Abstract
Road trauma has fallen steadily in Australia over the last 30 years, and in particular since 1991. This reflects contribution from both improved roads and improved vehicles. However the downwards trend has stalled in recent years and there are worrying signs emerging. In Victoria in 2001, the road toll rose significantly to 444 fatalities from a 5 year average of 395. It has quite rightly been seen as a wake up call a need to implement new countermeasures to reverse this trend.. It is estimated that over the next 10 years, in absence of strong government intervention with targeted countermeasures, there will be 6 million fatalities and 60 million injuries in the developed world from automobile accidents.