Crash expert sides with Royal Australasian College of Surgeons on call for monitoring technology in road vehicles
Mandating black box technology in all trucks and cars will improve both driving behaviours and road law enforcement across Australia, the country’s peak body of surgeons has suggested.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons says the Australian Government’s target of a 30 per cent reduction in road deaths is not strong enough.
“The target will still result in over 800 deaths per year (and possibly 4,000 to 5,000 serious injuries),” the college notes in its submission to the Senate Inquiry into Aspects of Road Safety.
“For surgeons who see road trauma victims on a daily basis, this is unacceptable.”
Instead, the RACS says the government should be steadfast in implementing the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020.
Its recommendations include making black box technology a mandatory inclusion for all cars and heavy vehicles on Australian roads.
“Having black boxes installed in all vehicles may act as a deterrent to unsafe driving practices, particularly with respect to truck drivers,” it says.
“In addition to improving law enforcement, the technology can be useful in the analysis of crashes, facilitating a better understanding of crash and injury risk factors and mechanisms.”
One road crash analyst is in complete agreement.
Delta-V Experts principal forensic engineer Shane Richardson says black box technology should be a simple “no brainer” for regulatory bodies.
“You can tell exactly who was doing what (in a vehicle), and when,” he says.
A large majority of both trucks and cars on the road already have digital monitoring devices as part of independent systems such as those for airbags and electronic stability control.
The technology is also used by some transport companies to monitor driving.
Mandatory inclusion would assure access for law enforcement and make drivers consider their road behaviour more carefully.
The RACS has also urged the Federal Government to:
- increase vehicle licensing and road-worthiness checks
- fit alcohol-activated interlock devices to all trucks
- abandon the current open speed limit trial taking place in the Northern Territory.