Western Australia is positioning itself to become a world leader in road safety with today’s launch of the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre (C-MUARC), based at Curtin University of Technology.
The Centre — the first of its kind in WA — is a collaboration between Curtin and Monash Universities, with support from the Office for Road Safety.
It will research various issues including risk taking by young WA drivers and safety design features of local cars.
C-MUARC Interim Director, Professor Ian Johnston, said the Centre would ensure there was a better focus on WA’s unique road safety issues, including its regional and remote area problems.
“We are the first collaborative accident research centre in WA and we hope that our research will have a direct impact on helping save lives and serious injuries on WA roads,” he said.
“The Centre will be important for WA as we have the second highest road fatalities per 100,000 people in Australia.
“We also want to increase the level of public debate on road safety as well as train engineers, police, public health professionals, educators and regulators in modern ways of thinking about public safety.”
The Centre will also make recommendations to the State Government on how to improve road safety in WA based upon research findings. C-MUARC also aims to make research findings and recommendations available to the public.
Dr Andrew Robertson, the Department of Health representative on the Road Safety Council, welcomed today’s launch of the independent WA-based road safety research centre.
“A crucial role for C-MUARC will be to provide specific knowledge, research and evidence to assist in developing and delivering effective road safety initiatives across metropolitan, regional and remote WA, in line with our road safety strategy, Towards Zero,” Dr Robertson said.
“The Road Safety Council is pleased that the open tender process has resulted in a collaboration between these two groups that are already world renowned and respected for their contribution to road safety research.”
C-MUARC is part of Curtin’s School of Public Health and is located on the University’s Bentley Campus.
