A Brief Outline On How Car Accident Statistics Can Shape Public Policy
Car accident statistics are closely monitored by law enforcement agencies in an effort to make our roads safer. Holiday periods represent important time periods where police are extremely active and the media vocal about public safety initiatives and common sense driving practices in an effort to reduce the road toll. The standard benchmark for car accident statistics used by monitoring agencies is to compare the previous year to the current year. If car accident statistics show a reduction or declining trend, law enforcement agencies and government officials can gauge how effective their initiatives and media campaigns have been. Car accident statistics are recorded by issue and demographic. Most government departments keep detailed records on this and you can usually find these numbers on the relevant government agency website. The types of profiles kept for car accident statistics include: drink driving, speed, fatigue, seatbelt usage, car accident injury statistics, young drivers, older drivers, motor cycles and pedestrians. Any increase or decrease from year to year indicates the success of the current campaign or highlight areas of potential concern that may require new initiatives, formulation of policy or media campaigns.
Car accident statistics also record demographic information. This includes road user group, gender, age, location and municipality statistics. Knowing which groups are of greatest risk and where helps the relevant agencies to know where to allocate resources and to what degree. Suburbs or areas that have higher risk profiles are subject to closer scrutiny and may be allocated additional funding through the appropriate channels. If the auto accident statistics indicate that a higher percentage of fatalities result from young drivers then more stringent license requirements and laws get created to curb this tendency. An example of this is the introduction of drug testing which is not part of standard booze bus units. Police agencies make use of new and developing technologies in an effort to combat car accident statistics. An example of this is the use of radar equipment, red light cameras, speed cameras and drug and alcohol booths. Although many consider this to be a blatant revenue raising exercise, the fact remains that the threat of stringent penalties for offending parties does make people think twice about the ramifications of breaking the law. This can ultimately save lives by making our roads safer. The overall aim for car accident statistics is to provide a benchmark for making the roads a safer place. Road law changes and government policy focus to a large degree on this. If appropriate check and balances are not put in place then irresponsible behavior by offending people can threaten the safety of others and reduce our overall quality of life. |
