Investigation Domain Contexts

This article explores the characteristics of roads in relation to law, technologies, operations and hazards. It discusses the agencies responsible for regulation and investigation in the domain, key definitions that define accident reporting, procedures recommended in the road domain and accident investigation methods. The subject is investigation domain contexts and the course code and name are not mentioned. The article is relevant for students studying law, engineering, and transportation. The article is written by an unknown author and published by Desklib, an online library for study material with solved assignments, essays, dissertation etc.

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Table of Contents
Characteristics of Roads in Relation To Law, Technologies, Operations and Hazards.........3
In Relation to Law;....................................................................................................................3
In relation to Technologies;......................................................................................................3
In Relation to Operations;........................................................................................................4
Agencies Responsible for Regulation and Investigation in the Domain...................................5
Key Definitions that define Accident Reporting in the Domain and how they are reported. 5
Procedures Recommended in the Road Domain........................................................................5
Accident Investigation Methods in the Road Domain................................................................6
References.......................................................................................................................................8

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Characteristics of Roads in Relation To Law, Technologies, Operations and Hazards
In Relation to Law;
Rules have been developed to govern roads, not only for passengers and drivers but also
the general public as well. These rules have been categorized according to departments such as
the registration of licenses, public and private vehicles and generally the road transport so as to
ensure smooth running of the road domain. In police crash investigation, the role of the crash
investigation officer is establishing criminal negligence (Motorcycle Council of NSW, 2018).
The National Transport Commission is working hand in hand with the Australian government to
ensure that there are cohesive legislations that can be used to govern road users. There are also
various acts that have been used in governing this sector such as the Road Rules 2014 and Road
Transport Act, The Road Transport Act 1999, Traffic Act 2010 and The Australian Road Rules
and Road Traffic Act 1961 (Elnasri, 2014).

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In relation to Technologies;
It is well known that for any industry to thrive, it must involve technology. The National
Transport Commission is working cohesively with the National Government to ensure that new
revolutions take place in the road domain. Recently, in November 2016, the Australian ministers
came up with the reformed idea of legalizing the use of automated vehicles before 2020. This has
alerted other countries of this new technology and they are hoping to soon benchmark with
Australia. There has also been introduction of tracking devices that can track speed as well as
detect whether a driver is intoxicated. There are also sensors and cameras that have been
installed in roads that monitor traffic (He, Yin and Zhou, 2013).
In Relation to Operations;
Very many groups in Australia are working hard to ensure that their cities develop in
terms of infrastructure. It has been proposed that the operation of roads should not only focus on
cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, but also focus on bringing social and public health services to
people. It should also help in commercial transactions, such as transport of goods and services
from one area to another. The main operators of this domain are private vehicles, taxis,
emergency services such as ambulances, public vehicles, driving schools, recreational vehicles
and many more(Hare et al., 2014).
In Relation to Hazards;
Globally, roads have been known to be a major cause of fatal accidents. Studies have
shown that some of the risks involved in this domain are as a result of construction. This is

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whereby Engineers and Contractors fail to follow the proposed guidelines in constructing, such
as using the right materials, accommodating cyclists and passengers in the construction and
many more. According to a report by Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional
Economics (BITRE) (2017), NSW truck deaths had increased by more than 86% in one year and
the police have linked that to the increased number of heavy traffic connected to major
construction projects. Some drivers also pose a huge risk on the roads through reckless driving.
They also fail to follow the rules and regulations such as ‘do not drink and drive’. They also fall
short in adhering to the speed limits and thus causing accidents. Also, failing to properly
maintain one’s car could also pose a huge risk since even the minute defaults could cause road
accidents (Voumard et al., 2013). Motor vehicles have been identified to be a hazard in the child
pedestrian industry (Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE),
2011).
Agencies Responsible for Regulation and Investigation in the Domain
There are agencies that have been set aside for purposes of regulating and investigating in the
road domain in Australia. Examples of these agencies are: (Australia.gov.au, 2018):
1. National Heavy Vehicle Regulation – This agency helps in ensuring trucks and any other
heavy vehicles follow the prescribed rules and regulations.
2. Passenger Transport Authority – This body ensures that passengers’ rights are not
infringed and all public vehicles follow the prescribed guidelines.
Key Definitions that define Accident Reporting in the Domain and how they are reported
A review has been done on accident reporting and there are new guidelines on how
accident reporting should be done. The first step of reporting an accident is recording the time

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the accident took place, including the day and date. After that, one should record the place where
the accident took place, narrowing to specifics such as the highway or the street, the outskirts in
which it took place. Thereafter, one should take note of the type of collision that took place and
information of the people and cars involved. One should be able to sketch a diagram of the
collision and briefly describing it without blaming any of the parties involved in the accident.
Subsequently, one should take note of the environmental conditions such as the atmospheric
weather and the type of road. They should also jot down the traffic control involved and figure
out the movements and intentions of the driver before the accident and finally write down the
level of damage (Horyniak et al., 2017).
Procedures Recommended in the Road Domain
There are various guidelines that have been outlined to govern this domain. The
procedures set out in Australia include driving requirement. Under this, one must have a driving
license and must be also fit enough to drive. There are also set out vehicle requirements whereby
each vehicle must be road worthy to be on the road. Traffic signals have been provided in order
to control the operations of vehicles on the roads. Apart from that there are also operational
requirements that have been highlighted by the Australian International Standards
(Australia.com. 2018).
Accident Investigation Methods in the Road Domain
The first step involves ensuring that the correct procedures are followed by the
Superintendent of traffic. They should first be able to determine whether it is of public interest to
prosecute the wrongdoers in the accident or not, and if so they should identify the offence and
look for enough evidence. Thereafter, the investigators should start caring for injured persons

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and also protect the scene from the public. Movements of the vehicles should only take place
when there are people trapped and cannot be treated, when they are trapped next to a burning
material or when there is immediate hazard to oncoming traffic. Photographs should be taken as
evidence of an accident that occurred. The drivers and any witnesses should record their
statements with the police. The investigators should also do a drugs and substance test to know
whether the drivers were under any influence. The police should properly inspect the vehicles so
as to support any statements made and basically find out what caused the accident. There are also
investigations done on heavy vehicles that involve providing detailed inspections, finding out
whether the driver was fatigued and also taking details of the driver’s logbook (Australian Road
Deaths Database, 2018).
The investigation of deaths accidents in Australia is calculated annually per 100,000
population. As at 2016, for example, Australia had a death rate of 5.34 (Bureau of Infrastructure
Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2018). A report by Monash University Accident
Research Centre Report Document Page recommends that to improve the data collection
methods, the domain must use the hospital emergency department data, use the general
practitioner sampling, use injury surveillance system data to follow those who get injured but do
not go to hospitals and to link to road crash databases (Ozanne-Smith & Haworth, 2018).

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References
Australia.com. (2018). Road safety in Australia - Tourism Australia. [online] Available at:
https://www.australia.com/en/facts-and-planning/useful-tips/road-safety-in-australia.html
[Accessed 22 Sep. 2018].
Australia.gov.au. (2018). Roads and road transport | australia.gov.au. [online] Available at:
https://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/transport-and-regional/roads-and-road-
transport [Accessed 19 Sep. 2018].
Australian Road Deaths Database (2018). Australian Road Deaths Database. [online]
Bitre.gov.au. Available at: https://bitre.gov.au/statistics/safety/fatal_road_crash_database.aspx
[Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2011. Child Pedestrian
Safety:“Driveway Deaths” and “Low-Speed Vehicle Run-Overs,” Australia, 2001-10. Available
at https://bitre.gov.au/publications/2012/is_043.aspx [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Bureau of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2018. International Road
Safety Comparisons—Annual. Available at
https://bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/international_road_safety_comparisons.aspx [Accessed
23 Sep. 2018].
Elnasri, A. (2014). Efficiency of Infrastructure Provision: Australia, States and Territories. SSRN
Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.2432804
Hare, W., Hossain, S., Lucet, Y. and Rahman, F. (2014). Models and strategies for efficiently
determining an optimal vertical alignment of roads. Computers & Operations Research, 44,
pp.161-173. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2013.11.005
He, F., Yin, Y. and Zhou, J. (2013). Integrated pricing of roads and electricity enabled by
wireless power transfer. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 34, pp.1-15.
doi: 10.1016/j.trc.2013.05.005
Horyniak, D., Dietze, P., Lenton, S., Alati, R., Bruno, R., Matthews, A., Breen, C. and Burns, L.
(2017). Trends in reports of driving following illicit drug consumption among regular drug users
in Australia, 2007–2013: Has random roadside drug testing had a deterrent effect?. Accident
Analysis & Prevention, 104, pp.146-155.
Motorcycle Council of NSW (2018). Crash Investigation - Motorcycle Council of NSW - Road
Safety. [online] Roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au. Available at:
http://roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/44.html [Accessed 23 Sep. 2018].
Ozanne-Smith, J. and Haworth, N., 2018. Development of data collection methodology: Crashes
resulting in hospitalisation and casualty crashes not resulting in hospitalisation. Available at
https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/1993/pdf/Stat_Method_4.pdf [Accessed 22
Sep. 2018].
Voumard, J., Caspar, O., Derron, M. and Jaboyedoff, M. (2013).Dynamic risk simulation to
assess risk along roads. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 1(2), pp.1285-
1317. 10.5194/nhessd-1-1285-2013