CRASH TACKLE

The message that car crashes will happen but safer cars will reduce the severity of injury ( Meet the TAC’S human designed to survive a car crash, Wheelsmag.com.au) is not the message modern work places promote.

The real message from the TAC seems don’t change the way you drive or your attitudes to road safety and let ‘Graham’ and his mates, in conjunction with safer cars and roads, reduce the severity of injuries.

Reduce the severity from what? Spare me! Just don’t have a crash in the first place.

The biggest lever to make driving safer is for people to behave more safely. A person in the workplace is not permitted to operate equipment until that person is adequately trained and assessed as being competent to do so. Passing a relatively simple driving test doesn’t assess a person’s behaviours and suitability to drive.

It’s unfortunate the TAC and other governmentment bodies are not addressing the hardd issues – people and their behaviours.ours. The TAC is working in a mid-rangeange area of effectiveness in the hierarchy of controls, using engineeringering controls for safer cars and roads, and administrative controls for things suchuch as speeding. It should also be directingcting effort at the elimination of the hazards caused by people.

If a person is not adequately trained and competent, or doesn’t show thehe correct behaviours and attitudee to driving, they should not be issueded with a licence to drive until theyey meet the required standardsrds (which right now are veryy low).

Higherer standards and thereforere safer people driving willill eliminateliit some off the drivdrivingving hazards. Is there a politicpoliticalcal will to do that? Not yet, a pp apparently. parently.