Alcohol and road safety: some criticisms of research and policy

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Abstract

This paper exposes and criticises some basic assumptions that inform research and policy on alcohol and road safety. Numerous official enquiries on road safety have identified alcohol as the greatest single contributing factor to accidents involving death and injury. Policy‐makers have, furthermore, given priority to removing the drink‐driver from the road through a combination of enhanced detection and law enforcement procedures. Few researchers or policy‐makers, however, have questioned the effectiveness of focussing on the individual driver while the structure of the transport system remains essentially unchanged. They have, in the main, adopted a managerial approach to the problem of road death and injury, and failed to examine the theories on accident causation that underpin current road safety strategy. The paper outlines a road safety strategy which aims to reduce the probability of collisions by redressing the chronic imbalance in the uses of the motor car and other (particularly public) means of transport.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)83-95
Number of pages13
JournalAustralian Journal of Social Issues
Volume24
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1989
Externally publishedYes

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