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We need to talk about something we don't like to talk about.
Not that it's unimportant. There's a chance it's already had a profound effect on your life, or on the lives of people you once knew or loved.
But the slaughter on our roads isn't something we like discussing anymore. Remember when those sad roadside shrines with their fading bouquets and home-made wooden crosses first began lining our highways? They shocked us because they presented a human dimension to the carnage on our roads. Now they're so common we barely notice them.
Like military commanders justifying errant bombs killing civilians, we shrug off road deaths and injuries as an acceptable level of collateral damage. Not even the events of the 12 months have jolted us out of our complacency.
In the last half of 2023, 677 people died on our roads - the deadliest six months in more than 13 years. There were 1266 fatalities for the full year, a rise of 7 per cent on 2022.
If you're old enough to remember the massacre of 1970 you might think it premature to press the alarm button. After all, that year's toll of almost 3800 dead ushered in a sweeping new era of mandatory seat belts, speed cameras and clampdowns on drink driving that, within a couple of decades, reduced the number of road fatalities by two-thirds.
Yet what is happening on our roads now has left in tatters the federal government's ridiculously optimistic National Road Safety Strategy of achieving zero deaths and injuries by 2050.
Road safety experts say they need more data before drawing conclusions about this surge in fatalities and injuries. They're demanding the states share more information about the safety of our roads and the initial traffic incident reports prepared by police - something you might have assumed effective governments would already be carrying out in this digital age.
Such bureaucratic sluggishness will drag on for years. In the meantime, a survey of drivers would certainly shed light on why our road death toll took an abrupt U-turn and began climbing once COVID shutdowns ended.
For a start, public transport use has settled at about 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, which means there are more vehicles on our roads than ever before. It also remains comparatively easy to get a licence in this country. Defensive driving courses are not required but should be. Germany demands all drivers to undergo first aid training, extensive theoretical exams and eye testing. We do it every 10 years until you're 45 and then once every five years until you reach 75.
We've also seen an explosion in ownership of SUVs and four-wheel-drive utes - monster vehicles made more attractive by government tax rebates and manufacturers pitching their accessories and "safety features". Their contribution to what psychologists refer to as the Peltzman Effect - people are more likely to engage in risky behaviour when they believe they are surrounded by increased safety measures - cannot be underestimated.
You've probably encountered the Peltzman Effect while driving behind these military-sized vehicles. Who has not experienced the smugness of those commanding large cars refusing to give way, begrudgingly offering the bare minimum of road courtesy, obstructing views of oncoming traffic and reducing reaction times?
The huge increase in freight trucks and other heavy vehicles hogging lanes and churning up the nation's bitumen - partly a result of our neglected inter-city railways and a reduction in coastal shipping routes - has added to the perilous experience of navigating our roads.
Don't underestimate the role language plays, either. We still quaintly describe road collisions as "accidents". We've been doing it ever since 1869 when the remarkable Mary Ward, an Irish astronomer, naturalist and mother of eight, broke her neck after being thrown from an experimental steam car to become history's first person killed by an automobile.
But how often is there anything "accidental" when two vehicles - or a car and a pedestrian - collide? At least the data on this issue is unchallengeable. People lose their lives, or are left severely injured or vegetative, because of speed, fatigue, impatience, recklessness and distraction.
A report for the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics last year estimated the annual social cost of road crashes - a complicated formula that values the loss of human life, income, contribution to society, property and an injured victim's ongoing suffering and medical treatment - at more than $27 billion annually.
That's an awful cost for something we still don't like to talk about. The coming era of self-driving cars can't arrive soon enough.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Why do you think Australia's road toll is climbing? Is the trend toward big cars partly to blame? Should drivers be required to undergo testing every few years? And should we be investing more in self-driving car technology? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Clive Palmer's mining company donated more than $7 million to his United Australia Party in the last financial year, annual data released by the Australian Electoral Commission shows. Mineralogy Pty Ltd was the largest political donor for the year, passing $7,088,867 of funds to the UAP between August 2022 and June 2023. The company did not donate to any other parties or MPs.
- Australia's COVID-19 pandemic response has been slammed as the "worst ever public health failing" as doctors call for a royal commission into the nation's handling of the crisis. Labor went into the 2022 election promising a royal commission on the COVID-19 years, but in September it drew fierce criticism when the government instead announced a special commission of inquiry.
- Staff and family members have been accused of posing as fake patients at a regional Victorian hospital during a visit by the state health minister. Victoria's health department is investigating an allegation that 10 staff or relatives of staff presented to Colac Area Health's urgent care department within half an hour on August 9.
THEY SAID IT: "If you recognise that self-driving cars are going to prevent car accidents, artificial intelligence will be responsible for reducing one of the leading causes of death in the world." - Mark Zuckerberg
YOU SAID IT: Peace and quiet return to coastal hotspots with the end of the silly season.
"Sounds like where I live on the NSW north coast," writes Deidre. "I find the influx hard to bear. I call them space invaders. Hubby doesn't mind but he usually cycles and doesn't have to deal with the traffic congestion and loony drivers, find a parking space or try to do the weekly shop at Coles, where you can't get basic items because they've run out."
Monica writes: "It's called the 'silly season' for a reason. My pet frustrations at my workplace (tourist location in Kosciuszko National Park) are people who leave their brains behind when they go on holiday. In summer they ignore 'One Way' signs, chase venomous snakes to show off, think it's funny to block toilets, take shortcuts where signs advise to 'stay on the path' and then need an ambulance... I could go on. So glad the Echidna is back daily! Thank you!"
"Here in the Upper Blue Mountains, it's a daily occurrence," writes Erik." As you say, there are good and bad aspects: tripping over dog leads while avoiding the mob blocking the middle of the footpath is balanced by the money they bring into the local economy. The curious thing about some, though, is the raid on the local Woollies after lunch: bunches standing in aisles, usually the biscuits and snacks one, filling baskets for who knows what purpose, some just wandering about gawping at the products on the shelves. And this happens all year round, not just in summer. You learn quickly to do your shopping early before they get here or late after they have gone."
Heather writes: "I often go to Newcastle over Christmas to visit family, but avoid the beach because it's impossible to find a car park or a free patch of sand. I love staying in my adopted home town of Canberra over summer because of the annual human migration to the South Coast. Canberra at Christmas time is so quiet and peaceful, there's no traffic at any time of the day and it's the best time for evening picnics by a lake and shopping at Bunnings!"
"Living in the Shoalhaven, the influx of 'terrorists' over long weekends and holiday periods is expected, welcomed by business and (barely) tolerated by residents. Supermarket shopping is OK provided the stores do overnight shelf replenishment and you go early. The checkout operators breathe a sigh of relief when the rude and obnoxious ones go home. The highway traffic is abysmal. Visiting drivers seem to have left their brains behind, and think that the road rules don't apply to them. And when it's all over, peace and calm returns to our little piece of paradise once again."
Bruce has no sympathy for locals: "People who choose to live in holiday destinations are like the mining magnates who believe what they dig up belongs to them and not to all Australians."
Garry Linnell is one of Australia’s most experienced journalists. He has won several awards for his writing, including a Walkley for best feature writing. He writes a weekly column for ACM and the Echidna.
Garry Linnell is one of Australia’s most experienced journalists. He has won several awards for his writing, including a Walkley for best feature writing. He writes a weekly column for ACM and the Echidna.
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