Prevention of road accidents in Australia.

Since 1970, the Australian road fatality rate has been reduced by two-thirds. Legislation for compulsory wearing of seat belts reduced the vehicle occupant fatality rate by more than one-third. Drunk driving countermeasures have included the 0.05 g% legal limit and mandatory disqualification, random breath testing, compulsory blood alcohol tests on all road crash casualties and a zero blood alcohol limit for learner and probationary drivers and motor cyclists. Since 1977 there has been a steady reduction in the proportion of driver and motor cyclist fatalities and casualties with illegal blood alcohol concentrations. Helmet wearing is compulsory for motor cyclists. A one-third reduction in accidents with injury among learner and probationary motor cyclists followed legislation restricting them to machines of 260 cm3 maximum engine capacity. Safety helmet wearing has been recently popularized among pedal cyclists and legislation is anticipated which will make approved safety helmet wearing mandatory. A considerably smaller reduction in our road toll would have occurred if Australians had been unwilling to accept countermeasures opposed by civil libertarians.