Citation

Randall A. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1995; 1995: 352-357.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is Victoria's sole third party insurer and was handed responsibility for road safety in Victoria in late 1989. Since that time, Victoria's road toll has been almost halved, with a marked decrease in the incidence of drink-driving A key element in the TAC's financial strategy is its accident prevention program, aimed at not only saving lives, but also dollars. Expenditure in the drink-drive area has been carefully targeted on the basis of four major strategic components: evaluation and research; engineering; education; and enforcement. TAC, in conjunction with police, has been quick to respond to emerging trends in accident and enforcement data, and both bodies are generally recognised as being the architects of Victoria's successful road safety strategy. In 1989, 113 drivers or riders killed on Victorian roads had a blood alcohol content above .05 percent. By 1993 this number was down to 63. The number of drivers testing over the legal limit also decreased markedly between 1989 and 1994: down from one in 255 in late 1989 to one in every 668 tested in August this year.