Community attitudes to countermeasures that target high risk road users and behaviours

Victoria has recently introduced a range of measures aimed at reducing road trauma, particularly amongst the young driver population. While it is anticipated that measures such as peer passenger restrictions and the mandating of 120 hours of experience for learner drivers will have positive impacts on road safety, further reductions can still be achieved. The aim of this research was to explore community views regarding a number of potential measures which target high risk road users and behaviours. Some of the measures explored included the current hoon legislation that involves vehicle impoundment as a sanction, vehicle impoundment for suspended drink drivers, the Victorian demerit point system, the use of intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) in reducing road trauma and night driving restrictions for probationary drivers in their first year of driving. Qualitative and quantitative research was undertaken. A representative sample of 628 Victorians aged 18+ years was surveyed for this research, supplemented by a boosted sample of 100 18-25 year olds. The results of this research will assist policy makers in developing policy positions and ultimately enhance the development and implementation of effective measures to reduce road trauma in Victoria.