For secondary students - quick facts about road safety plus online challenges and activities.

Did you know?
Pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries are a major factor for young people aged 12 to 21 years.

• Head injuries are the major cause of death and serious injury to cyclists. Since wearing bicycle helmets became compulsory in Victoria, there has been a 70% drop in the number of cyclists killed or admitted to hospital through head injury.
• Cyclists aged 12 to 17 have the highest rate of fatalities and serious injuries for all age groups. This same age group also has the lowest bicycle helmet wearing rates of all age groups in Victoria.
• Seatbelts have been shown to be the single most effective life saving device in a road crash.
• Research shows that learner drivers who have at least 120 hours of practice behind the wheel can reduce the likelihood of a crash by 30% when they get their P plates.

Try these online challenges

Finding where the crashes are
Use CrashStats to find the number of crashes where people were killed or injured during the last three years in your municipality.

• Use the CrashStats map feature to see where these occurred – identify any intersections or stretches of roads where there have been high numbers of crashes. This is how engineers begin planning ways to improve road safety at specific locations.
• What else do you think you would need to know to be able to improve safety at the locations you found?

Keeping the traffic moving
Use Road Traffic Information to find out if there is any traffic congestion on any of Melbourne’s freeways.

• If you find the traffic is congested somewhere, use the Tow Truck Allocation Information and the Traffic Alerts to see if it is connected with a road crash.
• If there are delays on any of the freeways, check the travel times on each freeway.

Selecting the safest car
Use How Safe is Your Car to check on the safety ratings of cars owned by family members and the car of your dreams.

You can also find more detailed information on the individual crash ratings of many cars at Australian Automobile Association - follow links to Crash Tests.

Exploring the L Site
If you’ve already got your Ls (or are about to get them) you’ll find the L Site a great place to visit. Try out the online quizzes, self-assessment or just get some free advice and useful tips.