Rural crashes

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In South Australia nearly 60% of all road deaths occur on rural roads, even though less than 27% of our population lives there. Research shows that the rate of rural road crash injury is about double that of urban areas. However for younger people 15 to 30 years of age, the risk is almost triple that of young people in urban areas. It is often thought that ‘local’ rural drivers are not the people involved in rural crashes. However, crash data shows that rural residents make up over 66% of all drivers who are killed or seriously injured on rural roads. Rural residents in rural crashes The following pie chart shows the involvement of rural drivers and riders killed or seriously injured in rural crashes.

Image provided by ANCAP

Figure 1 – Drivers and riders killed or seriously injured in rural areas by place of residence, 2001-2003

Where do SA crashes occur?

• 59% of all deaths and 50% of serious injuries occur on rural roads
• More than 66% of country deaths occur on straight sections of road
• More than 70% of crashes on open rural roads are single vehicle accidents such as rollovers or running off the road
• 31% of fatal crashes and 18% of serious injury crashes occur on roads with a speed limit of 110 km/hr

South Australia road deaths in 2003
In rural South Australia there were 94 deaths, 5 (5%) fewer than in 2002.

In Adelaide there were 62 deaths, 8 (15%) more than in 2002.

Figure 2: SA Road Fatalities by Location 1998- 2003

Common factors in rural crashes:

• Speeding
• Alcohol
• Fatigue
• Unrestrained vehicle occupants
• Vehicles hitting trees
• Vehicles rolling over
• Often involving younger male drivers.

What makes them so dangerous?
Speed
Crashes in rural areas tend to be worse simply because of the higher travelling speeds. Research at the University of Adelaide has shown that on rural roads the risk of a casualty crash doubles for every 10 km/hr above the average traffic speed.

Alcohol
Nearly 30% of drivers killed in rural areas have an illegal blood alcohol level.

Fatigue
The nature of rural work, the longer driving times required and monotony of some rural landscapes can increase the risk of drivers becoming sleepy or distracted.

Seat belt use
The use of seat belts in rural areas is generally lower than in urban areas. Wearing a seat belt doubles the chance of surviving a crash. When high speed is combined with not wearing seat belts there is a much greater risk of death or serious injury.

Vehicle types
A wider range of different vehicle types are often using rural roads - particularly larger vehicles such as trucks, farm machinery, 4 wheel drives and utilities. Sharing the road with these vehicles presents different driving challenges and the severity of a crash is increased when these vehicles are involved.

Other factors

• Enforcement of road laws is more difficult due to vast areas
• Access to emergency medical services is reduced due to time, distance and limited medical resources
• Greater need for vehicle travel in rural areas due to less public transport
• Lifestyle and habits of some rural young people learning to drive on farm properties and outback areas
• Road quality
• Unfamiliar environment for tourists or others travelling on country roads.

Links
Rural crashes in South Australia (33 kb)
Summary of 2003 Road fatalities in South Australia (18 kb)