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Core 1: Health Priorities in Australia

What are the priority areas for improving Australia’s health?

Road and traffic related injuries

Extent of the problem

The number of people killed on Australian roads in 1999 was 1759. This reflects a great reduction over the past 15-20 years however the number is still too high. The overwhelming number of deaths indicates only one part of the problem. For example, in 1997 alone 1768 people were killed in road crashes, however, a further 21,531 people were hospitalised.

Student activity
Analyse the statistics provided above and answer the following. Describe the annual trend of road fatalities for Australia. Analyse and describe the trends for each state of Australia from 1985-1999. Provide reasons why have some states had more of a dramatic decline than others?

Road fatalities in NSW 1965 – 1998

Great progress has been made in reducing the road toll over the past 20 years. In 1998, NSW had the lowest number of road fatalities recorded since 1949.

Although these results are good, more needs to be done. There was a total of 556 deaths and over 26,000 injuries on NSW roads in 1998.

Source: Statistics from Road and Traffic Accidents in NSW in 1996: NSW Roads and Traffic Authority; 1998

Student activity
*Analyse the graph Annual road fatalities in NSW* and explain why there has been such a dramatic decrease in the road toll in NSW over the past 20 years. What further changes would you make to continue to reduce the road toll? Explain your suggestions.**

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