Road Safety

"Multiply the roughly 1750 people killed on Australian roads each year by four and you begin to get close to the number of people who experience disabling brain injury. Each year 30,000 people end up at Australian hospitals with some form of brain injury, most from road accidents. The injuries range from minimal to profound." "The large majority recover, but some 8000 experience disabling effects for many years, and 2500 people each year are so seriously disabled that they are dependent for the rest of their lives. This group never work again, even though most are in the prime of their lives and should normally expect another 30 to 40 years of productive employment." "At the end of each decade the population of people who have suffered severe permanent brain injury, largely as a result of road accidents, is equivalent to a country town the size of Mildura. The mean age of this group of brain injured people is about 28, with a a ratio of 3.5 males for every female." Roger Rees