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Tips to save a life
  1. Get an intelligent speed assistance device, such as some brands of sat-nav or a smart phone app, to help you keep to the speed limits - exceeding the speed limit by just a few km/h greatly increases the risk of a serious crash. Update Sep 2012: SpeedAlert Live now available for free for iPhone and Android.
  2. Choose ANCAP 5-star vehicles for the whole family, particularly young drivers - avoid vehicles with 3 stars or less
  3. In Australia, never use parking lights on a moving vehicle. If you think you need lights on to make your vehicle more conspicuous during the day then switch on low-beam headlights or, better still, install daytime running lights. Similarly, don't use fog lights except when there is fog.
  4. There is no substitute for adult supervision of children walking/playing in the vicinity of moving vehicles (e.g. driveways and parking lots). Reversing devices such as a camera can help avoid a tragedy but they are far from 100% effective. 
  5. Keep children in a dedicated child restraint (with built-in 6-point harness) for as long as possible but at least until their 4th birthday. A booster seat should be used until they are at least 7. This is now law in many Australian states.
  6. On country roads, if you drop one wheel off the edge of the tar, slow down gradually (gentle braking is OK) and carefully drive back onto the tar when the speed has reduced. A sudden attempt to get back onto the tar at high speed often leads to a rollover crash.


Publication Notes
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April 2003: Now using an Apple iMac running Macintosh  OS X - brilliant. No more Windows crashes.

Broken links? There are hundreds of links on this page, some dating back to the 1990s. Unfortunately there seem to be hundreds of reasons why IT departments want to change webpage addresses. My apologies if links no longer work.

June 2008: Most links moved to a new page to reduce page sizes.

April 2012: Apple is suspending its Mobile Me service so I have had to move files to a new server. The links below should now point to the new server.
Each of these vehicle-safety initiatives has the potential to markedly reduce casualties in relevant accidents.  Graphs are from several conference presentations.
Review of the world's first passive ISA sat-nav device with a national speed limit database - the Navig8r M35 with SpeedAlert™ Passive Intelligent Speed Assist. 99% of the time I do NOT need a navigator map. 100% of the time I DO need speed limit information.This little unit displays the speed limit and beeps if you creep over the speed limit by more than 5km/h. It has a SpeedAlert mode where only speed limit information is displayed and no map - reducing distraction. The built-in speed limit database covers most populated areas of Australia. I have successfully used SpeedAlert in Sydney, Perth. Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Wollongong, Newcastle and Brisbane.
curtain benefits 

Automotive Safety News
Green Automotive News
Note there is nothing to prevent rearward-facing child restraints for older children being sold in Australia - the Australian Standard provides for them. However, in general, they are not practical to use in the rear seat of most cars (the safest position for children) and there appears to be no market for them.

Earlier road safety news

 
 

Earlier Green News.

Safety News Links

Green News Links

PDFs of conference papers (with co-authors) and presentations

International Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) - links to PDFs at NHTSA