
and road signs and making decisions
about fitness to drive. MUARC’s
reputation in simulator validation work
is highly regarded and the team has
contributed an invited chapter on this
topic in a significant driving simulation
book to be published in 2010.
Pedestrian simulation: The team
has extensive experience in applying
simulation techniques in other road
user settings including evaluation of
pedestrian behaviour. Recent work
Behavioural Safety Science 9
Dr. Jennie Oxley PhD, BSc(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Julie Suker
Group Administration Officer
Brenda Thompson
Project Administrative Assistant
Michelle Whelan BBSc(Hons), BMus
Research Fellow
Hafez Alavi MSc, BSc
PhD Candidate
Marilyn Johnson MAppSocRes,
BA(Hons)
PhD Candidate
Demonstration of the portable simulator at the 2009 Road Safety
Conference, Sydney [Photo: Geordie McRae, Aussie Shots, Sydney]
also includes the development of a
successful training package to teach
children to select safe gaps in traffic
when crossing roads.
Instrumented cars, naturalistic
driving and road user
observation methods
For many research questions, it
is important to make real-world
observations of drivers, cyclists and
pedestrians. These studies use covert
monitoring of behaviour with various
technologies including:
• sophisticated instrumented
vehicles equipped with cameras,
eye-tracking equipment and data
acquisition units which monitor
speed, braking and steering;
• in-vehicle camera systems to study
child passenger out-of-position
status and driver distraction;
• fixed cameras to study cyclist and
driver behaviour at intersections;
and
Lisa Molnar MHSA, BA
PhD Candidate
Carlyn Muir MA(SocSci), Psych(Hons)
PhD Candidate
Highlights/outputs
2009 was a productive year for the
team. A considerable effort was
invested in grant writing throughout
the year, and the fruits of these efforts
began to show in November with the
announcement of a successful ARC
Linkage grant to study older driver
issues. 2010 will mark the formal
commencement of this project which
will become a flagship of the team’s
activities over the next five years.
Dr. Jude Charlton contributed to
the Centre’s education and training
as Associate Director (Education
and Research Training) as well as
managing the Behavioural Safety
Science Team’s research activities.
Jim Langford led many of the team’s
projects from his primary location at
C-MARC in Perth, W.A. and was a key
player in preparing the successful ARC
Linkage bid with Dr. Jude Charlton and
Dr. Sjaanie Koppel.
• bicycle helmet-mounted cameras
to study cyclist-driver behaviour on
designated cycling routes.
Using these techniques, the team
has gathered a rich data bank of
behavioural and vehicle-based
information. The team is rapidly
expanding capabilities in this area
and has recently completed worldleading research using naturalistic
driving methods to evaluate seniors’
intersection driving, cyclists’ red-light
running, and child car occupants’ outof-position status in child restraints.
Cyclist helmet fitted with mounted camera for
data collection for Marilyn Johnson’s research
[Thanks to AGF for image © Michelle Williams]
10
Behavioural Safety Science
2009 Annual Report
Alice Barnett, Vacation Research
Scholar 2008-09
Carmel Sivaratnam
Vacation Research Scholar 2009-10
Dr. Jennie Oxley continued to
contribute to research activities as
a significant member of the team,
including supervision of PhD students,
while maintaining her primary role as
Associate Director of MUARC Malaysia
in Kuala Lumpur. Following a visit to
Taiwan by Jude Charlton in 2008,
Jennie made a return visit in December
2009 to lead a workshop on child
pedestrian safety in Taipei, attended
by the Taiwan government transport
and education authorities, universities
and other stakeholders in children’s
road safety. The visit was highly
successful with ongoing discussions
held to explore the specific role that the
team and the Centre can play in this
international collaboration.
The team’s achievements included
the completion of several significant
projects in older driver safety, young
driver training and child occupant
protection. An important feature of
this work is knowledge translation,
achieved through scientific publications
and conference presentations,
including 15 peer reviewed journal
papers. Team researchers also
communicated their scientific findings
through seminars and workshops
to the motor vehicle industry and
health professionals; presentations
to teachers and parents; and regular
communication with relevant State
and Federal government departments.
Older drivers, children and cyclists
featured as hot topics in the print and
electronic media through the year for
which the team were called upon for
comment and feature articles.
Joining the team this year were PhD
scholars Hafez Alavi working in the
area of pedestrian safety (with Jude
Charlton and Stuart Newstead) and
Lisa Molnar whose research will
investigate older driver self regulation
(supervised by Jude Charlton and
Dr. David Eby, University of Michigan).
We also welcomed undergraduate
Vacation Research Scholars Alice
Barnett, a third year Monash University
Science student (Summer 2008-9)
and Carmel Sivaratnam (Summer
2009-2010) a third year psychology
student. Alice and Carmel gained
some interesting insights into the
life of a scientist as they assisted in
a range of research activities from
manuscript writing to data analysis.
Their experiences also provide an
opportunity for the Centre to contribute
to the development of the next
generation of researchers.
Research highlights 2009:
Older drivers
With the baby boomer cohort about
to enter old age, there is an urgent
need to understand more about the
next wave of older road users and
how to effectively manage their safe
mobility. To address the older (and
impaired) driver ‘problem’, the team
has identified three broad research
questions including – “How do we
identify at-risk older drivers?”; “What
are the most effective solutions for
managing at-risk older drivers?”;
and “What is the full societal impact
of reducing/stopping driving on the
mobility, health and economic wellbeing of older drivers?”. The following
highlights a significant program of work
addressing older driver safety:
Successful ARC Linkage Grant:
Ozcandrive
In November,
Melbourne researchers joined with
their Canadian colleagues to celebrate
the news of a successful bid to the
Australian Research Council Linkage
grant scheme for a $1.8 million fiveyear Cohort Study to investigate older
driver safe mobility. A key objective of
the study is to to improve the safety
of older drivers and to develop a
process for health care professionals
to determine drivers who might be
at greater risk. Partners include
VicRoads, Victoria Police, the Transport
Accident Commission (TAC, Victoria),
Road Safety Trust New Zealand and
Eastern Health in Australia.
The Ozcandrive study, based at
Monash University, will be conducted
in collaboration with the multi-site
Dr. Sjaanie Koppel administering a cognitive test to
one of the older driver participants
Behavioural Safety Science 11
Canadian study, Candrive. Together,
the two projects will involve more than
twelve hundred drivers and will study
their health and driving patterns over
a five-year period. A novel component
of the project is the use of in-vehicle
data recording devices to assist in
documenting the natural driving life
patterns of seniors.
The Ozcandrive team is very pleased
to be working with Candrive. This
project will build on the knowledge
generated by other MUARC studies
and will ultimately lead to safer
roads for all Australians through the
development of evidence-based
screening for safe driving, innovative
training and other management
strategies.
Investigators, Drs Jude Charlton,
Jim Langford, Sjaanie Koppel, Morris
Odell and Petris Darzins from Monash
University, Drs Marilyn Di Stefano and
Wendy Macdonald from La Trobe
University and Dr. Shawn Marshall
(Ottawa Hospital), held their first
project meeting in December 2009.
Older Driver simulator study
In December 2009, the team
showcased findings from the older
driver simulator study. This largescale project was funded through the
AutoCRC in association with Monash
University and GM Holden and was the
first to use the new MUARC portable
driving simulator. The event was
jointly hosted by MUARC and national
Seniors Australia to disseminate
findings to participants, sponsors and
the community.
The main aim of the study was to
examine the driving behaviours of
older drivers in simulated driving
situations which are known to present
challenges for older drivers. The study
involved over two hundred drivers
aged 18 to over 90 years. Driving was
compared across age groups: young
(18-34 yrs), middle (35-64 yrs), youngold (65-74 yrs) and older-old (75+ yrs)
and performance measures included
braking, speed, gap selection, time
headway and collisions. The results
showed that drivers aged over 65
were not only less likely to exceed
the speed limit but they made driving
decisions based more on caution and
risk-aversion compared to younger
road users. The findings indicate that
older drivers tend to choose less
hazard-prone options in negotiating
traffic, particularly when merging, such
that they waited for all vehicles to clear
the lane before merging. The study
also revealed that seniors were slower
to apply brakes compared to middle12
Behavioural Safety Science
aged and younger drivers. However,
unsafe driving was found in all age
groups, and there were wide individual
variations. Around 30% of all drivers
made risky gap selections for right
turns at uncontrolled intersections.
The study provided a rich source of
data on driving behaviours across
a wide age range. AutoCRC Chief
Executive Officer Dr. Matthew
Cuthbertson said the findings were
important in terms of developing
effective driving and road safety
interventions and crash avoidance
technologies. He noted that “given
the ageing population, this research
provides vital intelligence for
policymakers, road safety educators,
car manufacturers and the general
public and will help make Australia’s
roads safer for all.” The study also
provided important knowledge about
the usefulness of a relatively low cost,
re-locatable simulator and highlighted
its value for studying driving
behaviours and testing new vehicle
technologies, road infrastructure and
driver training strategies to enhance
driver safety.
A naturalistic driving study
of older drivers’ behaviour
at intersections: ‘The 1000
Intersection Study’
This study was a collaborative effort
with GM Holden funded through
the AutoCRC. The study used a
naturalistic driving approach with
unobtrusive recording methods
to study drivers’ behaviours and
driving patterns in a real world
setting as they drove to and from
various locations over a specified
time period. Ten drivers, aged 65 to
83 years participated in the study.
The instrumented study vehicle was
a luxury family sedan, fitted with
a camera/recording system, that
provided images of the driver and
front seat passenger and a view of
the road and traffic ahead, laterally
and to the rear. Participants used the
instrumented car for their everyday
trips for three weeks and also drove
a designated route to and from the
university on two occasions. Drivers
also completed a driving patterns
questionnaire and were assessed on a
range of functional abilities.
In total, approximately 100 hours of
data were recorded across 4,493
kilometres of travel including around
1,000 left and right turn manoeuvres
at intersections. Approximately 70
percent of trips were less than 10
kilometres long. Only one hard braking
event - a near collision - was recorded.
Detailed video analysis was conducted
for driving through a specified Tintersection on the pre-defined driving
route. Analysis of drivers’ gap selection
at this intersection revealed that none
of the participants selected a gap
between oncoming cars, suggesting
a very cautious approach. Most
participants were driving at or close to
the posted speed limit (50 km/h).
This project was a pilot study and
represents a world first application
of naturalistic driving methods for
studying older drivers’ behaviour at
intersections. The report describes
the feasibility of the approach and
highlights useful methodologies for
collecting and analysing driving and
video data to understand how older
drivers negotiate intersections. The
preliminary analysis has provided
valuable insights into the driving
performance and travel patterns of
a rapidly expanding population of
older drivers. The pilot study was
a complex logistical undertaking
which has generated a dataset and
analysis techniques with arguably far
greater value than the cost of the data
collection. A significant outcome is that
the event database can be added to
with an expanded participant group,
and the analysis techniques developed
here can be employed in the future to
address a range of important research
questions about older drivers and
other groups of drivers.
Medical conditions and driving
In 2009, VicRoads commissioned
an update of the significant 2004
report on ‘The Influence of chronic
illness on crash involvement of
motor vehicle drivers’ (MUARC
Report 213). This research involved
a comprehensive, systematic review
of medical conditions and crash
risk. The first edition of the report
lead to three invited international
presentations and is widely cited by
Australian, US and European road
safety authorities for medical review
and licensing decisions. The report
reviews the literature pertaining to
the influence of chronic illness and
impairments on crash involvement
and provides an updated review of
evidence since the first edition. A
risk rating system was applied to all
medical conditions of interest. This
provided a means of identifying those
conditions that presented the greatest
risk. Based on both new evidence
and evidence cited in the 2004 report,
eight conditions were found to have
at least a moderately elevated risk
of crash involvement (relative risk
2009 Annual Report
greater than 2.0) compared with their
relevant control group: alcohol abuse
and dependence, dementia, epilepsy,
multiple sclerosis, psychiatric disorders
(considered as a group), schizophrenia,
sleep apnoea and cataracts. Guidelines
regarding fitness to drive from selected
jurisdictions were also considered in
the light of evidence for crash risk.
These comparisons revealed a number
of differences across the jurisdictions
and highlighted some inconsistencies
with the available evidence for crash
risk. A number of recommendations
were made for managing the risk
of injury crashes associated with
medical conditions. The findings of this
review also highlighted the need for
a cooperative international approach
to future research using populationbased, prospective studies to advance
scientific knowledge linking impairment
from medical conditions and crash risk.
The 2nd edition report will be released
in early 2010.
their child’s road skills, and strategies
they have adopted to teach road skills.
Recommendations are made for the
development of a resource to assist
parents in their role as primary trainers
of traffic skills. A final report will be
released in early 2010.
Children as road users
Parents as role models
In a world-first study, this project trialed
a naturalistic, observational approach
to examine how children are restrained
and seated in their CRS while travelling
in a car. The study was funded through
the AutoCRC in partnership with GM
Holden.
Children represent an important, yet
vulnerable, road user group: they
are vehicle occupants, pedestrians,
cyclists and users of small wheeled
vehicles like scooters and skateboards,
and constitute a substantial proportion
of fatalities and serious injuries on
Australia’s roads. Young children’s
safety in traffic is of particular concern
in view of their vulnerability and
the special value society places on
children.
Road safety education is considered an
essential component of teaching children
the skills to interact with traffic safely,
and there is evidence that parents can
play an important role as road safety
role models for their children and be
primary trainers in road safety skills for
their children. Despite the opportunities
available to parents to influence their
children’s behaviour it is likely that some
parents do not fully appreciate the risks
their children are exposed to and how
they might be able to improve their
children’s safety in traffic.
This study was funded by RACV.
A survey was conducted amongst
parents of young children between the
ages of 3 and 10 years to provide an
insight into the role parents play in their
children’s safety as road users. The
findings of the survey provided a rich
source of information on many aspects
of safety of children on the road,
particularly regarding parents’ overall
attitudes to and knowledge of road
safety, their knowledge of the important
role they play in the development of
Children in cars: What children
are really doing in the rear seat
of cars
Child restraint systems (CRS) for
vehicles are designed to provide
specialised protection for child
occupants in the event of a crash.
However, children do not sit perfectly
still and upright while travelling in
vehicles. Children squirm, slide,
sleep, play and attempt to unharness
themselves while travelling in
their CRS, potentially leading to
inappropriate seating positions
throughout their journey. This behaviour
may compromise the safety benefits
associated with CRS.
Families with children aged between
1 and 8 years were recruited into the
study and were asked to drive an
instrumented 'study vehicle' on their
regular trips for 3 weeks. All children
used their regular CRS. The 'study
vehicle' was fitted with a discrete
camera system, providing images of
the driver and front seat passenger,
the rear seat child passengers and
the traffic ahead. Video-recordings
were analysed to examine the
children's behaviour in their
CRS. Preliminary analyses
revealed that children were
out-of-position and hence
likely to be sub-optimally
restrained for around 60
percent of the time during
trips. The results of this study
also highlight the need to raise
awareness amongst parents
that sub-optimal restraint use
has serious implications for
their child's CRS effectiveness
in the event of a crash. The
study has provided a rich data
source for further analyses
including the influence of
children's travel behaviour
on driver distraction. The
MUARC team has assembled
an international team of
researchers and industry
partners with a view to
conducting a multi-site, large-scale
study in the near future.
Staff membership of
boards and committees
• Amy Gillett Foundation, Road
Safety Advisory Committee
(M. Johnson)
• Association for the Advancement
of Automotive Medicine, Chicago,
Illinois, Scientific Program
Committee, Member (J. Charlton,
J. Oxley)
• Association for the Advancement of
Automotive Medicine, Membership
and Credentials Committee
(J. Charlton)
• Australasian College of Road Safety
(Victorian Chapter) Committee,
(J. Charlton, J. Oxley)
• BrainLink (formerly Brain
Foundation Victoria), Board of
Directors (J. Charlton)
• Monash Ageing Research
(MonRAS) (J. Charlton)
• Monash University Clayton Bicycle
Strategy Steering Group, (M.
Johnson)
• Monash University Human
Research Ethics Committee
(MUHREC), Management
Committee (M. Johnson)
• Scientific Committee, VISION
Congress (for Vehicle and
Infrastructure Safety Improvement
in Adverse Conditions and Night
Driving) (J. Charlton)
Behavioural Safety Science 13
Human Factors
Team Leader:
Human Factors is concerned with the application of what we know about people,
their abilities, characteristics and limitations to the design of equipment they use,
environments in which they function, and jobs they perform. The Human Factors
team at MUARC applies models of system safety to the analysis of transportation
and other safety-related issues to provide robust research outputs and policy
guidance for our stakeholders and clients. Team members have backgrounds
in experimental psychology, human factors, ergonomics, computer science,
epidemiology, biomedical engineering, sports science, military/defence, and road
safety policy.
Dr. Michael Lenné PhD, BSc(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (D)
Expertise
Jessica Edquist PhD, Grad Dip(Psych),
BSc
Research Fellow (A)
Sound, theoretically-based models of
system safety underpin our research,
which focuses on a broad range of
factors that shape and constrain
operator behaviour, and how task,
environmental and organisational
factors influence performance. Team
projects in 2009 covered the following
themes:
• safety at road-rail level crossings;
• the road environment and its
influence on speed selection and
crash risk;
Robin Hutchinson BSc(Behav.),
BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow (A)
• the safe system approach to
collision investigation;
• driver distraction and mobile phone
use;
• the design and evaluation of invehicle warning and information
systems;
Chelvi Kopinathan BBSc
Research Assistant (until November)
• motorcycle conspicuity and novice
rider licensing systems;
• alcohol and drugs and their effects
on driving;
• organisational influences on worker
safety;
• occupational safety; and
Dr. Charles Liu PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow (A) (until May)
• human factors and the safety of
outdoor activities.
Resources
Eve Mitsopoulos-Rubens BA,
BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow
14
Human Factors
The team uses a variety of methods
to support projects, including onroad testing, simulation, surveys,
focus groups, structured interviews,
stakeholder consultation, cognitive
interviewing, and task and usability
analyses. While the MUARC suite of
driving simulators (advanced, portable,
and desk top varieties) continue to be
the primary research platforms used by
the team, the recent acquisition of onroad test vehicles has provided team
members with the means to measure
driver performance in naturalistic
settings.
• The MUARC OrTeV (On-Road
Test Vehicle) is a state-of-the-art
mobile data acquisition system
installed in a 2008 GM Holden VE
Commodore sedan. Developed in
conjunction with the Cooperative
Research Centre for Advanced
Automotive Technology (AutoCRC),
OrTeV collects data for both
controlled and naturalistic studies.
Vehicle, driver and eye tracking data
are recorded via a sophisticated
network of sensors and computers,
while unobtrusive cameras record
forward, peripheral, and rearward
views of the road scene, and
interior views of the driver and
controls. A combined lane position
and headway detection system has
recently been implemented.
• The MUARC advanced driving
simulator consists of a 2009 GM
Holden VE Commodore sedan
mounted on a three degrees-offreedom motion base platform,
with a curved projection screen
providing a 180° horizontal and
40° vertical field-of-view. Forward
vision is produced by three image
generators using seamless blended
projection onto a cylindrical screen,
while rear vision is provided by
a separate projection screen at
the rear of the vehicle. Collection
of driver performance and eyetracking data is accomplished via a
network of sensors and computers.
2009 Annual Report
Jordan Navarro PhD, BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow (A) (until July)
Christina Rudin-Brown PhD, MA,
BA(Hons)
Senior Reseach Fellow (C)
Paul Salmon PhD, MSc, BSC(Hons)
Senior Reseach Fellow (C)
• The MUARC portable simulator is
one of the world’s most advanced
portable PC-based driving
simulators, featuring three forward
scene LCD monitors, an adjustable
vehicle seat, pedal assembly,
dashboard and steering wheel. The
simulator uses state-of-the-art 3D
visuals creating an exceptionally
detailed driving scene that can
replicate the full range of driving
conditions.
into further level crossings and
workplace safety research. This
expansion was underpinned by our
systems approach to safety research
and was supported by the arrival of
two senior researchers to the team,
Dr. Christina (Missy) Rudin-Brown
from Transport Canada, and Dr. Paul
Salmon from Brunel University.
• The desktop simulator is a lowfidelity, PC-based system equipped
with three 17-inch LCD monitors,
a computer gaming steering wheel
and brakes. It is well-suited to
methodologies that assess the
driver distraction associated with
performing in-vehicle tasks while
driving, such as the lane-change
test (LCT).
2009 saw a significant number of team
achievements and project outcomes
in a broad range of human factors
applications. For example, one of
the first simulator studies of driver
behaviour at active road-rail level
crossing controls was undertaken on
behalf of the Victorian Level Crossing
Safety Steering Committee, the results
of which were presented at the 2009
Australasian Road Safety Research,
Policing and Education Conference in
Sydney. Further, a review of human
factors issues in level crossing safety
was carried out on behalf of the
Highlights and Outcomes
In 2009 the team continued to
consolidate its road safety human
factors program while also expanding
Simulation and on-road testing
Level crossing research
Karen Stephan GradCertBiostats, MPH,
BSc(Hons) ,
Research Fellow
Nebojsa Tomasevic MEngSc(Biomed),
BEE ,
Research Fellow
Margaret Trotter BA(Hons)
Research Assistant
The MUARC advanced driving simulator
Elizabeth Varvaris
Group Administration Officer
Ashley Verdoorn BSc
Research Assistant
Human Factors 15
Inattention in Gothenburg, Sweden and
have been published as a journal paper.
Research Assistant
The team also completed a number
of projects that examined the
usability and design of in-vehicle
technologies and associated driver
distraction. Through its involvement
in the AutoCRC, the team evaluated
a number of different design
concepts for in-vehicle information
systems (IVIS) and provided design
recommendations intended to both
enhance usability and manage any
potential driver distractions.
Kristie Young BAppSc(Psych)(Hons)
Research Fellow
Workplace safety
Amy Williamson MSocSc.,
BSocSc(Hons)
Victorian Department of Transport.
Finally, to inform warning timing
for future in-vehicle train warning
systems, an on-road naturalistic study
funded by the Co-operative Research
Centre for Advanced Automotive
Technology (AutoCRC) examined
drivers’ approaches to signalised level
crossings. Together, these projects
are being used to shape level crossing
research and policy countermeasures
across Victoria.
Driver errors
In the first study of its kind, the team
undertook a project to examine the
nature of errors made by drivers at
intersections. This study utilised a suite
of innovative methods, including the
ORTeV instrumented vehicle, verbal
protocols and in-depth cognitive task
analysis interviews, to collect accurate
and objective data on the types
of errors made by drivers and the
frequency with which they are made.
The study findings greatly enhance our
understanding of the wider systemic
factors that contribute to driver errors
and inform potential strategies for
mitigating them.
Driver distraction and
technology design
In 2009, the team continued to provide
research and policy advice to the
Victorian Road Authority, VicRoads,
and other road safety stakeholders
on issues related to driver distraction.
This involved conducting a number of
literature reviews and identifying key
research and policy needs in various
distraction-related areas including
the use of visual display units, driver
assistance systems and outdoor
advertising. A roadside observational
survey of drivers’ use of mobile phones
was also conducted during this period.
The results of this research were
presented at the First International
Conference on Driver Distraction and
16
Human Factors
In the area of workplace safety, the
team completed the first phase of a
WorkCover NSW Research Centre of
Excellence-funded research program
examining police equipment and its
role in injuries to police officers, with
plans already underway for a second
phase to investigate the positioning of
equipment within police vehicles. The
role of human factors in led outdoor
activity incidents was investigated
in a project undertaken on behalf of
Victorian stakeholders in the outdoor
activity domain, with results giving rise
to a paradigm shift in the way accident
causation and accident data collection
and analysis are viewed by outdoor
activity providers in Australia.
International collaborations
The team continues its involvement in
research with international partners,
actively engaging in regular partner
meetings of two European Union
collaborative projects, one examining
the influences of in-vehicle technologies
on driver behaviour, and the other,
human factors issues associated with
motorcycles (the ‘2BeSafe’ project). It
also developed a collaborative research
program with VTI in Sweden examining
driver errors on the road.
Staff Membership on Boards
and Committees
Staff in the Human Factors team
enjoy membership on a number of
national and international boards and
committees. These include,
• the Human Factors and
Ergonomics Societies (HFES) of
Australia, Europe, and the United
States (E. Mitsopoulos-Rubens,
P. Salmon, M. Lenné);
• the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO) (C. Rudin-Brown);
• the Transportation Research Board
(TRB) (C. Rudin-Brown);
• the Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) (C. Rudin-Brown);
• the Australian and European
Aviation Psychology Associations
(M.Lenné); and
• the International Council on
Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety
(M. Lenné).
Presentations
In 2009, Human Factors team
members presented results from
their research at many national and
international conferences, including
the 2009 Australasian Road Safety
Research, Policing and Education
conference (Sydney, NSW), the
16th World Congress on Intelligent
Transport Systems (ITS) (Stockholm,
Sweden), the First International
Conference on Driver Distraction
and Inattention (Gothenburg,
Sweden), the 5th International Driving
Symposium on Human Factors in
Driver Assessment (Montana, U.S.A.),
and the 88th Annual Meeting of the
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
(Washington DC, U.S.A.). In addition,
several presentations that were
not associated with peer-reviewed
publications included the following.
• Edquist, J. ‘Visual clutter in
the road environment’. Invited
presentation to Human Factors
workshop, Transportation Research
Board 88th Annual Meeting,
Washington D.C., USA, January 11
• Rudin-Brown, C.M. ““Intelligent”
in-vehicle ITS: Limiting behavioural
adaptation through adaptive
design”. Invited presentation at the
16th ITS World Congress, Special
Interest Session 31. Stockholm,
Sweden, September 22
• Salmon, P. “The role of human
factors in led outdoor activity
accidents and incidents”. Invited
keynote presentation at the
Australian Camps Association
National Conference, Redland Bay,
Queensland, 31 July
• Salmon, P. M. “The selection,
design and implementation of novel
training technologies for future
vehicle operator training in the ADF:
review and best practice model”.
Defence Science and Technology
Organisation (DSTO). Defence
Human Sciences Symposium,
Melbourne, Victoria, 15 September
• Salmon, P.M. “Driver behaviour
in response to flashing red lights
versus traffic lights at railway level
crossings”. 8th meeting of the Rail
Human Factors Forum, Melbourne
Victoria, 28 July
2009 Annual Report
Injury Analysis & Data
The collection, management, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data
underpin a wide range of critical research areas in the safety sciences. The Injury
Analysis and Data (IAD) Team comprises researchers with specialist training in
the fields of numerical and behavioural sciences and has a strong focus on safety
science research requiring a high degree of numerical acumen. The team focuses
primarily on road safety research but also has broad experience in many other
areas of safety research.
Team Leader:
Expertise
Dr. Stuart Newstead PhD, MSc,
BSc(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Professor Max Cameron PhD, MSc,
BSc
Belinda Clark BA, BBSc(Hons)
Research Fellow (A)
The IAD team has high level specialist
training in numerical sciences
including applied statistics and applied
mathematics as well as mechanical
engineering and psychology. The team
has specific topic-related expertise in
safety program and policy evaluation,
provision of policy and strategy advice
particularly in the areas of police
enforcement programs, vehicle safety
rating, evaluation and monitoring
through analysis of real-world data,
and the collection, management,
linkage and high level statistical
analysis of injury data systems. The
team also has expertise in providing
high level statistical analysis and
research design advice both within and
outside MUARC.
Resources
The IAD team has a range of physical
and intellectual resources at its
disposal to facilitate high quality
quantitative safety research.
Angelo D'Elia BE(Hons), BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow
Expertise
The IAD team has a range of high level
methodological expertise in safety
research including:
Kathy Diamantopoulou MSc,
• Experimental design and sample
size estimation
BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow
• Design and conduct of surveys
• Database design, management and
processing
• Database linkage
• High level statistical analysis
including the full range of modern
statistical techniques
Vicky Ribas
Group Administration Officer
• Economic analysis
• Statistical consulting and statistical
software
Furthermore the team also has
significant topic based expertise in a
range of safety issues with particular
focus on:
• Road safety program evaluation
• Vehicle safety evaluation, monitoring
and policy setting
• Police enforcement programs
including policy and practice advice
• Vulnerable and high risk road user
safety and countermeasures
• Injury data analysis
Databases
The IAD team holds or has used
extensively a wide range of
databases relevant to road safety
and broader public health research.
Researchers have also developed an
in-depth knowledge on the content,
management, manipulation and
analysis of these data sources along
with a clear understanding of the
strengths and limitations in the use of
each for safety research. Databases
include:
• Comprehensive police reported
road crash data from each
Australian state and territory
and international road crash
databases from New Zealand,
United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Finland and the United States.
Police databases from Australia and
New Zealand have been enhanced
with detailed vehicle make and
model information via an IAD team
developed process of vehicle
identification number decoding.
• Database of claims to the Transport
Accident Commission for injury
compensation from transport
related crashes. This data has
been recently linked to the Victorian
police reported crash data to
enhance the capability to relate
Injury Analysis & Data 17
crash circumstances with detailed
injury outcomes from the claims
data.
James Scully MSc(Maths), BSc(Hons), BA
Research Fellow
Linda Watson BSc(Hons)
Research Fellow (A)
• Snapshots of vehicle registers from
a number of Australian jurisdictions
and New Zealand enhanced
with detailed vehicle make and
model information via the IAD VIN
decoding process.
• Vehicle inspection data from the
New Zealand Warrant of Fitness
test that can be used to estimate
vehicle travel through odometer
readings and related to broad
registered owner characteristics
such as age, gender and broad
postcode of residence. This data
has also been enhanced with
detailed vehicle make and model
information from the New Zealand
vehicle register.
• The MUARC road safety
countermeasure monitor data
system which collects information
on key road safety activity outputs,
socio economic and exposure
factors in Victoria influencing road
safety outcomes. Road safety
activity output data covers major
enforcement programs such as
alcohol breath testing, camera
based automated enforcement
and road safety related publicity
data. Socio-economic and
exposure data include labour force
statistics, an alcohol consumption
index, population data and travel
estimates derived from fuel sales
data.
The use of many databases for
research and evaluation purposes
is governed by approvals from
the authorities supplying the data.
Permission from the data supplier is
generally required for use of any data
in new research projects.
Highlights and Outcomes
Vehicle Safety Research
A strong program of vehicle safety
research, based on the analysis of
extensive real world data sources
including police crash reports and
injury insurance compensation claims
across Australia and New Zealand,
continue to be conducted by the IAD
team. 2009 saw a number of major
outcomes from the program:
• August saw the annual launch of
the Used Car Safety Ratings, a
major output from the research
program that provides consumer
advice on relative vehicle safety
in the event of a crash. The
18
Injury Analysis & Data
Used Car Safety Ratings rate
vehicles by make and model on
three major dimensions of injury
protection, (1) the ability to protect
its own occupants in a crash
(crashworthiness), (2) the ability
to protect other road users with
which it collides (aggressivity) and
(3) the total secondary safety index.
The latter gives the combined
crashworthiness and aggressivity
performance of a vehicle with
appropriate weighting given to
each component based on its
relative importance in leading to
overall trauma outcomes in a
crash. The ratings are made
available for consumer information
by road authorities and motoring
clubs across Australia and
New Zealand. In Victoria, they
contribute a significant amount
of the vehicle safety information
available to consumers on the
Transport Accident Commission’s
howsafeisyourcar.com.au website.
• A project benchmarking trends in
light vehicle safety performance
in New Zealand was completed
for the New Zealand Ministry of
Transport. The benchmark measure
developed allows the retrospective
and prospective assessment
of the benefits of vehicle safety
policy and consumer programs in
improving secondary safety of the
NZ fleet and the quantification of
the contribution of improved vehicle
secondary safety to reducing road
trauma.
• Using the New Zealand Warrant of
Fitness data and vehicle register
snapshots from various Australian
states, estimates of the differential
crash risk associated with various
vehicle market groups for both
motorcycles and light passenger
vehicles were derived. The research
also covered an investigation of
the potential for optimising the light
vehicle fleet with respect to crash
risk characteristics of motorcycles
and cars by changing the profile of
vehicle market groups present in
the light vehicle fleet.
• Interpretation of the Used Car
Safety Ratings vehicle secondary
safety estimates in conjunction
with cross sectional profiles
of the distribution of vehicles
in the Australian and New
Zealand vehicle fleets allowed
quantification of the contributions
of vehicle secondary safety
improvements to improvements
in overall road trauma over time
in Australia and New Zealand.
2009 Annual Report
The research showed substantial
cumulative effects of improved
vehicle secondary safety over
time, quantifying the benefits of
programs aimed at improving
vehicle secondary safety seen in all
Australasian road safety strategies.
Individual estimates were also
obtained for each of Australia’s
five largest States to provide
comparison of the progress in
vehicle safety performance made in
each jurisdiction.
• A major project was completed
examining the vehicle choices
made by young drivers and how
this impacts on injury outcomes in
a crash. Analysis confirmed that
young drivers are driving older, less
crashworthy vehicles than older
drivers, even when compared on an
age by age basis.
Crash profile analysis indicate that
young drivers are over-represented
in all crash types but particularly
crashes occurring at night, singlevehicle crashes, crashes occurring
in rural areas and crashes occurring
on wet road surfaces. Scenario
modelling demonstrated that it is
possible to reduce the number of
serious injuries and fatalities if the
vehicle choices of young drivers
move towards vehicles with high
crashworthiness ratings.
Whilst getting young drivers into
the safest new vehicles would
provide the greatest benefits, even
getting them into the safest vehicles
within the same price range as the
vehicles they currently drive could
reduce the risk of death or serious
injury in a crash by around 60% on
average. This research quantified
the road safety benefits policy
focused on improving young driver
vehicle choice could potentially
achieve. Results of the study were
the subject of a major press release
in late 2009 and received wide
coverage.
Road safety program evaluation
Thorough scientific evaluation of road
safety programs is vital to ensure
programs are achieving their desired
outcomes and providing the best
possible outcomes for the investment
in them. The outcomes from rigorous
program evaluations are also useful
for fine tuning the performance of
existing programs as well as prioritising
future program expenditure. The
IAD team research program in 2009
included a number of evaluations and
development of evaluation methods.
Development of a framework for
evaluation of the Queensland
road safety strategy
Road safety strategies have been
developed and implemented in
jurisdictions across Australasia to focus
efforts and resources with the goal of
achieving set targets for road trauma
reduction. Evaluations of specific
programs implemented as part of road
safety strategies are common. Rarely
however is the success of the road
safety strategy as a whole evaluated
in a comprehensive and systematic
manner. This project developed a
comprehensive framework for road
safety strategy outcome evaluation
for Queensland. The evaluation
framework developed was based on
the GOSPA framework of defining a
road safety strategy formulation. The
GOSPA framework defines a pyramid
of increasing detail in defining the
elements of a road safety strategy. The
top of the pyramid defines the broad
goals for which the strategy is aiming
(Goals) whilst the next level down
gives specific measurable targets
(Objectives) against which the goals
can be assessed. The Strategies area
of the framework typically defines the
target areas on which the road safety
strategy will focus to achieve its goals
along with local objectives within each
target area that will jointly contribute
to achieving the global objectives.
Finally the Programs and Actions areas
contain the specific details on the type
of activities to be carried out in each
target area and the amount of effort
that will be applied to each activity.
The evaluation framework developed
mirrored the pyramid structure defined
under the GOSPA framework. It is
designed to assess the progress of the
strategy against the pre-determined
goals and objectives at various
levels of detail through a multi-tiered
modelling approach. Each proposed
tier of evaluation focuses on a specific
level of disaggregation of the strategy
elements corresponding to particular
levels of the GOSPA framework
pyramid. Successful application of
the framework was demonstrated
on the 1993-2003 Queensland Road
Safety Strategy. It showed its potential
for general application to other road
safety strategies along with the
potential use of the framework for
forward planning of evaluation activity
including resources allocation and data
requirements.
Road safety data systems and
trend analysis
High quality data systems underpin
high quality research and ensure the
best possible research outcomes
across all domains of injury prevention
research. During 2009 the IAD team
was involved in a wide range of
projects aimed at enhancing the scope
and quality of data available in the
road safety research field including the
following major projects.
De-identified linkage of Victorian
injury data records: A feasibility
study
This project explored the feasibility of
linking Police-reported motor vehicle
Injury Analysis & Data 19
crash, Transport Accident Commission
(TAC) insurance, in-depth crash data
and hospital injury datasets using
a de-identified linkage approach.
Separately, these data sources have
been critical for a wide range of
important research carried out by
MUARC and many other agencies that
has led to the development of new
countermeasures and evidence-based
preventive policies and programmes.
Research based on linked data has
the potential to enormously enhance
the evidence base for road and nonroad injury prevention policy making,
preventive measures and program
evaluation of interventions and would
extend our understanding of the
causes, outcomes and costs of road
traffic and other injuries.
It was found that the de-identified
linkage of Police and TAC data was
feasible and that the de-identified
linkage of hospital data to other injury
datasets would require a separate
approach based on identified
information. The successful linkage
of Police and TAC data also identified
potential measures of serious injury,
other than that reported by Police, that
could be used for road safety research
and as key outcome measures for
Victoria’s “arrive alive! 2008-2017”
road safety strategy. Outcomes
from this project were presented at
the 2009 Australasian Road Safety
Research, Policing and Education
Conference.
Roadside alcohol survey
program in Melbourne
This project, the first of its kind in
Australia, involved data collection
from RBT sites across Victoria Police
Region One. The research team, with
extensive support from the Victoria
Police, attended scheduled booze
bus and car based RBT sites at
various times of the day, night and
early morning hours to collect data
necessary to explore the current drink
driving patterns and high and low
alcohol hours.
The research findings support the
proposal that drink driving patterns
vary across zones and municipalities
in Melbourne and that targeting high
alcohol zones and entertainment
precincts may result in higher drink
driving detection rates. Car based
testing on minor roads should be
increased as the analysis found a
greater proportion of drivers with illegal
BACs on these types of roads, that
may reflect attempts to avoid detection
via the highly visible booze bus sites
on arterial roads.
20
Injury Analysis & Data
Strategic analysis and advice
Lessons learned in conducting
evaluation research and data analyses
often put researchers in a strong
position to provide strategic advice
and targeted strategic analysis to
agencies developing road safety policy
and programs. Through its extensive
accumulated experience, the IAD
team has been involved in a range of
projects during 2009 offering strategic
advice to a range of government
authorities.
Development of strategies for
speed camera enforcement in
Queensland
The objective of this project was to
develop strategies for:
• deployment of speed camera
technology (what, where, how and
how much);
• requirements of speed camera
technology (number, mix and type);
and
• reduction in current speeding
offence detection thresholds.
Speed cameras can be operated
overtly or covertly, in fixed location
or mobile modes, and can focus on
problem locations (black spots or
routes) or aim to reduce speeds across
the road network.
The options for speed camera
enforcement in Queensland were
defined and subjected to economic
analysis to determine the benefits
and costs of expanding the existing
mobile speed camera hours; operating
them covertly in urban areas while
expanding the hours; introducing
more fixed spot-speed cameras on
major roads; introducing point-topoint average speed cameras on
longer major road links; and installing
speed/red-light cameras at signalised
intersections.
The road crash reductions associated
with each camera scenario were
valued to estimate the social cost
savings, and the costs of camera
equipment, enforcement manpower
(where relevant). Detected offence
processing and follow-up of unpaid
fines were also estimated. The
economic value of each camera
scenario was assessed by the benefitcost ratio of social cost savings to total
operational costs. The social value was
also estimated in terms of casualty
crashes expected to be saved and
fatal crashes saved.
Research into aspects of a
new Victoria Police traffic
enforcement model
The Traffic and Transit Safety
Department of the Victoria Police
identified the need to develop a new
traffic enforcement model to support
Victoria’s new road safety strategy
“arrive alive! 2008-2017” and beyond.
Three objectives were proposed for
the project:
1. Review national and international
enforcement activities and models
comparable or applicable to
Victoria
2. Identify the best methods to
measure the effectiveness of
enforcement activities
3. In the road safety enforcement
context, establish the basis and
requirement for dedicated “traffic”
police as opposed to general
duties police only.
The three objectives of the project
were addressed in three separate
report parts representing the
outcomes of each task. The three
parts were:
• Part 1: Review of national and
international enforcement activities
and models
• Part 2: Best methods to measure
the effectiveness of enforcement
• Part 3: Organisation of Victoria
traffic policing
The first part covered enforcement
activities of each type, and best
practice and strategies in the areas of
drink-driving and speeding where most
of the evaluative research has been
carried out in national and international
jurisdictions.
The second part covered methods
to measure the effectiveness of
enforcement activities, based on
principles developed in Victoria, New
Zealand and recent major European
reviews of traffic enforcement.
The third part outlined the necessary
characteristics of Victoria traffic
policing to support the “arrive alive!
2008-2017” strategy and brought
out a number of issues regarding the
organisation of traffic policing within
Victoria Police. Within the scope of the
project, these issues were addressed
and recommendations made for
further consideration.
2009 Annual Report
Economic evaluation of the
introduction of lower rural
default and national highway
speed limits in Tasmania
The objective of this project was to
explore the potential economic costs
and benefits of reducing the rural
speed limits on Tasmanian roads. The
project included analysis of the benefits
and costs for lowering:
(1) the default speed limit on sealed
rural roads from 100km/h to
90km/h, while retaining a 100km/h
limit on higher standard rural
roads;
(2) the default speed limit on unsealed
(gravel) rural roads from 100km/h
to 80km/h; and
(3) the speed limit on lower standard
National Highways from 110km/h
to 100km/h, whilst retaining the
current speed limit (110km/h) on
higher standard dual carriageway
sections.
Lowering the speed limit on divided
110km/h roads was also analysed. The
economic evaluation considered the
effect of the lowering of these speed
limits on: travel time costs, including
costs for the freight industry; vehicle
operating costs; crash costs (generally
based on the “human capital” method
of valuing road trauma); and air
pollution costs.
crash exposure at each intersection
weighted by road trauma community
cost data which was applied to rank
each of the approximately 2500
signalised intersections across Victoria
according to the potential for road
trauma reductions through installation
of the combination cameras. This
was followed up by detailed crash
pattern analysis at each site to identify
optimum placement of the cameras
and to validate the specific crash
problems at each site.
Analysis resulted in 82 intersection
legs at 78 intersections across Victoria
being identified for camera installation.
A media launch detailing the new
sites was undertaken by the State
Government that highlighted the
MUARC work in selecting the sites to
achieve maximum road safety benefits.
Staff Memberships on
Boards and Committees
Monash University Institute of Safety
Compensation and Risk Research,
Compensation Research Database
Project, Project Advisory Committee
(S. Newstead)
Presentations
• D’Elia, A. Development of an
algorithm for driver drowsiness
detection Monash Sleep Research
Forum, Melbourne, 8 August
• Newstead, S. Evaluation of
state-wide programs 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention
and Safety Promotion, PreConference Workshop “Evaluation:
How can we do it better?”
• Newstead, S. Evaluation of
Legislation and Regulation, Lecture,
Monash Institute of Regulatory
Studies, March
• Newstead, S. The conflict between
vehicle safety and the environment:
insights from the Used Car Safety
Ratings Australian College of Road
Safety Seminar, March 19
• Newstead, S. Quantifying the
benefits of safer fleet vehicle
purchases, Keynote Address,
RACV Fleet Business Luncheon,
August 14
Road Safety Sub-Committee, Amy
Gillett Foundation (M. Cameron)
It was not expected that mean free
speeds would drop to the same extent
as the reduction in speed limit on each
category of rural road. The economic
analyses considered the impacts of
a hypothetical 5 km/h reduction in
the mean free speed of each vehicle
type as being the likely maximum
reduction that would result. Lower
speeds in 2 km/h steps were also
analysed to determine the speed which
minimises the total economic impact
(“optimum speed”) for each general
class of vehicle. This is the speed that
balances the social costs and benefits
of increased travel time with decreased
road trauma, vehicle operating costs,
emissions and other costs.
Selection of sites for expansion
of the Victorian fixed digital
speed and red light camera
program.
The Victorian Department of Justice
commissioned the IAD team to
undertake a review of the way in which
intersection locations are selected for
installation of new combination fixed
digital speed and red light cameras.
An algorithm was developed based on
The Used Car Safety Rating brochures have been produced since 1992
Injury Analysis & Data 21
Injury Surveillance and
Epidemiology
Team Leaders:
Dr. Lesley Day PhD, MPH, BSc(Hons)
Deputy Director
Erin Cassell MPH, BA
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Wayne Baker CPEng MIEAust,
MEngSc(Res), BE(Mech)(Hons), BA,
GCertOHM
Research Fellow (until April)
Injury surveillance and epidemiology are concerned with the distribution and
determinants of injury in the population, and the application of that knowledge
to the prevention of injury. A substantial component of our work is focused on
the ongoing and systematic collation, analysis, interpretation and dissemination
of health data on injury-related incidents to support preventive action and
research. A considerable amount of effort is put into quality assurance and the
ongoing development of the health datasets that are held by the team to improve
their usefulness. The other main themes of our research program are marine
(recreational boating) safety, child safety, consumer product safety, occupational
safety and falls among older people.
Expertise
This diverse research team have
qualifications and specialist training
in public health, epidemiology, health
promotion, statistics, psychology,
humanities, social sciences,
ergonomics and engineering.
Collectively the team has experience in
identifying injury issues, understanding
injury mechanisms and risk
factors, and testing and evaluating
interventions. Study designs and
methods commonly used by the
team include injury surveillance and
descriptive research, case-series
studies, observational field studies,
case-control studies, cohort studies
and randomised controlled trials. The
team is also experience in database
development, maintenance and
analysis and is active in facilitating
the translation of research to policy
(including the development of safety
regulations and standards) and
practice.
Resources
Louise Beasley RN Div 1&3, BaEd
Research Nurse (until March)
Karen Ashby MPH,GradDipHealthScienc,
BA
Research Fellow
22
Injury Surveillance and Epidemiology
The Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit,
funded by the Victorian Department of
Health, operates within the ISE team.
VISU holds three injury surveillance
datasets containing many thousands
of cases: the Australian Bureau of
Statistics Causes of Death Unit Record
File (ABS-DURF: injury deaths), the
Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset
(VAED: injury hospital admissions) and
the Victorian Emergency Minimum
Dataset (VEMD: injury emergency
department presentations). VISU
offers a data and information
service, mostly free-of-charge,
open to government and nongovernment departments, agencies
and organisations, health promotion
and injury prevention organisations,
community groups, business, media
and researchers. VISU research staff
provide data reports to support the
development and evaluation of health
and safety policies, safety regulations
and standards, and injury prevention
interventions and research.
Highlights and Outcomes
Disability and falls in the ageing
population
The Exercise for Independent Living
study (funded by NHMRC and the
Wicking Trust) reached an important
milestone this year, when the final
group of participants completed their
48 week exercise program and related
assessments. This study addressed
the issue of disability and falls among
our ageing population. The aims were
to: (1) test the efficacy of exercise in
delaying disability and preventing falls
among older people; (2) investigate
the mechanisms by which exercise
intervenes in the disability pathway;
and (3) determine the cost-benefits of
exercise for older people.
The study recruited 503 people
over 70 years of age and randomly
assigned them to receive one of two
exercise programs: “Flex and Move”
(a flexibility and relaxation program), or
“Focus and Flow” (consisting primarily
of Tai Chi moves) for a period of 48
weeks. Data analysis, that compared
the two groups to determine if there
is any difference in the development
of disability as well as a range of
functional outcomes such as falls,
strength, balance, depression, arthritic
symptoms, and life satisfaction is
almost complete.
2009 Annual Report
This is one of the few studies worldwide to test the impact of any exercise
program on delaying the manifestation
of disability among older people.
Robust evidence that exercise can
delay disability will have immediate
and significant implications for the
maintenance of independence among
older people at a critical time for
our ageing population. The project
has the in-kind support of Australian
Retirement Communities and Arthritis
Victoria. Chief investigators are Dr
Lesley Day MUARC, Prof Keith Hill,
National Ageing Research Institute and
Northern Health, Prof Leon Flicker,
University of Western Australia, A/
Prof Damien Jolley, Monash Institute
for Health Services Research, and
Prof Leonie Segal, University of South
Australia.
Angela Clapperton M(Counselling),
GradDipEdPsych., BSc(Behav)
Research Fellow
Isaac Dunn
Administrative Assistant
Injury surveillance research
Barbara Fox MApSocRes, RN, BA
Research Nurse
The Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit
(VISU) produced and disseminated 193
short reports on specific topics to a
range of federal and state government
departments and agencies (including
health, education, transport and
consumer affairs), local councils, nongovernment bodies, industry, graduate
students, researchers and the media.
Narelle Hayes BA,
Research Assistant
We also produced two issues of the
VISU publication Hazard in 2009:
Edition 69 Unintentional dog bite injury
in Victoria: 2005-7 and Edition 70
The impact of area socioeconomic
inequity on serious injury in Victoria.
More than 1500 hard copies of each
issue of Hazard are distributed through
our general and special mailing lists
and each issue can be downloaded
from the VISU web page: www.
monash.edu.au/muarc/visu. VISU
also monitors and reports progress
on the Victorian injury health outcome
indicators for the Department of Health
and child health outcome indicators for
the Department of Education and Early
Childhood Development
Emily Kerr
Administrative Assistant
Jessica Killian MSc(Repro), GradDip
(ReproSci), BSc,
Research Assistant
Recreational boating safety
The ISE team conducts a rolling
program of research mainly in the
area of recreational boating safety
for Marine Safety Victoria (MSV), the
state authority responsible for maritime
safety,. The 2009 Annual Marine
Report described the frequency,
incidence, pattern, circumstances
and potential contributory factors to
marine incidents and boating-related
sports and recreational injury (including
fatalities) that occurred in 2008/9 (for
incidents) and 2007/8 (for injuries).
Over the 12-month study period there
were139 commercial, 8 hire-drive and
1,095 recreational vessel incidents
Matoula Leichman
Group Administration Officer
Nicolette Peters RN, Grad Dip Health
Services Management, MHA,
Research Nurse
recorded on the Marine Incident
Database (MID), three boating-related
drowning fatalities recorded on the
National Coroners Information System
(NCIS) and 902 hospital-treated
recreational boating injury cases (223
admissions and 679 ED presentations)
recorded on hospital injury surveillance
datasets. These data were further
analysed to investigate the activities
in which high numbers of incidents
and injuries occur and the contributory
factors to them. Recommendations
were made on possible preventive
measures and future research
directions.
Substantial work was completed
on two other MSV projects:
‘Evaluation of the recreational boat
operators licensing scheme’ and the
‘Recreational boating exposure to
risk survey’. The Recreational Boat
Operator Licensing Scheme was
introduced in Victoria in 2001 with the
objectives of improving power boat
operator competencies and uptake of
related safety measures. Compulsory
licensing was phased in over a 12month period from 1 February 2002.
The ‘before and after’ evaluation,
currently underway, measured the
effect of the Licensing Scheme on
the safety knowledge of a sample of
recreational boat operators who were
granted their licence in 2007-8. The
practical skills of a subset of newly
licensed Victorian recreational boat
operators were also assessed. The
data collection phase was completed
in 2009 and the evaluation report,
including recommendations on the
future licensing scheme, will be
presented to MSV in early 2010.
In 2009 we conducted the remaining
three of four quarterly postal surveys of
a random sample of 1,600 registered
recreational powered boat owners
conducted over the 12-month period
October 1, 2008 to September 30,
2009. The survey collected boater
exposure data (measured in trips and
hours spent on the water) by activity
(fishing, towed water sports etc.),
boating incidents and injury data
and boater demographic data. The
survey data has been analysed and
a report on exposure to recreational
boating activities in 2008-9 is nearing
completion.
Dog bite in children
In tandem with a commissioned injury
surveillance study of dog bite injury in
Victoria, the Bureau of Animal Welfare
(BAW) also funded the ISE team to
conduct a qualitative study titled ‘Call
back study of child (aged 0-9) dog bite
Injury Surveillance and Epidemiology 23
Khic-Houy Prang BAppSc (Hons), BA
Research Assistant
Nicolas Reid MSc(Ergo.), PGDipSci, BA
Research Assistant
Virginia Routley MPH,
GradDip(SocStats), DipEd, BEc
Research Fellow
injury cases in the domestic setting’.
Over a 12-month period to October
2009 we recruited 51 child dog bite
cases from seven hospital emergency
departments and conducted in-depth
telephone interviews with the parents/
carers of the bitten children and the
dog owner whenever possible. The
aim of this qualitative study was to
better understand the circumstances,
potential contributory factors and
outcomes of child dog bite injury that
occurred in the victim’s own home
or the home of a relative, friend,
acquaintance or neighbour.
Oral Presentations
In addition, one of the team’s PhD
students (Linda Watson) has chosen
dog bite injury as her thesis topic and
has recruited a comparison group of
children from the community to convert
the case series study into a casecontrol study which will then enable
the identification of risk factors for child
domestic dog bite injury. Recruitment
and interviewing of controls is in
progress. Study results will be
presented to BAW in 2010.
Hoareau, E. 'Beyond the randomised
controlled trial: modelling the
population level impact of proven falls
prevention initiatives for older people',
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26-28 July]
Voula Stathakis MPH, GradDip(Epi/
Staff Membership of
Boards and Committees
Research Fellow
Farmsafe Australia (L. Day, W.Bakeralternate)
BioStats), BSc,
Farmsafe Victoria (L. Day, W. Baker)
Injury Prevention, Editorial Board (L. Day)
Trang Vu MPH, MHSc
PhD Candidate
International Journal of Injury Control
and Safety Promotion, Editorial Board
(V. Routley)
Journal of Agricultural Safety and
Health, Associate Editor (L. Day)
National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Control Scientific
Program Committee (L. Day)
Linda Watson BSc(Hons)
PhD Candidate
Older People Injury Prevention
Reference Group convened by the
Victorian Department of Human
Services (L. Day)
Victorian Safe Communities Network
(VSCN), Executive (E. Cassell)
Kidsafe Victoria, Board (E. Cassell)
City of Melbourne Injury Prevention
Committee (E Cassell)
Safestart (child injury prevention
projects) Steering Committee
convened by the Victorian Department
of Health (E. Cassell)
Victorian Child and Adolescent
Monitoring System (VCAMS) Data
Management Committee convened
by the Department of Education and
Early Childhood Development (DEECD)
(E. Cassell)
24
Injury Surveillance and Epidemiology
Day, L. 'Evaluation: how can we do it
better', Pre-Conference Workshop,
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26 July [keynote
presentation]
Day, L. 'Exercise for Independent
Living: a randomised controlled trial of
exercise for maintaining independence
during ageing', 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July
Day, L. ‘Exercise for Independent
Living: a randomised controlled trial of
exercise for maintaining independence
during ageing'. IAGG World Congress
of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Paris,
5-9 July [poster presentation]
Cassell E. ‘The relationship between
slips, trips and falls and the design
and construction of buildings’, The
Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Injury Symposium - Kids Can’t Fly:
Preventing Children Falling from
Residential Buildings. Westmead
Hospital, NSW, November [invited
presentation]
Clapperton A. & Cassell E. ‘Downward
trend in hip fracture rates in persons
aged 65 years and older, Victoria,
Australia’, 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion. Melbourne 26-28 July
[poster presentation]
Cassell E. ‘The effectiveness of
personal flotation device (PFD) wearing
regulations in Victoria, Australia’,
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne 26-28 July
Cassell E, Clapperton A. ‘Child
unintentional injury, Victoria’, Home
Economics Victoria Health Promotion
Conference, Parkville, May
Ashby K. ‘Callback study of hospitaltreated recreational boating injury
over two summers’, 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne 26-28
July
2009 Annual Report
Safe Systems Strategy
& Infrastructure
The Safe System Strategies and Infrastructure Team strives to conduct highquality injury prevention research for translation into practical policies, programs
and actions capable of delivering major reductions in severe trauma.
Team Leader:
The main areas of focus for the team’s
work in 2009 were:
Dr. Bruce Corben PhD, MEngSc(Trans),
BSc
Senior Research Fellow (D)
• Developing scientifically-based
management systems for practical,
efficient and strategic application of
high-impact initiatives;
• Facilitating the timely take-up by
implementing agencies of research
into practice;
• Developing or adapting bestpractice initiatives that deliver
lasting, fundamental reductions in
serious injury risk;
Dr. Jeffery Archer PhD(Traffic Eng),
• Infrastructure evaluation, design
and development;
BSc(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (C)
• Creating low-risk traffic
environments for the most
vulnerable road users, namely,
pedestrians, motorcyclists and
bicyclists.
The SSSI Team comprises professional
and administrative support staff
spanning a variety of relevant
backgrounds and areas of expertise
including:
Nimmi Candappa BEng(Civil)(Hons),
BA(Jap)
Research Fellow
Catherine Healy BA
• Road infrastructure design and
operation;
Effie Hoareau GradDip(Stats&OpRes),
• Psychology;
BSc,
Research Fellow
• Mechanical engineering,
biomechanics and vehicle safety;
• Statistical analysis;
• Physics; and
• Strategy development and targetsetting.
Matoula Leichman
Group Administration Officer
Expertise
The team has specialist expertise in the
areas of pedestrian and motorcyclist
safety, and collaborates on in-depth
crash investigations. Striving to meet
the principles underpinning the Safe
System vision ensures a high degree
of innovation in the team’s research
outputs. The team has experience
in a variety of areas including
Sara Liu BBSc; GradDip(Psych);
PostgradDip(Psych)
Research Assistant
identifying and understanding road
safety injury mechanisms and risk
factors, designing and evaluating
countermeasure programs and
translating new research knowledge
into policy and practice. A variety of
study methods are typically utilised
by the team such as simulation,
mathematical modelling, database
development, maintenance and
analysis and before-after evaluations of
on-road treatments.
Resources
One of the main strengths of the team
is its endeavours to develop practical
ways to meet the aspirations of
Australasia’s Safe System road safety
vision. Opportunities continue to be
developed in the areas of road safety
strategy development and targetsetting, infrastructure design and the
more effective management of travel
speeds. Translating new research
findings into practice also continues to
receive special attention.
Highlights and Outcomes
The team’s focus on road safety
strategy development and targetsetting continues in 2009, with work
taking place at both a national level
and for individual states and territories.
One pleasing event in 2009 was the
invitation to present this work at an
international workshop on Scientific
Research on Road Safety Management
organised by SWOV and held in
Haarlem, the Netherlands during
November 2009.
A number of opportunities for
collaboration with SWOV colleagues
were identified in the area of safety
science and management, as well as
in other high priority categories of road
trauma. In particular, good progress
continued to be made during 2009
on one of the team’s major areas of
research activity, namely, intersection
safety and design.
Safe System Stratgegy & Infrastructure 25
Christine Mulvihill BBSc(Hons)
Research Fellow
Sujanie Peiris BSc(Hon), BE(Hon)
Research Assistant
Through collaboration with SWOV and
site visits in Europe, new intersection
design options have been identified,
developed and quantitatively assessed,
using innovative and ambitious design
principles and a new mathematical
tool created for the express purpose
of estimating the risk of a fatality
or serious injury, as a function of
intersection design and operational
variables.
In order to accelerate the take up of
new promising designs, the team has
selected several intersection designs
suited to early implementation and
assessment. Other team highlights
include:
• Ongoing research into motorcycle
safety, through the development
of improved training and skills
development courses for two rider
groups at elevated risk, namely,
newly licensed and returning riders;
• In collaboration with Caulfield
Community Health Service, the
team collaborated on the trial use
of a star-rating tool to provide an
evidence-based, objective means
of assessing the safety of individual
road crossing points along routes
taken to or from school by children.
It is hoped the tool will provide
a reliable and rational basis for
selecting low-risk routes for use by
children or to advocate for specific
safety improvements highlighted
by the star-rating tool. The main
purpose is to enhance safety so
that children will use active forms
of transport to and from school,
and so address major population
health concerns in Australia, such
as childhood obesity and inactive
lifestyles.
Staff Membership of
Boards and Committees
• Monash University’s Roads
and Traffic Sub-committee
(B. Corben/N. Candappa)
• Victoria’s Speed Limits Advisory
Group, convened by VicRoads
(B. Corben)
• VMAC Victorian Motorcycle
Advisory Council, Minister for
Transport, Member (B. Corben)
• Victorian Road Safety Reference
Group (B. Corben)
• Tasmanian Road Safety Council
(B. Corben)
• SRIP Advisory Group (B. Corben
/N. Candappa)
26
Safe System Stratgegy & Infrastructure
• Walk Bendigo (B. Corben)
• The Canadian Association of Road
Safety Professionals (N. Candappa).
Presentations
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Drivers for Change:
How can we enable children in
Australia to walk or cycle safely in the
streets in their own?’
Corben, B. (2009) ‘The Science of
Setting Speed Limits’, Edmonton’s
International Conference on Urban
Traffic Safety, Edmonton, 16-18 March
Corben, B. others? (2009) ‘Safe
System Strategies & Infrastructure
Team research activities’ Presentation
to Ministry of Transportation,
Indonesia, 15 December
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Development of
Road Safety Strategy Options for
Western Australia’, Presentation to the
Insurance Council of British Columbia,
Canada, 24 March
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Country Driving
in Victoria the Main Hazards’,
Presentation to Monash University
Undergraduate Medical Students,
Melbourne, 23 April and 24 August
Corben, B. (2009) ‘The Benefits of
Lower Travel Speeds’, Presentation
to Mornington Peninsula Shire,
Melbourne, 11 May
Team presentation to MVAF of
Namibia, 20 April
Corben, B & Cassell, E. (2009) ‘Inquiry
into Pedestrian Safety in Car Parks’,
Parliament of Victoria Road Safety
Committee Public Hearing, 27 July
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Making a
Difference, Conference Closing - New
Opportunities Ahead?, RoadSafe
Conference 2009
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Development of
Road Safety Strategy Options for
Western Australia’, Presentation to the
South Australian Road Safety Advisory
Council, 12 May
Corben, B. (2009) Presentation to
SEATS, 12 February
Corben, B. (2009) ‘An Assessment of
Pedestrian Safety Issues Related to
Monash University Sunway Campus’,
Presentation to the Monash University
Sunway Campus Facilities and
Services Division, 4 December
Corben, B & Oxley, J. (2009) ‘Creating
Low-risk Traffic Environments for
Pedestrians’, Presentation to the
Monash University Sunway Campus
Facilities and Services Division,
7 December
2009 Annual Report
Bruce Corben, David Logan, Lisa
Fanciulli, Roger Farley & Iain Cameron,
‘Strengthening Road Safety Strategy
Development: Towards Zero’, 20082020 Western Australia’s Experience’,
Scientific Research on Road Safety
Management, Haarlem, Netherlands,
15-17 November
Corben, B. (2009) ‘The Benefits of
Lower Travel Speeds’, Presentation
to Tasmania Road Safety Council
Workshop, Burnie, 14 May.
Team presentation to TNO Visitors, 14
September
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Victoria’s Accident
Black Spot Programs in Reducing
Motorcyclist Crashes’, Western
Australia Motorcycle and Scooter
Safety Forum, Western Australia, 3-4
April
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Forum #1 Key
Themes and Ideas Safe Roads and
Roadsides’, May
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Review of Key
Motorcycle and Scooter Riders’
Serious Casualty (KSI) Crashes (20032007) in Western Australia’, May
Forum #1 Key Themes and Ideas Safe
Speeds, May
Corben, B. (2009) ‘Walking Leadership
Forum 2009 Road Safety and
Environment Session’, Walktober,
William Angliss Institute, Melbourne, 26
October
Mulvihill, C (2009) ‘Develop, Deliver
and Evaluate a Large-Scale Trial of
an on Road Assisted Ride Program’,
Victorian Motorcycle Advisory Council,
Vic Roads, August
Mulvihill, C (2009) ‘Motorcycle Safety in
Australia: An Overview and Research
at MUARC’, Tanzanian Ministry of
Infrastructure Development, MUARC,
November
Candappa, N (2009) Civil Engineering
Guest Lecture on Road Safety to
second year Civil Engineering students,
Aug 2009
In 2009 the team, together with
Honda Australia Rider Training
and Learning Systems Analysis,
was awarded a contract by
VicRoads to develop, pilot and
conduct a large-scale trial of an
on-road coaching program for
newly licensed motorcyclists.
The four-hour coaching program
was developed for Victorian
riders to assist in improving
rider safety and represents the
first of its kind in the world.
Approximately 2,400 riders will
be involved in the trial in which
an experienced rider coach
will provide feedback to riders
in groups of 2-3. The George
Institute for International Health
will evaluate the impact of the
trial on safety outcomes over
the next twelve months. The
project is being funded by the
Motorcycle Safety Levy.
Safe System Stratgegy & Infrastructure 27
Safety Science
Biomechanics & Innovation
Team leaders:
Dr. Peter Hillard PhD, BEng(Hons),
ARSM
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Professor Brian Fildes PhD, CProdE,
BSc(Hons)
The Safety Science, Biomechanics & Innovation (SSBI) team is a multidisciplinary
team working predominantly in the areas of vehicle and road safety, crash
investigation and analysis, and vehicle and traffic related occupational health and
safety.
Expertise
Projects
The SSBI team have backgrounds
in engineering, biomechanics,
psychology/human factors and
statistics. Specialist expertise of
the team members include: injury
biomechanics, computer modelling
and simulation, crash (and other
injury-causing event) investigation
and reconstruction, the design of safe
vehicles for application in industrial
settings, evaluation of the effectiveness
of new technologies using HARM and
other metrics, and road and traffic
engineering.
Occupant Protection
In addition to providing research and
consultancy services, the SSBI team
regularly provides specialist training
for professionals working in related
areas. In particular, the team regularly
runs courses in the Biomechanics of
Injury and Vehicle Crashworthiness.
The team also includes a qualified
Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) trainer
who provides AIS training through the
Association for the Advancement of
Automotive Medicine.
Dr. Melanie Franklyn PhD, MEng
(Biomedical Prelim.), BSc, CAISS
Research Fellow
Resources
Strengths of the team include:
• Crash investigation (light vehicles,
heavy vehicles and powered two
wheelers)
Dr. Julie Lahausse DPsych(Org/Ind),
• Injury event investigation
(particularly in industrial contexts)
Research Fellow
• Crash reconstruction
Psych(Hons), BA
Sujanie Peiris BSc(Hon), BE(Hon)
Research Assistant
28
• HARM analysis of new in-vehicle
safety technologies (LAB, France)
• Evaluation of new safety features in
V8 Supercar racing vehicles (FIA/
AIMSS)
• Investigation of occupant
protection in far-side crashes
(Australian Research Council)
In-depth Crash Investigation
• Australian National Crash In-depth
Study (ANCIS Consortium)
• Enhanced crash investigation (ECI)
project – Phase II (VicRoads)
Road Safety
• Management of speed attitudes
(AustRoads)
• Railway crossing advice
(Department of Justice, Vic)
Crash Analysis
• TRaffic Accident Causation
in Europe, TRACE (European
Commission)
• Multi National Vehicle Safety
Mass Data Study - To examine
possibilities and likelihood of
establishing a large European
database for on-going benefit
analyses of safety technologies
(Swedish Road Administration)
• Design of safety systems for
specialist vehicles
• Involvement of inappropriate and
excessive speed in fatal motorcycle
crashes (VicRoads)
• Industrial traffic management plans
Industrial Traffic Management
• Transport impact analysis reports
• Review traffic volumes and flow
around the Shell Geelong Refinery
(Shell Refining)
• Evaluation of the effectiveness
of new safety technologies using
HARM metrics
Safety Science Biomechanics & Innovation
• Transport impact analysis for a
second heavy vehicle access to the
Laverton Steel Mill (OneSteel)
2009 Annual Report
Staff Membership of
Boards and Committees
• Association for the Advancement
of Automotive Medicine, President
Elect (B. Fildes)
Julie Suker
Group Administration Officer
• European Center for Injury
Prevention, Member Advisory
Committee (B. Fildes)
• 6th International Conference on
the Protection of Children in Cars,
Scientific Programme Committee
Member (B. Fildes)
• Association for the Advancement
of Automotive Medicine, Scientific
Programme Committee Member
(M. Franklyn)
• Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS)
Teaching Faculty Member (M.
Franklyn)
• Victoria State Trauma Outcome
Registry Monitoring (VSTORM)
Group, AIS Working Group (M
Franklyn)
Presentations
• Hillard, P. Severity of injury
outcomes for older drivers
involved in intersection crashes,
4th International Conference on
Driver Behaviour and Training,
Amsterdam, 24th – 25th November,
2009
• Hillard, P. The Enhanced Crash
Investigation Program, Victoria
Police Vision 237 Conference,
Melbourne, 17th and 18th
November, 2009
• Hillard, P. Motorcyclists perceptions
of the causes of motorcycle
crashes, 21st World Congress of
the International Traffic Medicine
Association, The Hague, 26th to
29th April 2009
• Fildes, B. An Australasian model
license reassessment procedure
for identifying potentially unsafe
drivers, 21st World Congress of
the International Traffic Medicine
Association, The Hague, 26th to
29th April 2009
This is the type of damage which
confronts the team and what
the research aims to prevent or
minimise
Safety Science Biomechanics & Innovation 29
Vehicle Safety Test,
Evaluation & Crash Research
Team Leader:
Dr. David Logan PhD, BE(Hons)
Senior Research Fellow (C)
Sarah Barlow RN, BSc(Hons)
Research Nurse (until July)
Helen Donaldson SRN, SRM, B.Sc., Dip.
Bus. Management
Research Nurse
Wesley Eadon
Crash Investigator
Anastasia Flocas BN, GradDipPsych,
DipEd
Research Nurse (until March)
Debra Judd DipEd, BAppSci
Data entry
30
The Vehicle Safety Test, Evaluation and Crash Research (VSTECR) Team is
involved in all aspects of road safety, with a focus on vehicles.
Expertise
Summary
The core specialty of the VSTECR
team is the real-world crash
investigation program, collecting more
than 100 crashes each year across
Australia for three separate studies.
The resulting case databases are
utilised for a wide range of research
into vehicle crashworthiness, occupant
injury outcomes and human factors
and behavioural issues.
The Australian National Crash In-depth
Study (ANICS) commenced its fourth
three-year contract period, having first
been established in the year 2000. The
ANCIS program is the core in-depth
crash investigation activity at MUARC
and underpins a range of other studies,
including those of higher degree by
research students, both locally and
overseas. Since its inception, ANCIS
has investigated over 800 crashes,
with occupants being recruited from a
large number of hospitals, principally
in Victoria and NSW. The information
collected by ANCIS has been used
as the basis of a number of regulatory
reports, as well as journal papers and
conference presentations examining
injury risk and the likely effectiveness
of new vehicle technology. While 60
crashes per year are targeted for the
next three years until the middle of
2012, ANCIS will seek to expand its
collection activities, potentially through
the inclusion of additional States and
Territories and/or other road user
groups.
The team also specialises in precrash vehicle safety aspects,
helping to design and commission
advanced instrumented test vehicles
and developing the research tools
necessary to make use of them.
The team also has experience in
evaluating and comparing emergency
vehicles for the Victorian ambulance
services, carrying out a comprehensive
performance and safety testing
research suite. The VSTECR team has
a strong practical focus and provides
mechanical and electrical design and
fabrication services as well as advice
regarding patient recruitment and
ethics issues.
The team collaborates extensively
with the Safe System Strategy
and Infrastructure Team in the
development of road safety strategies
and the predictive modelling of their
performance; the Behavioural Safety
Science Team for pedestrian safety
research and the Safety Science,
Biomechanics and Innovation Team
and the Human Factors Team for
ambulance safety research.
The team has mechanical and electrical
engineering expertise, experience in
technical design and manufacturing,
educational and critical care nursing
and financial administration.
Vehicle Safety Test, Evaluation & Crash Research
Ms Huiqin ‘Cherry’ Chen, a PhD
student from the College of Mechanical
and Automotive Engineering at
Hunan University, commenced work
on a project to develop a fault-tree
analysis method for establishing the
contributing factors to intersection
crashes. As with many student
projects before it, this research relied
strongly on the comprehensive ANCIS
dataset.
During the year the team entered into a
collaboration with the Prince of Wales
Medical Research Institute (POWMRI)
in NSW to assist with the collection
and potential exchange of real-world
crash cases between Victoria and
NSW. A group from POWMRI and
RTA Crashlab were trained in crash
investigations by the VSTECR team.
2009 Annual Report
The team continued to assist with the
data collection and case presentation
process for the Enhanced Crash
Investigation project, providing cases
and moderating several stakeholder
panels during the middle of the year.
Covering two wheels as well as four,
the team was invited to conduct a
session at the Western Australian
Motorcycle and Scooter Safety Forum,
“Enhanced crash investigations for
motorcycles”.
Ron Laemmle
Crash Investigator
Vicky Ribas
Group Administration Officer
David Sheppee
Coordinator, Occupant Protection
Project
David Taranto BE(Elec)(Hons), BSc
Research Assistant
Involvement in the AusDSRC industry
cluster (http://ausdsrc.com.au/)
continued, with the team helping to
ensure that safety considerations
remained high on the agenda during
the cluster’s discussions. The cluster
is aiming to secure the allocation
of a dedicated portion of the radio
spectrum in Australia for the use of
intelligent transport systems (ITS)
applications depending on secure,
wireless broadband capability. The
VSTECR team is helping to ensure
that non safety-specific applications
of the technology do not compromise
road safety as well as facilitating the
research needs of the development
of safety-related applications utilising
this technology, including collision
avoidance through vehicle-tovehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure
communications.
The VSTECR team worked closely
with the Safe System Strategy and
Infrastructure (SSSI) Team to help with
the development of a mathematical
model of vehicle-vehicle conflicts in
intersections, providing a new way
to estimate the risk of a serious injury
or fatal outcome in the event of a
crash between two vehicles at an
intersection. The model was presented
and discussed extensively with
colleagues at SWOV in the Netherlands
in November. A PhD student from the
Department of Civil Engineering and
Institute for Transport Studies, Amir
Sobhani, has adopted some of the
methods devised and is building his
doctoral work around them.
Huiqin (Cherry) Chen
Visiting PhD Candidate
The important theme of intersection
crashes was continued with the
commencement of a project with the
Curtin-Monash Accident Research
Centre in WA to investigate solutions
for the issue of human error in
intersection crashes.
In the road safety strategy modelling
area, work was commenced on
the modelling of the next Australian
National Road Safety Strategy, in
conjunction with the SSSI team,
drawing upon and improving further
upon the modelling techniques
used in Victoria and WA in previous
years. Western Australia continued
the implementation process for their
strategy, with the two teams assisting
with the prioritisation of action items
arising from the extensive strategy
development process.
In partnership with The George
Institute, work was commenced on the
development of a model for the next
Northern Territory road safety strategy,
with the aim of tackling the significant
road safety issues in that jurisdiction.
A preliminary project was also
conducted for Queensland Transport
(now the Department of Transport and
Main Roads, Queensland), to assist
with the selection of KPIs for road
safety in that state.
The team was also involved in
presentations to the Australian
Fleet Managers Association and the
provision of road safety advice to the
Tasmanian Legislative Council Select
Committee on Road Safety.
Presentations
• Logan, D., Hillard, P. and
Newstead, S. “Enhanced Crash
Investigation and fleet vehicle
safety”, AfMA meeting, St Kilda
Rd, Melbourne, September [invited
presentation]
• Logan, D. “Real-World Crash
Investigations”, Carrum Downs
Secondary College, Carrum Downs,
24 March [invited presentation]
• Logan, D., Donaldson, H., Eadon,
W., Laemmle, R. and Sheppee, D.
“Real-World Crash Investigations”,
lecture to paramedic students,
Monash Peninsula Campus,
Frankston, 6 August [invited
presentation]
Staff Memberships
• David Logan: AusDSRC Steering
Committee: Leader Working
Group 5, Safety
Again in conjunction with the SSSI
team, the mathematical model for
star rating the safety of pedestrian
walking routes was tested through a
trial among several primary schools,
providing valuable data for analysis and
further proving the usefulness of the
model.
Vehicle Safety Test, Evaluation & Crash Research 31
MUARC Europe (Prato)
Research
Since its establishment in 2008,
MUARC Europe has been actively
forming research collaborations with
institutions in Europe that have lead
to the development of international
projects in the field of road safety. An
example of a current project is a multinational database study (MUNDS)
evaluating the benefits of vehicle safety
technology.
Observatory is a directive of the
Ministry of the Interior and has been
established in each province to
examine and identify new initiatives
to reduce road accidents across
Italy. It is the Ministry’s response to
the European Parliament initiative to
reduce road accidents throughout
Europe.
MUARC Europe has also formed
agreements with local provincial
Prof. Brian Fildes PhD, CProdE,
BSc(Hons)
Principal Research Fellow
Cathy Crupi BComm(Hons),
DipLanguages
PA to Professor Brian Fildes
From left to right:
Professor Judd Epstein,
Associate David Sanders and
Justice Millane, County Court of
Victoria.
Road Trauma Prevention and
Compensation course, June 2009
32
MUARC Europe (Prato)
Teaching and
Education
In 2009 a unit on Road Trauma
Prevention and Compensation
was offered to undergraduate
students as part of the awardwinning Monash Law Prato
Program which brings together
10 educational partners to
provide a global learning
experience. This unit, which can also
be credited towards a degree other
than law, addresses safety topics in
road safety practices, driver behaviour,
vehicle safety, road infrastructure and
vulnerable road users from a research,
best practice and legal perspective.
Guest lecturers included road safety
experts from the Ergonomics Safety
Research Institute, Loughborough
University and representatives from the
Australian judicial system. The course
also featured a vehicle crash test
conducted by mechanical engineers
of the University of Florence. Students
from Monash University, Universitè
Paris XI and the University of Florence
participated in the course.
Working with the Local
Community
MUARC Europe is currently working
with the local community in Prato
and Tuscany to address road
safety issues. In October 2009 it
was asked to join the Prato Road
Safety Observatory whose members
include representatives from the
local Commune, the Prefecture, the
national and local police authorities,
the local public health agency and
the Automobile Club of Italy. The
organisations working in areas related
to road safety to facilitate greater
knowledge for improved road safety
in the region. MUARC Europe has
offered the Prato Commune research
and teaching support in addressing
injury prevention initiatives in the region.
At a national level, MUARC Europe
has been actively collaborating
with the Automobile Club of Italy to
analyse national road accident data
and contribute to the publication of
enhanced road safety information in
Italy.
MUARC Europe regularly collaborates
at the European policy level, having
been invited by DG TREN to participate
in discussions towards setting the
future road safety research agenda in
Europe and conducting evaluations for
the European Commission.
2009 Annual Report
Collaborations and
Partnerships
Visitors from the
Swedish Road
Administration
To help ensure MUARC Europe is
focussed on critical issues in Europe,
a Scientific Advisory Committee
comprising prominent Australian,
European and US experts has been
established to help guide the direction
of research undertaken by MUARC in
Europe. The first meeting took place
in October 2009 at the Monash Prato
Centre. A key outcome has been the
formation of a collaborative research
network of international research and
teaching organisations to address
priority issues in road safety.
• UNIFI - Faculty of Engineering,
University of Florence, Italy; and
• VTI – Government research
organisation in Gothenburg,
Sweden.
Furthermore, a number of additional
MOUs are current under negotiation,
namely:
• ECIP – European Centre for Injury
Prevention, University of Navarra,
Spain;
The business plan for MUARC
Europe called for the establishment
of collaborative links with a number
of European and other international
research and teaching organisations.
To address this, MoU agreements have
been formulated and signed with:
• UAEU – continuing agreement with
Transport & Safety Research Centre
in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates;
• INRETS - Government research
labs in Lyon, France;
• SWOV – Government research
organisation in the Haag,
Netherlands;
• ESRI – University of Loughborough
research group in road safety
research and teaching;
• MCW – Research Group at
University Milwaukee, Veteran
Affairs Hospital, Wisconsin; and
• CHOP – Research group at the
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia;
and
• LMU – Ludwig Maximilians
University in Munich, Germany.
Forging partnerships in areas of
common interest is about sharing
expertise and knowledge that results
in the development of relevant
collaborative research and teaching
programs for MUARC and its partners
globally.
Visits and Secondments
Through the Monash University Prato
Centre, MUARC Europe can arrange
office space and administrative
assistance to visitors who would like to
use the Centre to carry out individual
or collaborative research on a short or
long term basis.
In 2009 MUARC Europe hosted over
20 visitors from 8 countries.
Aftermath of crash test –
Road Trauma Prevention and
Compensation course
MUARC Europe (Prato) 33
MUARC Malaysia
2009 has been an exciting and challenging year for MUARC Malaysia and, with
the support of MUARC Melbourne and the Sunway Campus, we are continuing to
develop strong partnerships and engagement with the local community. Forming
these local partnerships is a fundamental step in establishing our presence in the
Asian region, a key objective of MUARC Malaysia, and essential in developing
effective research and initiatives to tackle safety problems. We have therefore
focused many of our activities on forming these relationships with government
departments, key road safety and injury prevention stakeholders, trauma
hospitals, industry and academic groups in local universities and at Sunway
Campus.
Dr. Jennie Oxley PhD, BSc(Hons)
Associate Director
Research Activities
• Exxon-Mobil Malaysia;
MUARC Malaysia’s key development
activities in 2009 have focused around
four priority areas of injury prevention.
Activities and collaborative partnerships
within these areas are briefly outlined
below.
• Asia Injury Prevention Foundation
(Vietnam);
Road Safety
Roszalina Ramli BDS(Malaya), Msc
in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery(London),
FDSRCS(Eng), FFDRCS(Ire)
Achieving gains in road safety is a high
priority. Most low to middle income
countries have poor safety records
and South East Asian countries are no
exception, with road fatality indexes
approximately five times that of high
performing countries.
Through our partnerships and
collaborations we are developing
programs to tackle major issues in
road safety. Research projects, short
courses, seminars and activities
address priority areas such as applying
Safe System approach principles to
motorcycle safety, children’s safety (as
car occupants, motorcycle pillions, and
pedestrians), driver/rider behaviour and
education and evaluating vehicle safety
technologies.
Key partner organisations include:
• Malaysian Ministry of Transport:
Road Safety Department and
Malaysian Institute of Road Safety
(MIROS);
• Global Road Safety Partnership
(Asia);
• Taiwan Institute of Transportation;
• Australian High Commission:
Australia Education International
and Austrade;
34
MUARC Malaysia
• Large trauma hospitals and
universities (e.g., Hospital Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti
Putra Malaysia, Hospital University
of Malaya, Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman).
Workplace Safety
Workplace safety is a significant
issue in Malaysia and other SE Asian
countries, with approximately 11 workrelated injury cases per 1,000 workers
(mostly among construction, logging,
factories and commuting injuries). Our
main focus here is the development of
educational resources for employees,
addressing slips, trips and falls in the
workplace and commuting injuries.
Key partner organisations include:
• Occupational Health and Safety,
Sunway Campus;
2009 Annual Report
• Ministry of Human Resources:
Social Security Organisation,
Department of Occupational Safety
and Health, and National Institute of
Occupational Safety & Health; and
• Federation of Malaysian
Manufacturers.
Health Education and
Promotion
The overall health of Malaysians,
particularly vulnerable groups such as
children, adolescents and the elderly is
another area of developing research.
MUARC Malaysia is working with a
number of organisations and research
teams to examine various aspects
of health outcomes and promotion
of healthy lifestyles. In particular,
research programs are developing
to address sedentary behaviour
amongst adolescents, provision
of healthy environments for young
school children, injury prevention
and health outcomes of physical
inactivity amongst older populations.
The outcomes of these planned
research programs will provide a good
understanding of health measures and
guide the development of education/
training programs and initiatives aimed
at improving overall health, well-being
and functional outcomes of subpopulations.
Child Injuries
This is a multi-faceted area of our
research and encompasses both
intentional and unintentional injuries
to children in Malaysia. Throughout
2009 we have initiated and developed
collaborative teams with groups from
government departments, international
NGOs, trauma hospitals and other
stakeholders to develop research
programs and related activities
addressing child injuries in Malaysia.
In particular, research programs are
being developed to better understand
the underlying causes of intentional
child injuries, to run workshops and
seminars, and to trial interventions at all
levels of government, community and
family groups to reduce child injuries.
Key partner organisations include:
• Ministry of Health: Institute of Health
Management
• UNICEF
• Department of Pediatrics, Hospital
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia,
• Department of Pediatrics, University
of Malaya,
• Child Abuse and Protection
Research Australia, Monash
University
Teaching and Education
Key partner organisations include:
• National Sports Institute: Sport,
Health and Activity Research
Malaysia,
• Universiti Sains Malaysia
• Universiti Putra Malaysia
• Monash University Sunway Campus
(Schools of Medicine, Engineering
and IT)
Another major focus of MUARC
Malaysia’s activities in 2009 has
been to build our research capacity.
A number of activities have been
undertaken to achieve this including
contributions to short courses, minor
undergraduate research projects,
presentations to various organisations
including MIROS, UTAR, Sunway
Campus.
In addition, we have encouraged
and promoted MUARC’s doctoral
research program and are supporting
a number of applications to undertake
PhD research programs. A highlight
of 2009 was to welcome our first
Malaysian-based PhD student to
MUARC, Dr Roszalina Ramli. Roszalina
commenced her Doctorate in April
2009, and throughout the year has
developed her study design with much
enthusiasm and dedication. Roszalina’s
research addresses a high priority
road safety area in Malaysia, that of
motorcycle injuries, particularly the
effect of helmet design and wearing
rates on craniomaxillofacial injuries.
This is a prospective case-series study
of injured motorcyclists presenting to
hospitals. A range of research tools
– questionnaire, medical records,
helmet inspection and analysis, crash
investigations, and use of CCTV
footage of crashes – will be used to
understand crash circumstances,
rider and helmet-related factors in
determining the pattern and severity of
craniomaxillofacial injuries.
We have a number of other interested
PhD candidates addressing a
range of injury prevention research
programs in the region such as
evaluation of new vehicle technologies,
examination of pedestrian trauma in
Bangladesh, predictors of health and
injury outcomes of disadvantaged
populations, and look forward to
attracting and welcoming more
students to the MUARC Malaysia team
in 2010.
The Way Forward
MUARC Malaysia has established itself
as a collaborative injury prevention
research unit in Malaysia and this will
continue in the future. The goal for
MUARC Malaysia in 2010 and beyond
is to consolidate the progress we have
made in 2009. Further strengthening
of long-term research partnerships
with local organisations, as well as
translating these collaborations into
large-scale research programs are
major priorities. It is anticipated that,
within the next 12 months, MUARC
Malaysia will have established itself
as a Centre conducting high quality
research projects addressing high
priority health areas within the Asian
and South East Asian regions.
MUARC Malaysia 35
MUARC South Africa
MUARC established a presence in South Africa in mid-2008 as the Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion (IPSP) Research Node, under the leadership
of Dr Michael Fitzharris. The Node sits within the Office of the Deputy ProVice Chancellor: Research, on the Monash South Africa campus at Ruimsig
(Johannesburg).
The Mission Statement of the IPSP
directly reflects the Mission Statement
of MUARC, that being:
Dr. Michael Fitzharris PhD, BA,
BSc(Hons)
Associate Director
To conduct high quality public health
injury prevention programs relevant to
the challenges faced by contemporary
Africa, and in so doing, engage and
challenge government, industry and
citizens to act collectively to eliminate
serious health losses due to injury.
With the support of MUARC, the
research node will conduct health and
injury prevention programs aligned with
the Millennium Development Goals.
Capacity building to advance the health
of all African citizens is a core goal.
Activities
The year 2009 represented the first full
year of operation of the Node. Activities
were focused on developing core
relationships with identified partners,
building recognition of the activities of
the Node and Monash South Africa,
and consolidating a physical presence
on the Monash South Africa campus.
In line with the IPSP Mission
Statement, the activities of the Node
extended well beyond the borders of
South Africa, reflecting the broader
purpose and student constituency
of the Monash campus. The work
program is exclusively on road safety
in Africa.
Program in South Africa
A collaborative approach to the
work program was a fundamental
development goal. MUARC-SA was
privileged to enter a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) on the conduct
of research with the South African
Medical Research Council and the
MRC-University of South Africa Lead
Program on Crime, Violence and Injury.
The MoU was signed by Professor
Anthony Mbewu, President of the
MRC, Professor Barney Pityana,
Principal and Vice-Chancellor of UNISA
and Professor Richard Larkins, Vice
Chancellor of Monash University.
This MoU formalised the research
partnership in the areas of health
promotion and injury prevention,
particularly child health and road safety.
Activities also included the
establishment of partnership research
relationships with the Global Road
Safety Partnership of South Africa
(GRSP-SA) and engagement with the
Road Traffic Management Commission
(RTMC) of South Africa.
Program in Tanzania
Following the signing of the MoU
with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the
development of the research program
was the core focus. In addition,
relationships were established with the
Ministry of Infrastructure Development.
The goal of both partnerships was
to work collaboratively to reduce the
burden of road crashes and, more
broadly, injury prevention across
Tanzania.
Program in Botswana
Under the auspices of an established
teaching and research agreement
with the University of Botswana in
Gaborone, the capital of Botswana,
a longitudinal study examining the
association between road laws and
regulations and road traffic crashes
was developed. This project was
established in conjunction with the
Mr Jerry Muadinohamba, Chief Executive Officer, Motor Vehicle Accident
Fund of Namibia and Professor Simon Adams, Pro Vice-Chancellor
(International Engagement), Monash University, upon signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding
36
MUARC South Africa
2009 Annual Report
Michael Fitzharris at the Make Roads Safe Decade
of Action campaign in Dar es Salaam, July 2009
Prevention of SCI due to Road Traffic
Crashes’. At the same meeting,
Michael was elected Chair of the Road
Crash Prevention Sub-Committee of
ISCoS
The way forward
recently established University of
Botswana Trauma Working Group
led by Dr Andrew Kestler and the
Botswana Police Service.
The program in Botswana was
developed with the support of a
Monash University International
Strategic Grant, awarded to Dr Diana
Bowman, Faculty of Law, Monash
University and Dr Fitzharris.
Program in Namibia
Under the auspices of a MoU between
the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund
of Namibia and Monash University
signed by the CEO of the MVA Fund
Mr Jerry Muadinohamba and Professor
Simon Adams, Pro Vice-Chancellor
(International Engagement), Monash
University, MUARC-SA was awarded
a grant by the MVA Fund to conduct
a pilot injury surveillance study in four
hospitals in Windhoek, the capital
of Namibia. This study involved the
School of Psychology at Monash
South Africa through the involvement
of Ms Maatje Scheepers. The purpose
of the study is to examine the burden
of injury in Namibia and to determine
the feasibility of establishing a linked
dataset that captures pre-hospital
information, hospital information, police
information and claims data for those
involved in road crashes.
The purpose of the workshop was
to examine ways to capitalise on
MUARC’s international network
with discussions involving Professor
Rod McClure, Director of MUARC,
Dr Jennie Oxley, Associate Director
MUARC-Malaysia and Professor Claes
Tingvall.
The goals for 2010 and beyond are to
consolidate established relationships
to advance road safety knowledge
throughout the sub-Saharan region.
To this end, the enrolment of higher
degree students, the development of
short course and graduate programs
and the expansion in the number of
core staff on the Monash South Africa
campus remain the priority focus areas.
Public Engagements
Dr Fitzharris was invited to participate
in the Make Roads Safe ‘Decade of
Action’ Summit panel held in July in
Dar es Salaam, The United Republic
of Tanzania. The Decade of Action
is sponsored by the FIA Foundation,
the World Bank Road Safety Facility
and the World Health Organization.
In the days following the Summit, the
United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa (UNECA) held a road safety
workshop, which served to advance
the road safety agenda in Africa.
Michael Fitzharris was invited by
Professor Doug Brown, Chair of the
Prevention Committee, to present
at the Prevention Symposium of the
International Spinal Cord Society
(ISCoS) Annual Meeting held in
Florence, Italy in October. The
presentation was titled ‘Overview of
Michael Fitzharris and Inspector
General of Police Mr Said Ally
Mwema, United Republic of
Tanzania upon signing the
Memorandum of Understanding
Collaborations within Monash
University
In addition to the engagement noted
above, an international MUARC
workshop was held in October 2010.
Professor Brian Fildes hosted the
workshop at MUARC-Europe, at
the Monash University Prato Centre.
Michael Fitzharris discussing crashed cars and seatbelt use
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
MUARC South Africa 37
Monash University Accident
Research Foundation
The Accident Research Foundation was established by the Monash University Council on 16 December 1996.
As stated in the Regulations, the objects of the Foundation “shall be to support encourage and promote the work of the
Accident Research Centre generally, and to provide funds for research by the Centre aimed at preventing accidents and
reducing injuries on the road, in the home, in sport and recreation, at work and in other places or activities ..."
The Monash University Accident Research Foundation has made scholarships available for students at the Accident
Research Centre for study in any of the principal research areas of the Centre. Three MUARC Scholars were supported by
the Foundation during 2008.
John Lane Memorial
Scholarship
Dr. John Lane, recognised as the
father of aviation safety in Australia,
and a leader in road safety, died on
January 21, 1999. In recognition of
Dr. Lane's contribution in the field of injury
prevention, and as a personal tribute, the
Trustees of the Foundation established
the John Lane Memorial Scholarship.
Robin Hutchinson was holder of this
scholarship in 2009 .
Peter Vulcan Scholarship
Professor Peter Vulcan retired in 1998,
bringing to an end eleven years of
outstanding service as the champion
and Founding Director of the Accident
Research Centre. His unique and
distinguished contribution both to
injury prevention and the Centre were
recognised with the establishment of
this award.
Matthew Ericson was holder of this
scholarship in 2009.
Support has been provided for a postdoctoral scholar.
Safe Family Research
Scholarship
The Amy Gillett Foundation was
established in recognition of the
champion Australian cyclist who died
while training in Germany in 2005.
Amy’s parents, Mary and Denis Safe,
recognise that a growing number
of cyclists are killed and injured on
Australian roads each year, as more
people turn to bicycles for health and
transport. The Amy Gillett Foundation
has offered, in conjunction with the
Monash University Accident Research
Foundation, the Safe Family Research
Scholarship – to encourage research in
this important field of road safety.
Marilyn Johnson was holder of this
scholarship in 2009.
(For project descriptions see the
Research Training section following.)
Dr. Diana Samarakkody MBBS, MSc., MD
Postdoctoral Scholar, Diana Samarakkody
Dr. Diana Samarakkody from Ministry
of Health Sri Lanka, joined the Centre
in 2008 as a postdoctoral scholar for
two years. Throughout 2009 Diana
was principally involved with writing a
practitioners guide to injury prevention
aimed at grass root practitioners in
38
Foundation
low income countries. Diana has also
completed the Mental Health First Aid
training programme and is following
the Monash University Research
Supervision Accreditation Programme.
Diana has also been involved in
developing the research project
‘Environments for Healthy Living:
Monash Study of Population Health’
that focuses on identifying contributory
factors of child injury.
2009 Annual Report
Research Training
MUARC is committed to research training for the development of new leaders in
the field of injury prevention. PhD students at MUARC study in an energising and
collaborative environment with a diverse range of highly skilled researchers and
injury prevention practitioners.
Program Highlights:
Dr. Judith Charlton PhD, MSc, BEd,
MAPS
Associate Director
(Education and Research Training)
2009 Candidates:
Hafez Alavi MSc, BSc
Michael Bourne BAppSci, MAdmin, MPH
2009 marked the first intake of MUARC
postgraduate students at the Sunway
campus. MUARC Malaysia candidate,
Roszalina Ramli will study motorcycle
injuries in Malaysia. In total, five new
candidates joined the Centre’s HDR
program during 2009, making a total
of 22 PhD students enrolled through
MUARC.
New candidate, Hafez Alavi, was
awarded an Australian Postgraduate
Award (APA) to study risk factors for
pedestrian crashes in Melbourne.
Part-time candidate, Michael Bourne,
will evaluate local injury prevention and
safety promotion programs. External
student, Lisa Molnar based in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, USA is undertaking
a study on older driver self-regulation.
Staff candidate, Kristie Young, a
Research Fellow in the Human Factors
team, commenced studies in July,
and will compile her thesis based on a
series of publications on the effects of
in-vehicle Intelligent Transport Systems
on driver behaviour and acceptability.
The Centre encourages and supports
students’ participation in conferences
as an important way to connect with
experts in their field and to gather
feedback on their own work. A number
of students attended national and
international meetings in 2009:
Lyndal Bugeja BA(Hons-Criminology)
MUARC was well-represented by
students at the 9th National Injury
Prevention & Safety Promotion
Conference in July, Melbourne.
Jessica Killian presented a paper on
‘Drugs detected in unnatural deaths in
Victoria’. Lyndal Bugeja also presented
an award-winning paper on ‘Research
to practice: public policy versus public
health’ and Marilyn Johnson presented
a paper on ‘Cyclist behaviour and
safety: A video observational study of
Melbourne commuter cyclists’.
Fiona Clay MSc, BSc, GradDip(Epi &
Biostats), GradDip(Work Disability Prev)
Clay Douglas BSc BE(Hons)
Marilyn Johnson, who holds an Amy
Gillett Foundation scholarship, also
attended the Australasian Road Safety
Research, Policing and Education
Conference Workshop on Cycling
Safety in November, Sydney, where
she presented an overview of her
PhD research. With support from a
MRGS Travel Grant, Marilyn travelled to
Brussels in May, where she presented
at the Velo-City cycling conference
2009: recycling cities. Her paper
was entitled ‘Staying in the lines: a
comparison of driver interaction with
cycling infrastructure at two different
intersections’. Whilst in Europe, Marilyn
took advantage of the opportunity to
visit world leaders in cycling safety at
SWOV in the Netherlands and met with
simulator experts at INRETS, France,
strengthening links with two partner
institutions with which MUARC holds
MoUs. She returned to MUARC via
MUARC Malaysia at Monash Sunway
campus and presented her PhD
research to the Malaysian Institute of
Road Safety (MIROS).
Karen Stephan, recipient of a NRMAACT Trust scholarship, presented at
the Trust’s postgraduate showcase
event in September, at the National
Museum of Australia in Canberra.
Karen presented on ‘Speed limits and
road environment: moving towards a
uniform low crash risk’. The two-day
event included a visit to Government
House for morning tea with the
Governor General Her Excellency
Ms Quentin Bryce.
Eve Mitsopoulos-Rubens travelled
to Big Sky, Montana, USA in June
to attend and present at the 5th
International Symposium on Human
Factors in Driver Assessment, Training
and Vehicle Design. Her paper
was entitled ‘Comparing the gap
acceptance and turn time patterns of
novice with experienced drivers for
turns across traffic’.
Research Training 39
Matthew Ericson MPHP, BEc(Hons)
Richard Fernandez BSc(Hons)
Robin Hutchinson BSc(Behav.),
BSc(Hons)
Marilyn Johnson MAppSocRes,
BA(Hons)
Jessica Killian MSc(Repro), GradDip
(ReproSci), BSc
Jim Langford MEdSt, BA(Hons))
Fiona Clay was invited to speak to
the Transport Accident Commission
in December on aspects of her PhD
research on ‘Predictors of return to
work and work disability following
injury’.
Lyndal Bugeja
External candidate, Lisa Molnar,
attended the Gerontological Society of
America Conference (GSA) in Atlanta
Georgia USA in November, where she
presented two papers related to her
older driver research.
Determinants of coroners’
recommendations on external
cause death in Victoria,
Australia
Linda Watson attended the Australian
Institute of Animal Management
Annual Conference on Urban Animal
Management held at Geelong in
October, 2009. This provided an
excellent opportunity for networking
in Linda’s research field in injury
prevention: dog related injuries.
Community participation and
external recognition
Whilst their research of itself is very
rewarding, it is also very pleasing
when students’ skills are recognised
by the community and by external
academic and professional groups. We
acknowledge two such achievements:
• Fiona Clay is the student
representative on Australasian
Epidemiological Association (AEA)
National Council and assisted
in the organisation of an Early
Career Workshop AEA conference
Dunedin, New Zealand.
• Lyndal Bugeja won Best Student
Presentation with her oral
presentation on “Research to
practice: public policy versus
public health” at the 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention
and Safety Promotion
Adam McKinnon MIT, BA(Psych)
Eve Mitsopoulos-Rubens BA,
40
Research Training
This study examined the frequency,
nature and determinants of coroners’
recommendations on external
cause deaths in Victoria for the
period July 2000 to June 2005.
The research design comprised: a
retrospective cohort study comparing
recommendations cases to nonrecommendations cases; in-depth
analysis of recommendations cases;
and key informant interviews. The
findings showed that there were
limitations with the frequency
and formulation of coroners’
recommendations when examined in
accordance with the principles of injury
causation and prevention.
Fiona Clay
Supervisors: Professor Rod McClure, Dr.
Stuart Newstead, Dr. Wendy Watson (NSW
Injury Management Centre)
The determinants of outcome
following orthopaedic trauma
The study aims to identify and
quantify the evidence for individual
level determinants of persisting pain
and return to work in a sample of
Victorian workers who had sustained
non life threatening acute orthopaedic
trauma leading to hospitalisation. A
prospective cohort study was carried
out with 168 patients recruited from
four Victorian hospitals and followed
up over a six-month period. Patients
were surveyed about their occupation,
recovery expectations, whether they
had returned to work, whether they
were experiencing pain and about their
general health. In addition, information
was collected about their injuries.
During 2009, multivariate analyses of
prognostic determinants for persisting
pain, return to work and the duration
of time lost from work were carried
out.
BSc(Hons)
Lisa Molnar MHSA, BA
Supervisors: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith,
Professor Joseph E Ibrahim (Department
of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine)
and Judge Jennifer Coate (State Coroners
Office, Victoria)
Karen Stephan, recipient of a
NRMA-ACT Trust scholarship,
presented at the Trust’s
postgraduate showcase event
in September, at the National
Museum of Australia in Canberra
Significant long term disability was
reported with only 68% of the sample
being able to return to work during
the first six months following the injury
and 54% reporting the presence of
persisting pain six months after the
injury. Significant determinants of
pain-related outcomes and return to
work included psychosocial factors
and physical factors. The application
2009 Annual Report
of different analytic approaches
provided insight into the determinants
of persisting pain and work disability
as well as identifying areas for further
research consideration.
Five journal articles were prepared and
submitted for publication.
Damian Morgan BA(Hons)
During 2009, the work was presented
at the 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion; Trauma Melbourne; the
Transport Accident Commission;
and the Australasian Epidemiological
Association annual conference in
Dunedin, New Zealand. (NHMRC
scholarship)
Carlyn Muir MA(SocSci), Psych(Hons)
Clay Douglas
Supervisors: Professor Brian Fildes, Dr. Tom
Gibson (Human Impact Engineering) and
Dr. Peter Hillard
Roszalina Ramli BDS(Malaya), Msc
in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery(London),
Modelling far-side occupants in
side impact crashes
FDSRCS(Eng), FFDRCS(Ire)
Regulations and interventions to
protect far-side occupants in crashes
do not currently exist, despite these
occupants accounting for over 30 per
cent of the seriously injured persons
and harm in side impact crashes.
Furthermore, no suitable crash
dummies or mathematical models have
been developed to investigate far-side
occupant dynamics during such a
crash.
Virginia Routley MPH,
GradDip(SocStats), DipEd, BEc
Carolyn Staines BSc(Hons))
Karen Stephan GradCertBiostats, MPH,
BSc(Hons),
As a result, this study aims to develop
and validate a computer model
capable of mimicking human response
in far-side impacts. The model will then
be used to investigate the influence of
seat belt properties, impact direction
and potential countermeasures
on occupant loading and injuries.
Therefore, this model may aid the
improvement of safety features
currently in vehicles.
The PhD falls under the umbrella of
a larger study aimed at improving
protection to far-side vehicle
occupants. It is an ARC Linkage study
involving a collaboration of universities
in Australia and the USA as well as
industry partners GM Holden and
Autoliv. (Australian Postgraduate Award
(Industry))
Trang Vu MPH, MHSc
Matthew Ericson
Supervisors: Professor Ian Johnston and
Emeritus Professor David Chandler (Monash
Asia Institute)
Improving the process of
technology transfer for better
road safety policy outcomes in
Cambodia and the Lao PDR
Road safety interventions which have
proven effective in developed countries
are frequently less successful when
transferred to developing countries.
The objective of this research is to
analyse impediments to successful
transfer using case studies from
Cambodia and Laos.
Three case studies analyse the
practical policy problems of the
technology transfer process. The first
explores vehicle safety standards using
the example of two-wheel tractors
in Laos and Cambodia. The second
examines whether canopies would
protect passengers travelling in the
cargo-area of pickup trucks. The final
case study compares how motorcycle
helmet-wearing programs are
implemented in Cambodia and Laos.
Matthew expects to submit the thesis
in 2010. (Monash University Accident
Research Foundation Peter Vulcan
Scholarship)
Richard Fernandez
Supervisors: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith,
Associate Professor Raphael Grzebieta
(Department of Civil Engineering), Associate
Professor Nigel Wreford (Department of
Anatomy and Cell Biology) and Dr. Lesley
Day
A novel approach to the prevention
of fall induced hip fracture: the
anatomical and functional basis
to improve hip-fracture preventing
devices
Hip fractures are one of the most
serious health problems facing the
ageing population today. There is
substantial evidence to suggest that
the majority of hip fractures are a
result of a fall directly onto the ‘greater
trochanter’, or top part of the thigh
bone. Furthermore, the risk of refracture following a second fall is very
high.
The development of the external hip
protector has served as a promising
avenue for hip-fracture prevention;
however, its effectiveness is limited
by low wearer compliance in the
target population. This PhD project
investigates the feasibility of a novel
implanted hip fracture-preventing
device and also develops further
specifications for a new generation
of external hip protecting devices
in an attempt to increase wearer
Linda Watson BSc(Hons)
Kristie Young BAppSc(Psych)(Hons)
Research Training 41
Co-supervised students:
Kelly Bryden
compliance. The project includes an
anatomical and surgical evaluation of
potential implant sites, examination
of hip musculature morphology using
computed tomography and computer
based imaging techniques and
biomechanical testing of muscle tissue.
Robin Hutchinson
Supervisors: Professor Tom Triggs, Dr.
Simon Hosking (Defence Science and
Technology Organisation) and Dr. Gavan
Lintern (General Dynamics)
Karen Scally
Supporting lane change behavior
with an ecological interface
The high demands placed on drivers
in the road environment can lead to
errors in judgement and breakdowns
in situation awareness. These deficits
can lead to deleterious consequences.
Lane changing is a particularly
challenging driving manoeuvre
because of the need to make
simultaneous judgements concerning
multiple vehicles located in polar
directions. A variety of driver assist
systems have been developed to aid
the driver in monitoring the road way
and to alert the driver to potentially
hazardous situations. While these
systems have been demonstrated to
generally have a positive impact on
driving, they are still in their infancy and
require further development.
Cyclist helmet fitted with mounted camera for data
collection for Marilyn Johnson’s research [Thanks to
AGF for image © Michelle Williams]
42
Research Training
Ecological Interface Design (EID) is
an approach to display development
that may offer solutions to some of
the limitations associated with current
driver support systems. The aim
of this project is to develop EID for
the automotive domain and to use
the principles of EID to develop a
driver assist system to support lane
change behaviour. This project aspires
to enhance the design philosophy
behind the development of driver
assist systems and thereby positively
impact road safety. Naturalistic driving
data is being analysed in order to
better understand the dynamics of
lane change associated headway.
This information will inform the design
of the interface. (Monash University
Accident Research Foundation John
Lane Memorial Scholarship)
Marilyn Johnson
Supervisors: Dr. Jude Charlton and
Dr. Jennie Oxley
Cycling safety from the
perspective of all road users
The aim of this research project is to
identify strategies to improve safety
for cyclists who ride on the road.
Investigations have included a series
of fixed point observational studies
at intersections across Melbourne
and the development of a new
methodology that involves attaching a
compact video camera to commuter
2009 Annual Report
cyclists’ helmets to gain the cyclists’
perspective of riding on the road.
The final data collection stage was
a national online survey that was
completed by Australian drivers and
cyclists. Findings have focused on
cyclist and driver behaviours, how
both groups use cycling infrastructure
and an in-depth analysis of risk
factors involved in collisions and nearcollisions.
In 2009, Marilyn presented findings
at the Australian Cycling Conference
in Adelaide, the Velo-City Re-Cycling
Cities conference in Brussels,
the 9th National Injury Prevention
Conference in Melbourne and the 2009
Australasian Road Safety Research
Policing and Education Conference
in Sydney. (Safe Family Research
Scholarship, Amy Gillett Foundation &
Monash University Accident Research
Foundation)
Jessica Killian
Supervisors: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith
and Professor Olaf Drummer (Department of
Forensic Medicine)
The correlation between forensic
toxicology and unnatural death
Injury is an important public health
problem and a major cause of death,
particularly in young people. Drug
induced impairment and interactions
are known to cause an increased risk
of mortality. However, the full extent of
involvement across the whole range of
injury deaths is mostly unknown.
Data on 7,400 unnatural deaths
reported to the Coroner in Victoria,
Australia from July 2000 to June 2005
were extracted from the National
Coronial Information System (NCIS)
and cases with toxicology reports
were analysed to determine the
drugs, other than alcohol, detected at
toxicology screening. Exclusion criteria
were applied to minimize error in
interpretation of the results.
Of the cases with attached toxicology
reports (85%), half were positive for a
drug. After exclusions, for example, of
potentially post-injury administrations,
the toxicological evidence indicates
that benzodiazepines (24%), opioids
(18%) and anti-depressants (14%)
are the most frequently occurring in
unnatural deaths. For all mechanisms,
the most frequently detected drugs
were at potentially poisonous and/
or impairing concentrations in about
30% of cases. Drugs occurred most
frequently in poisoning, fires/burns/
scalds, intentional self-inflicted (ISH),
and inflicted by other (violent) causes.
For the first time, with the use of NCIS,
this study describes the extent of
drugs involved in unnatural deaths in
Victoria. Further research is needed
to determine the risks and levels of
impairment for the drugs detected.
(Australian Postgraduate Award)
Adam McKinnon
Supervisors: Professor Joan OzanneSmith and Dr. Rodney Pope (Charles Sturt
University)
Optimising the utility of injury
surveillance systems for injury
control in active populations
The main objective of this project is to
optimise the utility of injury surveillance
systems for injury prevention in active
populations. Expected outcomes of the
research include: a qualitative examination
of procedural and socio-cultural factors
affecting injury surveillance systems in
the Australian Army and the Victorian
civilian community; the identification
and evaluation of new methods of injury
data analysis (e.g. statistical process
control charts, data mining techniques)
to facilitate injury prevention; and
the examination of user preferences
toward current and innovative modes of
information dissemination adopted by an
injury surveillance system.
The results of this research will be
particularly important to the Australian
Defence Force and the Victorian
civilian community as well as broader
application across injury surveillance
systems worldwide. (Australian
Postgraduate Award (Industry),
Department of Defence)
Eve Mitsopoulos-Rubens
Supervisors: Emeritus Professor Tom Triggs
and Dr. Mike Regan
Calibration ability and the young
novice driver
It has been proposed that deficiencies
in calibration ability contribute to young
novice drivers’ high crash involvement.
However, little direct and objective
evidence exists of differences in
calibration ability between novice and
experienced drivers.
Calibration in driving can be defined
as the ability to match task demands
to one’s own capabilities as a driver.
Calibration involves comparison
between capabilities and task
demands to determine whether there
is an undesirable mismatch which
necessitates appropriate modification
to one’s driving behaviour to ensure
that safety is not compromised. Prerequisites to effective calibration are an
accurate knowledge of the demands
imposed by the traffic system and of
one’s own capabilities as a driver.
The primary aim of this PhD research
program is to explore the fundamental
differences between young novice
and experienced drivers’ calibration
ability. The research involved a series
of four experiments, three of which
utilised the MUARC advanced driving
simulator. In summary, differences in
calibration ability were found between
young novice and experienced
drivers. However, the presence of
differences was found to be largely
contingent on the nature of the task at
hand. The outcomes of this research
served to provide a theoretical and
methodological framework to guide
further study into calibration in driving
as it relates to young novice drivers
and, in the process, to reconcile some
of the issues that have limited further
thinking in this area. The thesis will be
submitted in 2010.
Lisa J. Molnar
Supervisors: Dr. Jude Charlton and
Dr. David W. Eby
Self-Regulatory Practices by Older
Adults
Self-regulation of driving (i.e., reducing
one’s overall driving exposure or
avoiding specific driving situations)
shows considerable promise as a
strategy for helping older drivers
compensate for functional declines and
extend the time period over which they
can safely drive. Study findings on the
extent and nature of self-regulation
have been mixed, due in part to
differences in how self-regulation is
measured, characteristics of study
subjects, and inclusion of measures
thought to influence self-regulation.
The aim of this research is to better
understand the process of selfregulation and how it relates to
perceived and actual impairments
in functioning, and other driver
characteristics such as gender and
driving confidence. The research
will be conducted in two phases. In
Phase 1, a questionnaire instrument
to measure self-regulation was
developed and pilot tested with a
sample of 137 drivers age 70 and
older in the United States. In Phase
2 which will commence in late 2010,
outcomes from the instrument will be
compared with objective driving data
from instrumented vehicle monitoring
of real-life, naturalistic driving, as part
of a larger Australian study. (Partial
support for this research comes from
the Michigan Center for Advancing
Safe Transportation throughout the
Lifespan at the University of Michigan,
United States).
Research Training 43
Damian Morgan
Supervisors: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith
and Emeritus Professor Tom Triggs
Risk factors for unintentional
drowning at surf beaches
The PhD study identifies and assesses
factors that contribute to the risk of
drowning at surf beaches as well
as providing estimates of exposure
to that risk. Methods used include
analysis of coronial data, observation
of beach users, self report, and expert
risk assessment. Data gathered in
this study is used firstly to develop
a predictive model of exposure to
drowning risk, and secondly, to
quantify the risk posed to beach
users according to swimming ability,
surf beach experience and beach
conditions. Selected results are
published in Injury Prevention, The
Journal of Science and Medicine in
Sport, and the Australian and New
Zealand Journal of Public Heath.
Carlyn Muir
Supervisors: Dr. Judith Charlton, Professor
Brian Fildes and Professor Joanne Wood
(Department of Optometry, Queensland
University of Technology)
Visual attention in hemianopic
visual field loss: Application to
screening for fitness-to-drive
Hemianopic visual field loss is
blindness or reduction in one half of
the visual field caused by damage
to the visual pathways in the brain.
There is limited evidence regarding the
ability to drive safely with hemianopia,
however some studies have suggested
that hemianopic field loss may not
impair driving ability enough to warrant
licence refusal. Research suggests
that individuals with hemianopic field
loss appear to compensate for their
deficit to varying degrees by employing
altered scan paths and excessive
fixation in the blind region. However,
fixation does not necessarily imply
attentional processing, therefore
identifying whether these altered
scan paths actually correspond to
attentional processing in the blind
region would provide evidence
as to whether this is an effective
compensatory strategy.
The primary aims of this PhD are
to investigate the extent to which
individuals with hemianopic field loss
compensate on a visual attention task,
and to investigate the relationship
between performance on a visual
attention task and cognitive and
vision tests commonly used in driving
assessment. Outcomes of this
research will be useful for developing
a suitable screening assessment for
44
Research Training
visual fitness-to-drive in individuals
with hemianopic field loss. Carlyn is
due to complete her thesis in 2010.
(Australian Postgraduate Award
(Industry))
Roszalina Ramli
Supervisors: Professor Rod McClure, Dr.
Jennifer Oxley, Dr. Peter Hillard, Professor
Ahmad Farhan Sadullah (MIROS)
Effectiveness of motorcycle helmet
for preventing craniomaxillofacial
injuries
Malaysia is a rapidly developing
country in the South-East Asia region.
As part of this development motor
vehicle ownership is dramatically
increasing, as is the burden of serious
injury and death related to Road Traffic
Crashes (RTC). RTC have become
one of the major causes of mortality
and morbidity and the second leading
cause of deaths in males (Malaysian
Department of Statistics, 2009). For
the past ten years, motorcyclists have
registered the highest road deaths
compared with other road users. In
2005, motorcycle fatalities represented
approximately 60% of the total road
fatalities in Malaysia (Radin Umar,
2006). Head injuries had been shown
to be the most frequent fatal injuries
(Kraus, 1989) while facial injuries
were shown to occur in one-fourth of
all injured riders (Kraus et al, 2003).
Moreover, facial injuries tend to occur
simultaneously with head injuries (Tsai
et al, 1995; Pang et al, 1999; Ankarath
et al, 2002).
The aim of this study is to quantify the
association between helmet wearing
status and helmet design (controlling
for impact speed and collision partner),
and the incidence, distribution and
severity of craniomaxillofacial injuries in
motorcycle riders in Malaysia.
There are three components of this
research. The first will involve a
questionnaire on riding experience and
behaviour and injury severity profile.
The second will involve helmet analysis
and finally, full crash investigation
will be performed on a sub-set of
participants.
Virginia Routley
Supervisor: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith
Development of seat belt wearing
in two cities in China
In response to China’s rapidly
developing economy, motorisation and
increasing road traffic fatalities, the
Chinese national road traffic safety law,
requiring seatbelts to be worn where
fitted, became effective May 2004. The
research program aimed to evaluate
comparative changes in seatbelt
wearing patterns in the contrasting
Chinese cities of Nanjing, Jiangsu
Province and Zhoushan, Zhejiang
Province in 2005-07 and compare
with the successful development of
seat belt wearing in Victoria, Australia
in 1970.
Following traffic familiarisation and
piloting, roadside observations
of urban seatbelt wearing were
undertaken for 68,992 vehicles and
118,607 occupants. To interpret these
results 2,200 occupant interviews,
10 focus groups and media reviews
were conducted. The PhD is a thesis
by publication and to date five journal
articles have been published and two
submitted. As at December 2009 the
thesis was very close to submission.
The main published results of the
observation and interview surveys
are as follows. Seatbelt wearing
was observed as being significantly
higher for drivers (49.9% Nanjing,
47.4% Zhoushan) than for front seat
passengers (9.1% Nanjing, 1.0%
Zhoushan) and virtually non-existent
for rear passengers. Wearing generally
declined significantly each year. An
absence of child restraints and belt
tampering, a practice of 12-15% of
taxi drivers, was observed. Seatbelts
were reported by interviewed drivers
as fitted in almost all front and less
than 50% of rear seats. Reasons for
“never wearing” were most commonly
“feeling trapped and uncomfortable”;
for regular wearers “feeling safer” and
“not wanting to be fined”. The focus
group results and comparison with
Victoria, incorporating media reviews
have been submitted to journals for
review.
In conclusion seat belt wearing has
declined since legislation in urban
areas. There is a need to promote
awareness that injury can occur at
relatively low speeds and to enforce
correct wearing for taxi drivers.
Wearing habits should be developed
by consistent, visible and sustained
enforcement.
The World Bank Global Road Safety
Facility funded the second and third
year research costs of this project. An
Australian Postgraduate Award funded
the candidate.
Publications and conference
presentations in 2009
Routley,V, Ozanne-Smith,J, Li,D, Yu,M,
Wang,J, Zhang,J, Zhendong,T, Wu,M,
Wang,P, Qin,Y, Attitudes to seat belt
wearing and related safety features
in two cities in China, International
2009 Annual Report
Journal of Injury Control and Safety
Promotion Vol. 16. No. 1, March 2009,
15-26.
Qin Yu, WU Ming, YANG Jie, ZHOU
Jinyi, XIANG Quanyong, TAO Ran,
HAN Renqiang, PAN Xiaoqun, LIN
Ping, Virginia Routley, Joan OzanneSmith, (2009) ‘Study on the situation
of seat belt wearing among drivers
and front-seat passengers of vehicles
in Nanjing in 2005-2007’ Chin J
Epidemiol, vol. 30 No.5, Page 459461.
Routley,V, Ozanne-Smith,J, Li,D,
Wu,M, Qin,Y; (2009) Taxi driver seat
belt wearing (and pretending) in
Nanjing, Journal of Safety Research,
Vol. 40, 449-454.
Routley,V; Ozanne-Smith,J,
Comparison of seat belt introduction
in Australia and China, 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention &
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, July
2009.
Carolyn Staines
Supervisors: Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith
and Professor Graeme Davison (School of
Historical Studies, Faculty of Arts)
The Victorian experience of
drowning and its prevention:
historical eco-epidemiological
study of drowning prevention
in an economically developing
community
Victoria, along with other economically
developed communities, has had
considerable success in reducing
drowning death rates. However,
drowning continues to be a major
cause of unintentional injury deaths
in developing countries. This study
aims to inform drowning prevention in
developing countries by determining
how Victoria reduced its drowning rate.
The study investigates the causes of
drowning deaths and the patterns of
change by reviewing the records of
a sample of almost 1,500 coroners’
inquests dating from the 1860’s to the
1970’s. This research, supplemented
by additional information from other
historical sources and newspaper
archives, is producing a rich picture of
the drowning risk profile of Victoria’s
early settlers and the evolution of this
over the period of the State’s economic
and social development. (Monash
Research Graduate Scholarship)
Karen Stephan
Supervisors: Dr Stuart Newstead,
Dr Michael Lenné
Crash risk and driver behaviour
in complex urban settings: effect
of road design and surrounding
environment
Karen’s research is designed to
investigate the effect of the design of
the road and the roadside environment
(including speed limit) on the risk of a
crash occurring. The first component
of the project involves using statistical
modelling techniques to identify the
characteristics of the road design and
roadside environment that impact
on the risk of a crash occurring.
Once these factors are identified,
potential countermeasures will be
developed. The second component
of the research will involve conducting
experiments in the MUARC advanced
driving simulator to evaluate the
countermeasures in terms of how
they change driver behaviour and
potentially modify the risk of a
crash occurring. The focus of the
research will be on complex urban
environments, in particular, strip
shopping centres.
This project will identify road
design and environmental factors
that affect crash risk in complex
urban environments and develop
recommendations for the design of
shopping strip environments so as
to reduce crash risk. It is expected
that the outcomes of this research
will also contribute to more effective
methods for setting speed limits. At
a broader methodological level, the
research will contribute to developing
a rigorous scientifically valid process
for measuring crash risk using
real-world data, and evaluation of
countermeasures developed as a
result of these models, which can
be applied to any road environment.
NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust
postgraduate scholarship
Trang Vu
Supervisors: Dr. Lesley Day, Assoc.
Professor Terry Haines and Professor
Caroline Finch
Fall prevention in community-living
older people affected by comorbidity: a targeted approach
Due to major feasibility concerns
about the Vietnam project, potential
alternative research topics on falls
prevention in community-living older
people were explored early in 2009.
This exploration phase resulted in
the commencement of a new thesis
research topic in March 2009 based
on some components of an NHMRC
Partnership Grant Application entitled
“Reducing falls among older people
in Victoria” (which was subsequently
funded). The thesis research examines
the effects of comorbidity on hospital
resource use by community-dwelling
older people hospitalised due to falls
using the Victorian Admitted Episodes
Dataset for fiscal years 2005–06,
2006–07 and 2007–08. The presence
of co–morbidity has been found
to influence health care resource
utilisation and costs by a number of
studies involving a diverse range of
populations including people with
trauma, hip fractures and diabetes
mellitus. This finding has financial
implications for resource–constrained
health systems. It is this excess
economic burden beyond what might
be expected based on the primary
diagnosis that this thesis will aim to
investigate. The thesis will seek to
demonstrate the potential value of
a targeted risk reduction approach
focusing on older people with co–
morbidity. (Australian Postgraduate
Award)
Linda Watson
Supervisors: Dr Lesley Day, Dr Stuart
Newstead
Dog bite injury: an investigation
into the effectiveness of regulation
In recent years, many State regulations
in Australia have focused on restricting
particular breeds, despite there being
sparse scientifically sound evidence
to suggest that the targeted breeds
feature disproportionally in dog bite
injury statistics. Within Australia there
are no reliable statistics available
on the breed of dogs involved in
injury events, mainly because breed
identification based on phenotype
is reported to be inaccurate, even
when experienced observers are
involved. Further, accurate breed
denominator data are not available to
allow estimation of breed specific bite
injury rates. The effectiveness of breed
specific regulatory measures has not
been clearly demonstrated, nor has
any literature been identified where
this approach has been examined
for potential harmful effects. The
evaluation of injury interventions is
critical to ensure that health gains
are made and finite public resources
are used effectively. Breed specific
regulatory measures may reflect a
simplistic and unrealistic appreciation
of the causal factors.
It is well recognised that a dog’s
reaction in any situation depends on
at least six interacting factors including
heredity, early experience, socialisation
Research Training 45
and training (or lack of), health (medical
and behavioural), current environment
and victim behaviour. Current
breed specific regulation removes
responsibility for dog biting incidents
from dog owners and places the focus
on dogs. It may also engender a false
and dangerous perception that breeds
not included will not show aggression.
A fundamental principle of injury
prevention is that the most effective
solutions involve a multi dimensional
approach, which in the instance of dog
bite injury would involve dog owners,
parents, children, the community at
large, local authorities and legislators.
This thesis will examine these issues
relating to breed specific regulatory
interventions, within a conceptual
framework based on established
injury prevention and health promotion
principles using the Australian and
Victorian context. (Monash Graduate
Scholarship)
Staff Candidates:
Jim Langford
To assess and manage older
drivers’ crash risk
The mainstay of the thesis is a series of
peer-reviewed publications, consisting
of:
• an examination of older drivers’
distinct crash and driving
patterns, especially to identify
different exposure aspects and
characteristic risk factors;
• an evaluation of older drivers’
extent of crash involvement, their
responsibility for crashes and the
extent to which they represent a
risk to other road users;
• an evaluation of licensing
authorities’ and others’ options
for determining older drivers
fitness to drive, including detailed
examination of the commonly used
assessment protocols;
• the presentation of promising
countermeasures aimed at
maintaining acceptably safe driving.
These countermeasures have been
based on Safe System principles and
include more accurate targeting of
at-risk older drivers, more strategic
licensing options, the promotion
of more crashworthy vehicles and
improved highway design tailored to
older drivers’ needs.
Work is currently proceeding to
develop a literature context within
which the findings from the above
series of papers can be discussed.
Kristie Young
Smarter than your average car? An
examination of the effectiveness
and acceptability of Advanced
Driver Assistance Systems
Travel to international
conferences provides not only
the opportunity to network and
share research, but also to take in
any local opportunities. Left: Eve
Mitsopoulos-Rubens took the
chance to see Yellowstone Park;
and (right) Jeff Archer, Missy
Rudin-Brown, Kristie Young and
Malin tried out the Absolut IceBar
in Stockholm while at the ITS
World Congress.
46
Research Training
The wide-scale implementation of
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
(ADAS) has great potential to improve
driver behaviour and reduced the
incidence and severity of road trauma.
However, the introduction of such
automated systems into the vehicle will
also fundamentally change the driving
task, sometimes in ways that were
not intended by the system designers
or implementers. Given these issues,
evaluating the potential safety benefits
afforded by these technologies, as
well as their acceptability and any
unintended consequences of their use,
are critically important. This thesis aims
to generate a greater understanding
of the impact of introducing advanced
driver support technologies into the
vehicle by examining the short- and
long-term benefits of various ADAS,
as well as identifying any unintended
negative consequences of these
technologies, including over-reliance,
increased workload and distraction.
A further aim is to examine the
acceptability of ADAS to drivers and
identify any barriers that exist to
their acceptance at an individual and
community level.
2009 Co-supervised PhD
candidates from other faculties
and institutions
MUARC staff also co-supervise PhD
candidates who are enrolled in other
Monash faculties and departments as
well as other Australian and overseas
institutions.
Monash University candidates
Kelly Bryden
DPsych (Clinical Neuropsychology)
School of Psychology and Psychiatry,
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health
Sciences, Monash University
Supervisors: Dr. Judith Charlton (MUARC),
Dr. Jennie Oxley (MUARC) and Dr. Georgia
Lowndes (Psychology)
Wayfinding while driving:
differences between age groups
and with and without dementia
This research project is investigating
the changes in a driver’s ability to
find their way to unfamiliar areas with
increasing age and with the onset
of dementia. The researchers are
also interested in the changes in
cognitive functions that may predict
difficulties with wayfinding. The
overall project consists of three
studies: a questionnaire to find out
more information about those who
report difficulty with wayfinding and
the strategies they use to help; a
stimulator study comparing wayfinding
ability and driving safety when using
a paper map and a passenger to
help navigate; and a GPS utilisation
study to determine whether senior
drivers believe that navigational units
are helpful when finding their way in
unfamiliar areas.
2009 Annual Report
Karen Scally
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health
Sciences, Monash University
Supervisors: Associate Professor Nellie
Georgiou-Karistianis (Psychology),
Professor Tom Triggs (MUARC) and Dr.
Judith Charlton (MUARC)
External candidates
Daryl Pedlar
Peta Hitchens
(Doctor of Health Science)
Deakin University
MUARC Co-supervisor: Dr. Lesley Day
University of Tasmania
MUARC Co-supervisor: Dr. Lesley Day
Epidemiology of falls to
professional thoroughbred racing
jockeys in Australia
Factors influencing driving
performance in Parkinson’s
Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a
movement disorder that causes
physical symptoms such as resting
tremor and difficulty initiating and
executing movement. Research
has shown that driving ability is
compromised by PD and in particular,
cognitive changes in PD are linked to
poor driving performance. No effective
screening methods currently exist
to assess and predict driving ability
in PD. Previous research has shown
that drivers with PD have significantly
poorer driving performance than
‘non-PD controls’ and rely heavily on
external cues (eg static warning signs)
to regulate driving performance.
This study aims to further investigate
PD drivers’ responses to selected
‘ecologically valid’ external cueing
conditions during simulated driving
performance. The driving scenario for
this study includes a flashing ‘prepare
to stop’ signal used at potentially
hazardous intersections where there is
a high speed zone or low visibility on
approach to the traffic lights.
Moza Tahnoon Al Nahyan
Faculty of Business and Economics,
Monash University
Supervisors: Professor Amrik Sohal
(Business and Economics) and Professor
Brian Fildes (MUARC)
Management of transport
infrastructure projects in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The overall aim of this research
program is to develop a framework
and guidelines for the effective
management of transportation
infrastructure projects to ensure
their success in the UAE. Three key
objectives have been identified to
achieve this aim: (1) identify major
management issues impacting on
transportation infrastructure projects
in the UAE; (2) identify aspects of
communication, coordination and
stakeholder relations that contribute
to transportation infrastructure
project outcomes; and (3) develop
a framework for decision-making to
enhance project success.
The aims of this study are to
investigate the epidemiology of
jockey falls in Australia and to identify
modifiable risk factors associated with
them. It is estimated that between 25–
40 per cent of all jockeys in Australia
suffer a significant injury each year
and that an average of two jockeys
are killed annually, yet the evidence
base from which to develop preventive
strategies is minimal. This PhD has
three main components: establish
a national jockey falls database;
analyse the database to describe
the epidemiology of jockey falls and
potential risk factors; and investigate
the role of jockey physiology and
performance characteristics in falls
aetiology.
Michael Lucas
University of Western Australia
MUARC Co-supervisor: Dr. Lesley Day
Injury among Australian
veterinarians
This project is a component of
the Health Risk of Australian
Veterinarians (HRAV) study of a
cohort of veterinarians who graduated
from Australian universities from
1960–2000. The aim of the HRAV
study is to determine whether this
cohort is at increased risk of cancer,
injury, zoonoses (diseases that are
transferable from animals to humans)
or adverse reproductive outcomes
and to determine the risk factors for
these conditions in veterinary practice.
The aim of this PhD study is to identify
the prevalence of, and risk factors for,
injuries among Australian veterinarians
and to develop a relevant prevention
model for occupational settings.
Acute farm injury in south-west
Victoria
The aim of this project is to develop
a framework for a preventive strategy
for dairy farm injury in south-west
Victoria, based on a profile of injury in
this region and input from a regional
consultative forum. The dairy farm
injury profile will be developed from
specialized emergency department and
general practice injury data collections,
in addition to an exposure survey of
dairy farmers.
Vacation placement
Carmel Sivaratnam
I found my vacation placement at
MUARC very rewarding on a number
of levels. I worked in the Behavioural
Safety Science Team with Judith
Charlton and Michelle Whelan on a
child observation study exploring the
types of activities child passengers
engaged in while travelling in cars,
and particularly what activities are
associated with being out of position
or sub-optimally restrained (outside
the protective boundary of their Child
Restraint Systems). I helped to develop
a set of behavioural categories and
then applied these to the data-coding
of video tapes of child participants’
activities during car trips.
My placement at MUARC also involved
conducting a literature search on types
of play, as well as previous behavioural
observation studies involving children.
I have also contributed to writing the
introduction and method sections of
a manuscript for a scientific research
journal paper on this project.
Through these tasks, I gained many
hands-on skills and insights into
the processes involved in research,
which I am confident will be invaluable
as I undertake my honours year in
Psychology this year. Being involved
in a research project such as this has
Carmel Sivaratnam
reviews the activities of
child passengers while
travelling
Research Training 47
opened my eyes to the importance
of integrating disciplines such as
behavioural science and road safety
technology in order to minimise crash
risk, which is currently a major cause
of accidents and injury in children in
Australia.
Academic seminar
programs
Lunchtime seminar series
Convener: Julie Lahausse
Seminars are presented throughout
the year on a range of injury prevention
topics. The seminars are open to other
faculties and the wider community.
Details of upcoming seminars are
available on the Centre’s web site. The
Centre would like to thank those who
made presentations during 2009.
Nicole van Nes, SWOV
The Dutch National Road Safety
Strategy: Advanced Sustainable Safety
- the strategy that might be the secret
that makes the Netherlands the world’s
top performer in road safety
Professor Gordon Smith, Epidemiology
and Preventive Medicine, University of
Maryland
Motor vehicle, alcohol and
occupational injuries: Research
activities at Maryland
David Healy, Senior Manager, Road
Safety, Transport Accident Commission
(TAC)
Research into action - the challenges
and the successes. How research
has helped to shape TAC’s strategic
objectives and what the main road
safety priorities are for the future
Dr Michael Regan, MUARC (currently
on secondment to INRETS)
An overview of current and recent
activities in France
Professor Peter Cameron, Head of the
Prehospital, Emergency and Trauma
group, Department of Epidemiology
& Preventive Medicine, Monash
University
Researcher Meetings
Convenor: Lesley Day
The successful Researcher Meetings
were continued in 2009, with every
second meeting taking the format of a
journal club. The aim of the meetings
are to provide an internal forum
for the presentation of current and
future projects, facilitating discussion
on methodological issues, study
interpretation, and policy and practice
implications. Presentations were given
within the following programmatic
areas:
Surveillance, Data Systems and
Measuring Burden
• Erin Cassell: Overview of VISAR
databases and research potential
• David Logan: Overview of ANCIS
database and research potential
Simulation and design
• Amy Williamson: Teaching
communication skills to adolescent
drivers and passengers: influences
on behaviour in a driving simulator
• Maggie Trotter: Usability testing of
three in-car entertainment systems
Program implementation and
evaluation science
• Lesley Day: Preliminary results of
the Exercise for Independent Living
study
• Lesley Day: Evaluation of Worksafe
Victoria’s Employer Performance
Management Program
Feedback from the 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention
and Safety Promotion
• Staff, students and visitors who
attended this conference will give
snapshots of the best new research
presented from around the country
(and in some cases overseas).
Surveillance, Data Systems and
Measuring Burden
• Angelo D’Elia: Probabilistic linkage
of Victorian injury data records
• Fiona Clay: Understanding the
burden of injury for minor and
moderate acute orthopaedic
trauma
48
Visitors
2009 Annual Report
External project committee
members
MUARC would like to thank the
following people for their valuable
contribution to the research program
as external members on Project
Advisory Committees, Project Steering
Committees and Project Working
Groups.
Assessing community attitudes to
speed limits
Colin Anderson
Department for
Transport, Energy
and Infrastructure,
Sth Australia
Samantha CockfieldTransport Accident
Commission
Angela Conway Department of
Infrastructure,
Energy & Resources,
Tasmania
David Edmiston Department of
Infrastructure,
Energy & Resources,
Tasmania
David Healy
Transport Accident
Commission
Julie Holmes Department for
Transport, Energy
and Infrastructure,
Sth Australia
Sue Hellyer Office of Road
Safety, Western
Australia
James Holgate
VicRoads
Damian MacDonald Department of
Justice
Jonathan McGuffie Deptartment of
Infrastructure,
Energy & Resources,
Tasmania
Nicole van Nes
SWOV Institute for
Road Safety, the
Netherlands (on
secondment)
Australian National Crash In-Depth
Study (ANCIS)
Baseline: Consumer choice, nonfleet vehicles
Thomas Belcher Department of
Infrastructure,
Transport, Regional
Development and
Local Government
Bill Bridgens
Ford Motor Company
of Australia
Michael Case
Royal Automobile
Club of Victoria
(RACV) Ltd
Angela Conway Department of
Infrastructure,
Energy & Resources
(Tasmania)
Samantha CockfieldTransport Accident
Commission
Paul Fay
Ford Europe
Jack Haley
/Scott Nargar
National Roads
and Motorists’
Association Limited
Mike Hammer
Holden Ltd
James Hurnall
Federal Chamber
of Automotive
Industries
Chris Jones
VicRoads
Robert Judd
Autoliv Australia
Dan Leavy
Roads & Traffic
Authority (NSW)
Robert Macdonald Insurance Australia
Group
Mark Morarty
Toyota Motor
Corporation of
Australia
Craig Newland
Australian
Automobile
Association
Ashley Sanders Mitsubishi Motors
Australia Ltd
Dimitra VlahomitrosMotor Accidents
Authority (NSW)
Royal Automobile
Club of Victoria
(RACV) Ltd
Samantha CockfieldTransport Accident
Commission
Chris Jones
VicRoads
Christine LivingstoneDepartment of
Justice
Nick Platt
Royal Automobile
Club of Victoria
(RACV) Ltd
Jessica Truong
Transport Accident
Commission
Baseline Program Committee
Samantha Collins Transport Accident
Commission
James Holgate
VicRoads
Linda Ivett
VicRoads
Liz Knight
Transport Accident
Commission
Kirsten Lynch
VicPol
Cassady SouthernDepartment of
Justice
Kevin Casey VicPol
Antonietta Cavallo VicRoads
David Healy Transport Accident
Commission
Damian MacDonald Department of
Justice
Michael Case
Baseline: Road design factors and
their interaction with speed and
speed limits
Kevin Casey
VicPol
Antonietta Cavallo VicRoads
Samantha CockfieldTransport Accident
Commission
Ken Hall
VicRoads
Damian MacDonaldDepartment of
Justice)
Con Stasinos
VicRoads
Jessica Truong
Transport Accident
Commission
Baseline: Strategy modelling and
data systems
Antonietta CavalloVicRoads
William Gibbons Department of
Justice
David Healy
Transport Accident
Commission
Wendy Kimber
VicPol
Michael Nieuwesteeg
Transport
Accident Commission
Neil Richardson VicPol
Baseline: Toward zero pedestrian
deaths
Comiittee members 49
Exercise for independent living
Flavia Cicuttini
Leon Flicker
Keith Hill
Damien Jolley
Leonie Segal
Department of
Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine,
Monash
University of
Western Australia
National Ageing
Research Institute
and La Trobe
University
Institute for Health
Services Research,
Monash
University of South
Australia
Farm Injury Risk among Men (FIRM)
Jim Dosman
Louise Hagel
John Langley
Malcolm Sim
Don Voaklander
Rory Wolfe
University of
Saskatchewan,
Canada
University of
Saskatchewan,
Canada
Injury Prevention
Research Unit,
University of Otago,
New Zealand
Department of
Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine,
Monash University
University of Alberta,
Canada
Department of
Epidemiology and
Preventive Medicine,
Monash University
Innovative community based
nursery furniture intervention
in Greater Geelong 2007–2008.
Department of Health and Ageing
Jill Green
SIDS and KIDS
Victoria
Ros Howe
Consumer Affairs
Victoria
Sarah Proudfoot Australian
Competition
and Consumer
Commission
Beverley Steer
Department of
Health and Ageing
Tim Wain
Infant and Nursery
Product Association
of Australia
Megan Urlich
City of Greater
Geelong, SafeStart
Project
50
Comiittee members
MUARC Europe Scientific Advisory
Committee
Loretta Baldassar Monash University
Prato
Anne Guillaume Laboratory of
Biomechanics &
Accidentology, (LAB)
France
Tom Genneralli
Medical College of
Wisconson, USA
Marjan HagenziekerSWOV, the
Netherlands
Anders Lie
Swedish Road
Administration
Astrid Linder
VTI, Sweden
Jean Pierre
Medevielle
INRETS, France
Laurie Sparke
Holden Innovation,
Australia
Pete Thomas
Vehicle Safety
Research Centre, UK
Claes Tingvall
Swedish Road
Administration
Alberto Tesi
University of
Florence, Italy
Andre Vits
European
Commission,
Brussels
Multi-National National Vehicle
Safety Mass Data Study
Manuel Aviles
Spanish Ministry of
Transport
Louis Fernique
French Ministry in
charge of Transport
Anna Ferrer
Spanish Ministry of
Transport
Anders Kullgren Folksam Insurance,
Sweden
Mike Keall
MUARC –
Subcontractor
Anders Lie
Swedish Road
Administration
Kalle Parkkari
Finnish Motor
Insurers Centre, VALT
Lucia Pennisi
Italian Automobile
Association (ACI)
Claus Pastor
Section Passive
Vehicle Safety,
Biomechanics, BASt,
Germany
Esa RatyFinnish Motor
Insurers Centre, VALT
Matteo Rizzi
Vectura Consulting
Henk Stipdonk
SWOV, the
Netherlands
Pete Thomas
Loughborough
University, UK
Claes Tingvall
Swedish Road
Administration
Martijn Vis
SWOV, the
Netherlands
Used car safety ratings
Members
Michael Case
(Chair)
Royal Automobile
Club of Victoria
(RACV) Ltd
Anant Bellary
Transport and Main
Roads, Queensland
Mark Borlace
Automobile
Association South
Australia
Samantha CockfieldTransport Accident
Commission
Jon Gibson
/Teresa Rechichi Office of Road Safety
Western Australia
John GoldsworthyDepartment
of Transport,
Infrastructure,
Local Government
and Regional
Development
Jack Haley
NRMA Motoring and
Services
Chris Jones
VicRoads
Dan Leavy
Roads and Traffic
Authority, New South
Wales
Steve Spalding Royal Automobile
Club of Queensland
(RACQ) Ltd
Stella Stocks
AA New Zealand
Michael Upton
/Alex Forrest
Royal Auto Club of
Western Australia
Ltd
Stuart Worden
New Zealand
Transport Agency
Observers
Craig Newland
Australian
Automobile
Association
Linda Schekoske Royal Automobile
Club of Queensland
(RACQ) Ltd
John White
New Zealand
Transport Agency
Visionary research model study
Antonietta Cavallo/ VicRoads
Tricia Williams
William Gibbons Department of
Justice
David Healy
Transport Accident
Commission
Ken Ogden/
Royal Automobile
Michael Case Club of Victoria
(RACV) Ltd
Peter Keogh
VicPol
2009 Annual Report
Statement of Income and
Expenditure
$
Balance as at 1 January, 2009
1,793,981
Income:
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
945,541
Research:
5,551,782
Australian Research Council 13,069
National Health & Medical Research Council
182,372
Competitive Commonwealth Research
66,500
State Government Research
3,278,556
Commonwealth Government Research
187,973
Local Government
28,955
Industry Australia Contracts
666,853
Industry Australia Grants
373,304
Industry International Research
204,196
Industry International Competitive Research
(1,539)
Co-operative Research Centres
551,543
Commercial
646,293
Internal Grants (Monash Research Support/Strategic Initiatives)
65,263
939,036
Other (inc. Sale of Assets, student fees, transfers) 1
Monash University internal transfer 2
1,250,000
9,397,915
Expenditure:
Salaries and related expenditure
5,665,548
495,555
Financial and administration 3
Student related 95,017
Infrastructure related
222,196
Central Support Services - Overhead costs
1,582,726
Other operating expenditure
699,441
Capital expenditure
324,708
9,085,191
Balance at 31 December, 2009
2,106,705
1
Includes funds transferred from MUARC Foundation
2
Accommodation and other services which were previously supplied as in-kind university support have been
replaced as overhead costs. The university has also provided a transfer of funds to part offset these charges.
3
Includes payments to consultants
The Centre’s accounts have been certified correct by the University Corporate Finance Division. Where required as a
condition of funding grants, accounts will be audited by the University’s Internal Auditor. They will be subject to Government
audit as part of the University’s annual accounts for the calendar year 2009.
Footnote: It should be noted that the Centre operates on a calendar financial year and its revenue and expenditure are, for
the most part, project related and several projects cross fixed reporting periods and financial years. The apparent ‘surplus’
mostly reflects grant and contract income received in 2009 for expenditure that will be incurred in 2010.
Certified Correct
Joel Chibert
Group Accountant
Corporate Finance Division
Financial Statement 51
Publications
MUARC Report Series
Brace, C., Whelan, M., Clark, B.
& Oxley, J. (2009) The relationship
between crime and road safety,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report No. 284
Candappa, N., D’Elia, A., Corben, B.
F. & Newstead, S. (2009) Evaluation
of the effectiveness of flexible barriers
along Victorian roads, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report No. 291
Clark, B. (2009) Design of a roadside
observation survey for measuring
occupant behaviour and vehicle type
characteristics, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report No.
288
Day, L., Hoareau, E., Finch, C.,
Harrison, J., Segal, L., Bolton, T.,
Bradley, C., Boufous, S., Ullah, S. &
National Injury Prevention Working
Group (2009) Modelling the impact,
costs and benefits of falls prevention
measures to support policy-makers
and program planners, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report No. 286
Johnson, M., Oxley, J. & Cameron, M.
(2009) Cyclist bunch riding: A review
of the literature, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report No.
285
Newstead, S. & Scully, J. (2009)
Estimation of the effect of improved
average secondary safety of the
passenger vehicle fleet on annual
counts of serious injury for Australia
and New Zealand: 1991-2006,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report No. 289
Newstead, S. V., Watson, L. M.
& Cameron, M. H. (2009) Vehicle
safety ratings estimates from police
reported crash data: 2009 update.
Australian and New Zealand crashes
during 1987-2007, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report No.
287
Newstead, S. V., Watson, L. M. &
Cameron, M. H. (2009) Trends in
crashworthiness of the New Zealand
vehicle fleet by year of manufacture:
1964 to 2007, Monash University
52
Publications
Accident Research Centre, Report No.
287 (supplement)
Watson, L. M., Newstead, S. V.
& Scully, J. (2009) The interaction
between relative vehicle secondary
safety and driver demographics,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report No. 290
Whelan, M., Scully, J. & Newstead,
S. V. (2009) Vehicle safety and young
drivers Stages 2 and 3: Analysis of
young driver crash types and vehicle
choice optimisation, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report No.
292
Books and Book Chapters
Charlton, J., Koppel, S. & Langford,
J. (2009) ‘Managing older driver crash
risk’, In M. Odell [Ed.] Older Road
Users, Arizona, US: Lawyers & Judges
Publishing Co.
Lenné, M. G. & Triggs, T. J. (2009)
‘Warning drivers of approaching
hazards: The importance of location
cues and multi-sensory cues’, In D. de
Waard, J. Godthelp, F. L. Kooi and K.
A. Brookhus [Eds.], Human Factors,
Security and Safety, pp.203-211,
Maastricht, the Netherlands: Shaker
Publishing
Oxley, J. (2009) ‘Walking for older road
users: A safe alternative travel mode to
the car?’ In M. Odell [Ed.] Older Road
Users, Arizona, US: Lawyers & Judges
Publishing Co.
Regan, M., Lee, J. D. & Young, K.
[Eds.] (2009) Driver distraction: theory,
effects and mitigation, CRC Press
Walker, G. H., Stanton, N. A., Salmon,
P. A. & Jenkins, D. P. (2009) Command
and control: the sociotechnical
perspective, Ashgate, Aldershot, UK
Peer Review Journal
Articles
Archer, J. & Young, W. (2009) ‘Signal
treatments to reduce heavy vehicle
crash-risk at metropolitan highway
intersections’, Accident Analysis &
Prevention, 41 (3), pp404-411
Bugeja, L., Ibrahim, J. E., OzanneSmith, J. & Brodie, L. (2009)
‘Expanding definitions of workrelatedness beyond the worker’,
Journal of Occupational Health and
Safety - Australia and New Zealand,
25 (6), pp461-475
Day, L., Voaklander, D., Sim, M.,
Wolfe, R., Langley, J., Dosman, J.,
Hagel, L. & Ozanne-Smith, J. (2009)
‘Risk factors for work-related injury
among male farmers’, Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, 66,
pp312-318
Douglas, C., Fildes, B. N. & Gibson, T.
(2009) ‘Development of an occupant
model for far-side vehicle crashes’,
International Journal of Vehicle Safety,
4 (3), pp173-184
Finch, C., Day, L., Donaldson, A.,
Segal, L. & Harrison, J. (2009)
‘Determining policy-relevant formats
for the presentation of falls research
evidence’, Health Policy, 93 (2),
pp203-213
Fitzharris, M., Dandona, R., Kumar,
G. A. & Dandona, L. (2009) ‘Crash
characteristics and patterns of injury
among hospitalised motorised twowheeled vehicle users in urban India’,
BMC Public Health, 9 (11)
Fritschi, L., Morrison, D., Shirangi,
A. & Day, L. (2009) ‘Psychological
well-being of Australian Veterinarians’,
Australian Veterinary Journal, 87 (3),
pp76-81
Hitchens, P., Blizzard, L., Jones, G.,
Day, L. & Fell, L. (2009) ‘The incidence
of race-day jockey falls in Australia,
2002–2006’, Medical Journal of
Australia, 190 (2), pp83-86
Hosking, S. G., Young, K. L. & Regan,
M. A. (2009) ‘The effects of textmessaging on young drivers’, Human
Factors, 51 (4), pp582-592
2009 Annual Report
Isler, R. B., Starkey, N. J. & Williamson,
A. R. (2009) ‘Video-based road
commentary training improves hazard
perception of young drivers in a dual
task’, Accident Analysis & Prevention,
41 (3), pp445-452
Keall, M. D. & Newstead, S. (2009)
‘Induced exposure estimates of rollover
risk for different types of passenger
vehicles’, Traffic Injury Prevention, 10
(1), pp30-38
Keall, M. D. & Newstead, S. (2009)
‘Selection of comparison crash types
for quasi-induced exposure risk
estimation’, Traffic Injury Prevention, 10
(1), pp23-29
Klimkeit, E. I., Bradshaw, J. L.,
Charlton, J., Stolwyk, R. & GiorgiouKaristianis, N. (2009) ‘Driving ability
in Parkinson’s Disease: Current
status of research’, Neuroscience &
Biobehavioral Reviews, 33 (3), pp223231
Koppel, S. & Charlton, J. L. (2009)
‘Child restraint system misuse and/or
inappropriate use in Australia’, Traffic
Injury Prevention, 10 (3), pp302-307
Lahausse, J. A. & Fildes, B. N. (2009)
‘Cost-benefit analysis of an alcohol
ignition interlock for installation in all
newly registered vehicles’, Traffic Injury
Prevention, 10 (6), pp528-537
Levinson, M. R. & Clay, F. J. (2009)
‘Barriers to the implementation of
evidence in osteoporosis treatment in
hip fracture’, Internal Medicine Journal,
39 (3), pp199-202
Liu, C. C., Hosking, S. G. & Lenné, M.
G. (2009) ‘Predicting driver drowsiness
using vehicle measures: recent insights
and future challenges’, Journal of
Safety Research, 40 (4), pp239-245
Liu, C. C., Hosking, S. G. & Lenné,
M. G. (2009) ‘Hazard perception
abilities of experienced and novice
motorcyclists: an interactive simulator
experiment’, Transportation Research
Part F: Traffic Psychology and
Behaviour (12), pp325-34
Lucas, M., Day, L. & Fritschi, L. (2009)
‘Injuries to Australian veterinarians
working with horses’, The Veterinary
Record, 164 (7), pp207-209
Lucas, M., Day, L., Shirangi, A. &
Fritschi, L. (2009) ‘Significant injuries
in Australian veterinarians and the
reported use of safety precautions’,
Occupational Medicine, 59, pp327-333
Lyons, R. A., Finch, C. F., McClure,
R. J., van Beeck, E. & Macey, S.
(2009) ‘The Injury List Of All Deficits
(LOAD) Framework - conceptualising
the full range of deficits and adverse
outcomes following injury and
violence’, International Journal of Injury
Control and Safety Promotion, pp1-15
McKenzie, K., Enraght-Moony, E.
L., Walker, S. M., McClure, R. J. &
Harrison, J. E. (2009) ‘Accuracy of
external cause-of-injury coding in
hospital records’, Injury Prevention
(15), pp60-64
McKenzie, K., Enraght-Moony, E. L.,
Waller, G., Walker, S. M., Harrison, J.
E. & McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘Causes of
injuries resulting in hospitalisation in
Australia: assessing coder agreement
on external causes’, Injury Prevention
(15), pp188-196
McKenzie, K. & McClure, R. J. (2009)
‘Sources of coding discrepancies
in injury morbidity data: implications
for injury surveillance’, International
Journal of Injury Control and Safety
Promotion, 17 (1), pp53-60
McKenzie, K., Mitchell, R., Scott, D.
A., Harrison, J. E. & McClure, R. J.
(2009) ‘The reliability of information
on work-related injuries available
from hospitalisation data in Australia’,
Australian & New Zealand Journal of
Public Health, 33 (4), pp332-338
McKinnon, A. D., Ozanne-Smith, J. &
Pope, R. (2009) ‘Optimizing the utility
of military injury surveillance systems:
A qualitative study within the Australian
Defence Force’, Military Medicine, 174
(5), pp470-478
Mitchell, R. J., McClure, R. J., Olivier,
J. & Watson, W. L. (2009) ‘Rational
allocation of Australia’s research
dollars: does the distribution of
NHMRC funding by National Health
Priority Area reflect actual disease
burden?’ Medical Journal of Australia,
191 (11/12), pp648-652
Morgan, D., Ozanne-Smith, J. &
Triggs, T. J. (2009) ‘Direct observation
measurement of drowning risk
exposure for surf beach bathers’,
Journal of Science and Medicine in
Sport, 12 (4), pp457-462
Oxley, J. & Charlton, J. (2009)
‘Attitudes to and mobility impacts of
driving cessation: Differences between
current and former drivers‘, Topics in
Geriatric Rehabilitation. Transitioning
From Driver to Passenger, 25 (1),
pp43-54
Qin, Y., Wu, M., Yang, J., Zhou, J.,
Xiang, Q., Tao, R., Han, R., Pan, X.,
Lin, P., Routley, V. & Ozanne-Smith,
J. (2009) ‘Study on the situation of
seat belt wearing among drivers and
front-seat passengers of vehicles in
Nanjing in 2005-2007’, China Journal
of Epidemiology, 30 (5), pp459-461
Rizzi, M., Strandroth, J. & Tingvall, C.
(2009) ‘The effectiveness of Antilock
Brake Systems on motorcycles in
reducing real-life crashes and injuries’,
Traffic Injury Prevention (10), pp479487
Routley, V., Ozanne-Smith, J., Li, D.,
Yu, M., Wang, J., Wu, M., Zhang, J.
& Qin, Y. (2009) ‘Attitudes to seat belt
wearing and related safety features
in two cities in China’, International
Journal of Injury Control and Safety
Promotion, 16 (1), pp15-26
Routley, V., Ozanne-Smith, J., Wu, M.
& Qin, Y. (2009) ‘Taxi driver seat belt
wearing in Nanjing, China’, Journal of
Safety Research, 40, pp449-454
Rudin-Brown, C. M., Jenkins, R. W.,
Whitehead, T. & Burns, P. C. (2009)
‘Could ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) change the way we drive?’
Traffic Injury Prevention, 10 (4), pp240247
Russell, M., Hill, K., Blackberry, I.,
Gurrin, L., Dharmage, S. & Day, L.
(2009) ‘Development of the falls risk for
older people in the community (FROPCom) screening tool’, Age and Ageing,
38 (1), pp40-46
Salmon, P. M. & Lenné, M. G. (2009)
‘Putting the ‘system’ into safe
system frameworks’, Journal of the
Australasian College of Road Safety, 30
(3), August, pp21-22
Morgan, D., Ozanne-Smith, J. &
Triggs, T. J. (2009) ‘Self-reported
water and drowning risk exposure at
surf beaches’, Australian and New
Zealand Journal of Public Health, 33
(2), pp180-188
Schluter, P. J. (2009) ‘A multivariate
hierarchical Bayesian approach to
measuring agreement in repeated
measurement method comparison
studies’, BMC Medical Research
Methodology, 9 (6), pp13
Moss, S. A., Lenné, M. G. & Wilson,
S. (2009) ‘Individual and contextual
factors that moderate the utility of road
safety measures: applying theories of
self regulation to characterize four risk
profiles’, Safety Science Monitor, 13
(1), pp1-16
Schluter, P. J., Cameron, C. M., Davey,
T. M., Civil, I., Orchard, J., Dansey,
R., Hamill, J., Naylor, H., James, C.,
Dorrian, J., Christey, G., Pollard, C. &
McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘Contemporary
New Zealand coefficients for the
Trauma Injury Severity Score:
TRISS(NZ)’, New Zealand Medical
Journal, 122 (1302), pp1-11
Publications 53
Schluter, P. J., Cameron, C. M., Davey,
T. M., Civil, I., Orchard, J., Dansey,
R., Hamill, J., Naylor, H., James, C.,
Dorrian, J., Christey, G., Pollard, C. &
McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘Using Trauma
Injury Severity Score (TRISS) variables
to predict length of hospital stay
following trauma in New Zealand’,
New Zealand Medical Journal, 122
(1302), pp1-14
Spinks, A., Turner, C., Nixon, J. &
McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘The ‘WHO Safe
Communities’ model for the prevention
of injury in whole populations’,
Cochrane Database of Systematic
Reviews 2009 (3)
Tham, R. C. A., Cassell, E. & Calache,
E. (2009) ‘Traumatic orodental injuries
and the development of an orodental
injury surveillance system: a pilot
study in Victoria, Australia’, Dental
Traumatology, 25 (1), pp103-109
Wasiak, J., Spinks, A., Ashby, K.,
Clapperton, A., Cleland, H. & Gabbe,
B. (2009) ‘The epidemiology of burn
injuries in an Australian setting, 20002006’, Burns, 35 (8), pp1124-32
Young, W. & Archer, J. (2009) ‘Traffic
microsimulation modeling to study
a traffic signal incident reduction
function’, Transportation Research
Record, 2 (2103), pp80-87
Other Journal Articles
Cassell, E. & Ashby, K. (2009)
‘Unintentional dog bite injury in
Victoria: 2005-7’, Hazard (69),
Summer, pp1-23
Clapperton, A. & Cassell, E. (2009)
‘The impact of area socioeconomic
inequity on serious injury in Victoria ‘,
Hazard (70), pp1-29
Day, L. (2009) ‘Is it time for a
coordinated international effort
in agricultural health and safety
research?’ Journal of Agricultural
Safety and Health, 15 (2), [Invited
Editorial], pp115-117
Johnston, I. (2009) ‘Let’s grab this
Leadership Opportunity!’, Journal
of the Australasian College of Road
Safety, 20 (3), August, pp14-15
Lahausse, J. A. & Fildes, B. N. (2009)
‘Harm’s way’, Intertraffic World, Annual
Showcase 2010 (Launch issue),
pp114-117
Rudin-Brown, C. M. (2009) ‘Behavioral
adaptation and in-vehicle ITS’, Traffic
Technology International, October/
November, pp46-47
Scully, J. H., Newstead, S. V., Corben,
B. F. & Candappa, N. L. (2009)
‘Effect of past black spot programs
54
Publications
on motorcycle safety’, Journal of the
Australasian College of Road Safety,
20 (4), pp23-25
Peer Review Conference
Papers
D’Elia, A. & Newstead, S. (2009)
‘Probabilistic linkage of Victorian injury
data records’, Proceedings 2009
Australasian Road Safety Research,
Policing and Education Conference,
11-13 November, Darling Harbour,
NSW, Roads and Traffic Authority of
New South Wales, USB, pp50-59
Hillard, P. (2009) ‘Severity of injury
outcomes for older drivers involved
in intersection crashes’, Proceedings
4th International Conference on
Driver Behaviour and Training, 24-25
November, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Horberry, T., Regan, M. A. & Edquist,
J. (2009) ‘Driver distraction from
roadside advertising: the clash
of road safety evidence, highway
authority guidelines and commercial
advertising pressure’, Proceedings
First International Conference on Driver
Distraction and Inattention, 28-29
September, Gothenburg, Sweden,
CD-ROM
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., RudinBrown, C. M. & Lenné, M. G. (2009)
‘Graduated licensing for motorcyclists:
Rationale, effectiveness, challenges
and opportunities for the future’,
Proceedings 2009 Australasian
Road Safety Research, Policing
and Education Conference, 11-13
November, Darling Harbour, NSW,
Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales, USB, pp279-286
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Triggs, T. J.
& Regan, M. A. (2009) ‘Comparing the
gap acceptance and turn time patterns
of novice with experienced drivers for
turns across traffic’, Proceedings 5th
International Driving Symposium on
Human Factors in Driver Assessment,
Training and Vehicle Design, Big Sky,
MT, USA
Newstead, S. (2009) ‘The conflict
between fuel prices, environmental
concerns and vehicle secondary
safety: Insights from the Used Car
Safety Ratings’, Proceedings 2009
Australasian Road Safety Research,
Policing and Education Conference,
11-13 November, Darling Harbour,
NSW, Roads and Traffic Authority of
New South Wales, USB, pp348-358
Regan, M. & Richardson, J. H.
(2009) ‘A checklist for planning and
implementing field operational tests
of Intelligent Transport Systems’,
Proceedings 16th World Congress on
Intelligent Transport Systems, 21-25
September, Stockholm, Sweden
Rudin-Brown, C. M., Jenkins, R.
W., Whitehead, T. & Burns, P. C.
(2009) ‘Does ESC (Electronic Stability
Control) change the way we drive?’
Proceedings Transportation Research
Board 88th Annual Meeting, 11-15
January, Washington, D.C.
Rudin-Brown, C. M., Lenné, M. G.,
Edquist, J., Trotter, M., Navarro,
J. & Tomasevic, N. (2009) ‘Driver
compliance with, and understanding
of, level crossing controls’,
Proceedings 2009 Australasian
Road Safety Research, Policing
and Education Conference, 11-13
November, Darling Harbour, NSW,
Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales, USB, pp428-434
Rudin-Brown, C. M., Young, K. L.
& Lenné, M. G. (2009) ‘Behavioural
adaptation to mobile phone
legislation: Could there be unintended
consequences of partial bans?’
Proceedings First International
Conference on Driver Distraction
and Inattention, 28-29 September,
Gothenburg, Sweden
Salmon, P. M. & Lenné, M. G. (2009)
‘Systems-based Human Factors
analysis of road traffic accidents:
Barriers and solutions’, Proceedings
2009 Australasian Road Safety
Research, Policing and Education
Conference, 11-13 November, Darling
Harbour, NSW, Roads and Traffic
Authority of New South Wales, USB,
pp201-209
Stanton, N. A. & Salmon, P. M. (2009)
‘Driver errors and the implications
for intelligent transport systems’,
Proceedings ITS World Congress, 2125 September, Stockholm, Sweden
Trotter, M., Mitsopoulos-Rubens,
E. & Rudin-Brown, C. M. (2009)
‘An overview of a multi-method
investigation into injuries arising from
the interaction between police officers’
appointments belt and their work
vehicle’, Proceedings 45th Annual
Conference of the Human Factors
and Ergonomics Society of Australia
(HFESA), 22-25 November, Melbourne
Williamson, A., Young, K. L. &
Lenné, M. G. (2009) ‘Development
and validation of the PC-based
driver distraction test’, Proceedings
AutoCRC 2009 Conference,
Melbourne
Young, K. L., Lenné, M. G., Archer, J.
& Williamson, A. (2009) ‘Development
and validation of a Naturalistic
2009 Annual Report
Driver Distraction Evaluation Tool’,
Proceedings First International
Conference on Driver Distraction and
Inattention, Gothenburg, Sweden
Young, K. L., Lenné, M. G. & Bayly,
M. (2009) ‘Cross-regional HMI design
considerations for In-Vehicle Infotainment
Systems: A pilot study’, Proceedings
AutoCRC 2009, Melbourne
Other Conference
Publications
Archer, J. & Young, W. (2009) ‘The
application of a micro-simulation
model to study the safety performance
of a traffic signal incident-reduction
function’, Proceedings Transportation
Research Board 88th Annual Meeting,
11-15 January
Ashby, K. (2009) ‘Callback study of
hospital-treated recreational boating
injury over two summers’, 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [poster, presentation]
Bugeja, L. (2009) ‘Research to
practice: Public policy versus public
health’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [abstract, presentation] [Best
student paper]
Cassell, E. (2009) ‘The effectiveness of
personal flotation device (PFD) wearing
regulations in Victoria, Australia’,
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26-28 July, [poster,
presentation]
Clapperton, A. & Cassell, E. (2009)
‘Downward trend in hip fracture
rates in persons aged 65 years and
older, Victoria, Australia’, 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention
and Safety Promotion, Melbourne,
Australia, 26-28 July, [poster,
presentation]
Clay, F. (2009) ‘Prevalence of pain
six months after minor or moderate
acute orthopaedic trauma in Victoria’,
Proceedings 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[abstract, presentation]
Day, L. (2009) ‘Exercise for
Independent Living: a randomised
controlled trial of exercise for
maintaining independence during
ageing’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [abstract, presentation]
Edquist, J. (2009) ‘Level crossing
safety: human factors issues and
research priorities’, Proceedings Safety
in Action Conference, 31 March,
Melbourne
Fildes, B. N., Langford, J. & Hellyer, S.
(2009) ‘Safety can be a hard message
to sell’, Proceedings 2009 Australasian
Road Safety Research, Policing
and Education Conference, 11-13
November, Darling Harbour, NSW,
Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales, USB, pp747-751
Franklyn, M. (2009) ‘Evaluation of
bike helmets’, Proceedings Trauma
Melbourne 2009, 20-21 November,
Melbourne, [abstract, Invited]
Hillard, P. & Schofield, P. (2009)
‘The Enhanced Crash Investigation
Program’, Proceedings Victoria
Police Vision 237 Conference, 17-18
November, Melbourne
Hillard, P. J. (2009) ‘Motorcyclists’
perceptions of the causes of
motorcycle crashes’, Proceedings
International Traffic Medicine
Association – 21st World Congress,
26-29 April, The Hague, Netherlands
Hoareau, E. (2009) ‘Beyond the
randomised controlled trial: modelling
the population level impact of proven
falls prevention initiatives for older
people’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [abstract, presentation]
Johnson, M., Charlton, J. & Oxley, J.
(2009) ‘Cycling behaviour and safety:
a closer look at potentially unsafe
behaviours amongst Melbourne
commuter cyclists and drivers’,
Proceedings 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[abstract, presentation]
Johnson, M., Charlton, J. & Oxley, J.
(2009) ‘Staying in the lines’, Velo-City
2009 Cycling Conference, 12-17 May
[poster], Brussels, Belgium
Killian, J., Ozanne-Smith, J. &
Drummer, O. (2009) ‘Drugs detected
in Unnatural Deaths in Victoria’,
Proceedings 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[abstract, presentation]
Langford, J., Charlton, J. & Bohensky,
M. A. (2009) ‘Can off-road screening
tests assess older drivers’ fitness to
drive?’ Proceedings 2009 Australasian
Road Safety Research, Policing
and Education Conference, 11-13
November, Darling Harbour, NSW,
Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales, USB, pp375-381
Liu, S. & Ozanne-Smith, J. (2009)
‘Domestic architectural and furniture
glass-related injury’, Proceedings
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26-28 July. [abstract,
presentation]
McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘Is it time to
let go of the public health approach
to injury prevention’, Proceedings
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26-28 July, [abstract,
presentation]
Morgan, D. (2009) ‘Surf beach
drowning: Exposure and other risk
factors’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [abstract, presentation]
Palamara, P., Oxley, J., Langford, J.,
Thompson, C. & Chapman, A.-M.
(2009) ‘An investigation of the factors
associated with the non-use of a seat
belt through the analysis of linked
Western Australian crash, death and
hospitalisation data’, Proceedings 2009
Australasian Road Safety Research,
Policing and Education Conference,
11-13 November, Darling Harbour,
NSW, Roads and Traffic Authority of
New South Wales, USB, pp519-520
Regan, M., Triggs, T. J. & Young, K.
L. (2009) ‘Field operational testing of
Intelligent Speed Adaptation: findings
and lessons learned from the Australian
TAC SafeCar Project’, Proceedings
2009 Australasian Road Safety
Research, Policing and Education
Conference, 11-13 November, Darling
Harbour, NSW, Roads and Traffic
Authority of New South Wales, USB,
p10
Routley, V. & Ozanne-Smith, J. (2009)
‘Comparison of seat belt introduction
in Australia and China’, Proceedings
9th National Conference on Injury
Prevention and Safety Promotion,
Melbourne, 26-28 July, [abstract,
presentation]
Salmon, P. M., Lenné, M. G.,
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Triggs, T. J.
& Wallace, P. (2009) ‘The selection and
implementation of technologies for
future defence force vehicle operator
training: a review of novel training
technologies and development of a
best practice model’, Proceedings
Defence Human Sciences Symposium,
15-16 September, Melbourne
Publications 55
Samarakkody, D., Gunathunga, M.
W. & McClure, R. J. (2009) ‘Influence
of childcare pattern and behaviour on
unintentional injuries among preschool
children’, Proceedings 9th National
Conference on Injury Prevention and
Safety Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28
July, [abstract, presentation]
Staines, C. (2009) ‘Child and
adolescent drowning deaths in
developing communities: Victoria, a
case study’, 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[poster, presentation]
Stephan, K. L., Symmons, M., Hillard,
P., Bohensky, M. A., Muir, C. &
Lenné, M. G. (2009) ‘Characteristics
of fatal motorcycle crashes involving
excessive and/or inappropriate speed’,
Proceedings 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[abstract, presentation]
Vu, T. (2009) ‘Assessing the value
of an injury surveillance system’,
Proceedings 9th National Conference
on Injury Prevention and Safety
Promotion, Melbourne, 26-28 July,
[abstract, presentation]
Other Published Reports
Clapperton, A. (2009) Unintentional
(accidental) hospital-treated injury
Victoria, 2007, Victorian Injury
Surveillance Unit, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, E-bulletin
Edition 4
Langford, J., Charlton, J., Bohensky,
M., Irving, J., Martin, L. & Fildes, B. N.
(2009) Older Driver Model Assessment
Program: Stage 4 - Validation of
screening tests to assess at-risk older
drivers, Austroads, AP-R336/09
Oxley, J., Langford, J., Palamara,
P., Muir, C., Koppel, S., Bohensky,
M. A. & Williamson, A. (2009) Nonwearing of adult seat belts in Australia:
Where to next?, Austroads, Sydney,
AP–R346/09
Vulcan, A. P. & Newstead, S. V.
(2009) Submission to the Road Safety
Committee of the Victorian Parliament
Inquiry on Australian Design Rules
relevant to vehicle safety, Monash
University Accident Research Centre
Watson, L. M. & Newstead, S. V.
(2009) Vehicle safety and young
drivers, Stage 1 - Profile of young
driver vehicles, Monash University
Accident Research Centre
56
Publications
Sponsor/Consultant
Reports (restricted
access)
Cassell, E., Reid, N., Dunn, I., Killian, J.
& Hayes, N. (2009), Evaluation of Safe
Taxi Rank Trial, Report to Victorian Taxi
Directorate, Department of Transport
Archer, J., Candappa, N. & Corben,
B. F. (2009), Dwell on Red Signal
Treatment, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Contract report
Clark, B., Cameron, M. H. &
Diamantopoulou, K. (2009), Research
into aspects of a new Victoria Police
traffic enforcement model: Part 2: Best
methods to measure the effectiveness
of enforcement, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report to
Traffic and Transit Safety Department,
Victoria Police
Archer, J., Young, W. & Corben, B.
F. (2009), Testing innovative signal
treatments to reduce heavy vehicle
crash-risk at metropolitan highway
intersections, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report
to VicRoads - Innovative Treatment
component of the Safer Road
Infrastructure Program, funded by the
Traffic Accident Commission (TAC)
Ashby, K. & Cassell, E. (2009), Marine
safety in Victoria: 5 year report 2003/4
- 2007/8, Report to Marine Safety
Victoria
Cameron, M. H. (2009), Development
of strategies for speed camera
enforcement in Queensland: Final
report, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report to Land
Transport and Safety Division,
Queensland Transport
Cameron, M. H. (2009), Economic
evaluation of the introduction of lower
rural default and national highway
speed limits in Tasmania, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report to Department of Infrastructure,
Energy and Resources, Hobart
Cameron, M. H., Diamantopoulou,
K. & Clark, B. (2009), Research into
aspects of a new Victoria Police
traffic enforcement model: Part 3:
Organisation of Victoria traffic policing,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report to Traffic and Transit
Safety Department, Victoria Police
Candappa, N., Corben, B. F. & Logan,
D. B. (2009), Clear Zone Guidelines,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Contract report
Cassell, E. & Ashby, K. (2009), Marine
Safety in Victoria. June 2008- July
2009, Report to Marine Safety Victoria
Cassell, E. & Ashby, K. (2009),
Evaluation of the Victorian recreational
boat operator licensing scheme,
Report to Marine Safety Victoria
Cassell, E. & Prang, K.-H. (2009),
Commercial boating safety culture
focus group study, Report to Marine
Safety Victoria
Cassell, E., Reid, N. & Dunn, I. (2009),
Investigation of balcony and deck
failure in Victoria, Report to Building
Commission Victoria
Corben, B. F., Howard, E. & Logan, D.
B. (2009), Development of a strategic
research and policy framework for
road safety in Queensland, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report to Department of Transport and
Main Roads, Queensland
Devlin, A., Charlton, J., Bohensky, M.
A., Verdoorn, A. & Oxley, J. (2009),
Older driver project: driving simulator
study, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report prepared for
the AutoCRC as deliverable C3-02
M051
Diamantopoulou, K., Clark, B. &
Cameron, M. H. (2009), Research
into aspects of a new Victoria Police
traffic enforcement model: Part 1:
Review of national and international
enforcement activities and models,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report to Traffic and Transit
Safety Department, Victoria Police,
Melbourne
Diamantopoulou, K., Newstead, S. V.,
Cameron, M. H. & Brennan, C. (2009),
The development of a framework
for road safety strategy evaluation,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report to Queensland
Transport
Edquist, J., Stephan, K.,
Wigglesworth, E. & Lenné, M. G.
(2009), A literature review of Human
Factors safety issues at Australian
level crossings, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report to
Department of Transport, Victoria
Golias, J., Yannis, G., Vlahogianni, E.,
Spyropoulou, I., Phan, V., Regan, M.,
Saleh, P., Winkelbauer, M., Voelker,
T., Brandstaetter, C., Hegewald, A.,
Diez, J., Leden, L., Chattington, M.
& Basacik, D. (2009), Risk factors
of Powered-Two-Wheelers Safety:
State-of-the-Art Report. Report for
EC 2-Wheeler Behaviour and Safety
Project, European Commission,
Brussels
2009 Annual Report
Jamson, S., Chorlton, K., Gelau,
C., Schindhelm, R., Johansson, E.,
Sofi Karlsson, A., Metz, B., Tadei,
R., Benmimoun, M., Val, C., Regan,
M., Wilschut, E. & Brouwer, R.
(2009), Deliverable 4.2: Experimental
procedures. Report for European
Large-Scale Field Operational Test on
Active Safety Systems (euroFOT) project,
European Commission, Brussels
Langford, J., Charlton, J., Bohensky,
M. A., Irving, J., Martin, L. & Fildes, B.
N. (2009), Austroads, AP-R336/09
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E. & Lenné,
M. G. (2009), Report on feasibility
of Australian automotive industry
HMI guidelines committee, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report prepared for the AutoCRC as
deliverable C3-02 M061
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E. & Lenné, M.
G. (2009), A report on contribution to
industry progress with respect to HMI
guidelines, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report prepared for
the AutoCRC as deliverable C3-02 M062
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Trotter, M.
& Rudin-Brown, C. M. (2009), The
interaction between police vehicles
and police equipment and its role in
injuries to police officers. Report 3:
Survey, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report prepared for
WorkCover NSW through the Police
Association of NSW.
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Trotter, M.
& Rudin-Brown, C. M. (2009), The
interaction between police vehicles and
police equipment and its role in injuries
to police officers. Report 5: Final
Report, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report prepared for
WorkCover NSW through the Police
Association of NSW
Mulvihill, C. M. & Liu, S. (2009),
An assessment of returning riders’
development needs and a review of
rider training: Stage 1 - Focus group
outcomes, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report to VicRoads
Mulvihill, C. M. & Liu, S. (2009),
An assessment of returning riders’
development needs and a review
of rider training: Stage 1- Literature
Review, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report to VicRoads
Mulvihill, C. M. & Liu, S. (2009),
Development of an Assisted
Ride Program for newly licensed
motorcyclists: Stage 1- Literature
Review, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report to VicRoads
Mulvihill, C. M., Wallace, P. & Collins,
M. (2009), Development of an Assisted
Ride Program for newly licensed
motorcyclists: Stage 2 – Curriculum
Scope, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report to VicRoads
Mulvihill, C. M., Wallace, P., Smith, R.
& Collins, M. (2009), Development of
an Assisted Ride Program for newly
licensed motorcyclists: Stage 4 – Pilot
Process Evaluation, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report to
VicRoads
Regan, M. A., Lintern, G., Hutchinson,
R. & Turetschek, C. (2009), Using
Cognitive Work Analysis to derive
recommendations for improving
motorcycle and scooter riding safety.
Report for EC 2-Wheeler Behaviour
and Safety Project, European
Commission, Brussels
Trotter, M., Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E.
& Rudin-Brown, C. M. (2009), The
interaction between police vehicles
and police equipment and its role
in injuries to police officers. Report
4: Observational studies and focus
groups, Monash University Accident
Research Centre, Report prepared for
WorkCover NSW through the Police
Association of NSW
Wallace, P., Mulvihill, C. M., Collins,
M. & Smith, R. (2009), Development
of an Assisted Ride Program for
newly licensed motorcyclists: Stage
3 – Curriculum, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report to
VicRoads
Reid, N. & Cassell, E. (2009),
Evaluation of the Safe Taxi Rank
Trial, Hawthorn, Report to the City of
Boroondara
Routley, V., Prang, K.-H., Bugeja,
L. & O’Hare, M. (2009), Rail suicide
additional research activities 2009,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre
Salmon, P., Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E.,
Lenné, M. G., Triggs, T. J. & Wallace, P.
(2009), Novel training technologies and
future vehicle operator training: Review
and recommendations, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report prepared for DSTO
Salmon, P., Stephan, K. L., Lenné,
M. G., Kopinathan, C. & Williamson,
A. (2009), Systems-based Human
Factors analysis of fatal road traffic
accidents: An exploratory case study,
Monash University Accident Research
Centre, Report prepared for the
NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust
Salmon, P., Williamson, A.,
Mitsopoulos-Rubens, E., Rudin-Brown,
C. M. & Lenné, M. G. (2009), The
role of human factoris in led outdoor
activity incidents: Literature review and
exploratory analysis, Monash University
Accident Research Centre, Report
prepared for the Sports and Recreation
Victoria
Taranto, D. & Logan, D. B. (2009),
ORTeV (On Road Test Vehicle):
Ongoing maintenance, testing and
evaluation of Vehicle #1, Monash
University Accident Research Centre,
Report for the AutoCRC as deliverable
C3-02 M071.
Publications 57
Photo right: Ron Laemmle
photographs an accident scene
58
Contact us
Monash University Accident Research Centre
Building 70, Clayton Campus, Monash University, Victoria 3800 Australia
Phone: (+61 3) 9905 4371
Fax: (+61 3) 9905 4363
Email: enquire@muarc.monash.edu.au
Web: www.monash.edu.au/muarc
ABN 12 377 614 012
CRICOS Provider No. 00008C
Annual report compilation and layout by Glenda Cairns