Traffic Accidents in Australia

This paper evaluates traffic accidents in Australia as an environmental issue using the DPSEEA framework and discusses the current ways of managing this issue along with the roles of present health agencies as well as other agencies. It also proposes some suggestions for addressing the gaps in existing management, policies and regulations for this issue.

Traffic Accidents in Australia
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Part 1................................................................................................................................................2
DPSEEA framework of WHO.....................................................................................................2
Social, Political or Economic Influences on the Issue Not Captured by DPSEEA.....................4
Part 2................................................................................................................................................5
Managing the Environmental Issue.............................................................................................5
Role of Existing Health Agencies and Other Agencies...............................................................6
Recommendations........................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Traffic accidents is a major problem in Australia and a significant source of injuries and deaths
in the country. The paper will consider traffic accidents in Australia as an environmental issue. It
will use the DPSEEA framework to evaluate the problem and find out the social, political or
economic influences on the issue that has not been captured in the past. It will discuss the current
ways of managing this issue along with the roles of present health agencies as well as other
agencies. It will propose some suggestions for addressing the gaps in existing management,
policies and regulations for this issue.
Part 1
DPSEEA framework of WHO
Driving Forces - The significant driving forces to traffic accidents are collisions of the driver,
driving over the speed limits, not using seat belt and helmets, the fatigue of the drivers, driving
under the influence of alcohol or other drugs in traffic and inattentive driving due to talking in
phones (Ferris, Killian & Lloyd, 2017).
Pressures - This issue also put pressures on the environment since the vehicles leak gas and
fluid, emit harmful chemicals in the atmosphere, which could poison the plants and grass as well
as the wildlife (Nævestad, Phillips & Elvebakk, 2015). The oil spills from damaged vehicles are
one of the most significant issues with traffic accidents.

State Changes - When the vehicles are totaled, most of the insurance firms in Australia decide
that it is more cost-effective to replace the vehicles than repairing them. Although several parts
of the vehicles could be recycled, most of the vehicles end up in landfills where it takes
thousands of years for all the parts to be decomposed. Most of the parts of the vehicles are also
left on the sides of the roads where they harm the plants and animals. All these lead towards the
air, soil and water, pollution that impact the whole ecosystem.
Exposures - The traffic accidents mostly affect the lives of the human beings. Australia has
noted almost 190,000 deaths since the country has started accurate records of fatalities from the
year 1925. In the year 2019, the death tolls in traffic accidents were 1,185, and the country is
ranked 17th in the terms of deaths per 100,000 from traffic accidents (Gudes, Varhol, Sun &
Meuleners, 2017). The injuries of accidents in traffic are 27 times higher than the rates of deaths
in Australia. These saddening facts have affected the people of Australia and their ability to
survive.
Effects - This issue affects the physical and mental health of the people of Australia. The
passengers and drivers suffer from bruises and minor cuts to whiplash, paralysis, broken limbs,
spinal and back injuries and also deaths (Hassani-Mahmooei, Berecki-Gisolf, Hahn & McClure,
2016). The other impacts of this issue are mental and emotional distress as the individuals
involved in the accidents suffer from post-traumatic stress from the incidents or losing their near
and dear ones due to the accidents.

Social, Political or Economic Influences on the Issue Not Captured by DPSEEA
The social influence of this issue is the cost of suffering, pain and loss of life of the victims and
their families, loss of productivity of the victims and the expenses of the legal systems. The
traffic accidents in Australia are related to the concerns of losing jobs and associated financial
hardships, fatal impacts on the entire functioning of the families and loss of amenities. The
expenses connected with this issue are carried by society as the whole. The injuries from
accidents account for almost 40% of the net social expenses in the country. The net expenses
were nearly $50 billion in the year 2018 (Zhang, Yau, Zhang & Li, 2016). The expenses from
deaths in accidents are estimated to nearly $20 billion each year. The government of Australia
provide support to the victims of the accidents in the traffic, financially, medically and socially.

Part 2
Managing the Environmental Issue
The government of Australia has implemented stricter measures and laws of road safety all over
the country to reduce the road traffic accidents. Actions have been taken to educate the young
drivers on the risks of rash driving (Kosola, Salminen & Kallio, 2016). Laws have been made
that driving while talking in mobile phones is illegal, and the phone must be passed to another
person in the vehicles if any call comes during driving. The country has implemented a policy on
road safety known as Towards Zero- Road Safety Strategy and National Black Spot Program to
reduce the injuries and deaths from road traffic accidents (Stephens & Fitzharris, 2016). These
programs aim to alter the directions of the flow of the traffic and introduce a new signal of
traffic.
The government took safety on the road seriously and declared the foundation of the Office of
Road Safety (The Office) in April in the year 2019 for providing better leadership as well as
coordination of efforts of road safety at the national level. Besides the Office, the Department of
Transport, Infrastructure, Cities and Regional Development also functions for supporting the role
of the government in safety on roads (Nghiem, Commandeur & Connelly, 2016). Wearing
helmets has been made mandatory, and the drivers are required to follow all the traffic signal and
road signs along with the speed limits. For changing or overtaking the lanes, the indicators must
be used, and the headlights of the vehicles should be put on, and the riders and the drivers have
to wear protective clothes compulsorily (Road Safety, 2019).

Role of Existing Health Agencies and Other Agencies
The federal government of Australia have responsibilities to regulate the safety standards for
new vehicles and allocate infrastructural resources for safety all through the networks of local
roads and national highways (Zhang, Liu, Bai, Shao & Wang, 2018). The territory and state
governments of Australia have responsibilities to fund, plan, and design and operate the road
networks, manage the registration of the vehicles and licensing methods of the drivers and
enforce and regulate the behaviors of the road users (Driving in Australia: road safety and
regulations - Tourism Australia, 2019). The local governments of Australia are responsible to
fund, plan, and design and operate the road networks in the local areas of the country.
The Transport Department and the Office are responsible to administer the safety standards of
the new transports, administer the road programs of the government. The government of
Australia work collaboratively with its contemporary agencies all over the territories as well as
states and also with specialized agencies like Austroads (Walter & Studdert, 2015). It actively
partners with the stakeholders for developing and prioritizing the proposals for accomplishing
more reductions in traffic accidents.
The health agencies are the significant partners in the method of preventing and controlling
traffic accidents. Their role is to deliver proper pre-hospital as well as hospital care and also
rehabilitation to the victims, enhance the collection of data, contribute to the strategies of the
governments, and create activities for prevents accidents, carry on advocacy and contribute to
implement and evaluate the interventions.

Recommendations
It is strongly recommended to the governments of Australia to follow the following actions:
 Make safety on roads a political priority
 Create a multidisciplinary method for safety on roads
 Appointment of a specialized agency for safety on roads and provide it with sufficient
resources and make it publicly responsible
 Establish proper goals for safety on roads and set up policies for safety on roads nationally
for achieving them
 Formulate budgets for safety on roads and enhance investment to demonstrate efficient
activities for safety on roads
 Establish as well as enforce relevant limits for speeding
 Establish as well as enforce uniform and strong safety standards for the vehicles
 Regulate the infrastructure for promoting safety on roads for everybody
 Motivate walking and using a bicycle
It is strongly recommended to the health agencies of Australia to follow the following actions
 Involve safety on roads in activities of promoting health and preventing disease
 Establish targets to eliminate unacceptable losses of health from accidents on the road traffics
 Campaign for increasing capacity in every area of safety on roads and manage the survivors
of road traffic accidents
 Modify the efficient data in practices as well as policies for protecting the occupants of
vehicles and vulnerable users of traffics

 Reinforce the prehospital as well as hospital rehab and care services for every traumatized
victim
 Promote a higher emphasis on safety on roads on the basis of known effects and expenses of
health.
Conclusion
The paper summarized traffic accidents in Australia as an environmental issue. DPSEEA
framework has been used for evaluating the traffic accidents and finding out the social, political
or economic influences on the issue that has not been captured in the framework. The current
methods of managing this issue and the roles of present health agencies as well as other agencies
of Australia were discussed. Some recommendations have been proposed to the governments and
health agencies of Australia for addressing the gaps in existing management, policies and
regulations for this issue.

References
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Road Safety. (2019). Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Retrieved 1 November
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