Reducing serious injury and death from run-off-road crashes in Victoria: turning knowledge into action.

Road trauma is firmly entrenched as the single largest cause of unintentional death and serious injury to Victorians in the first five decades of life. While excellent gains have been made, the injuries and deaths that result from road traffic crashes remain in the top rank of public health problems facing Victoria. Vehicles running off the road account for around 40 per cent of all road crash deaths n of the order of 140 Victorians per annum. There are three fundamental strategies for dealing with the run-off-road crash problem and, within each strategy, there are a number of proven, effective measures. This study examined literature and convened stakeholder forums to determine what the barriers are to implementation of these proven strategies. Four key actions to overcome the identified impediments were developed: creating a constituency for the run-off-road crash problem, the formal adoption of a lsafe systemr strategy as an underpinning philosophy in future road safety planning, the need for clear and sharply defined lines of accountability and improvement in the quality and quantity of technical resource available to all stakeholders.