Saving lives on a global scale

Adelaide is at the forefront of worldwide efforts to reduce injury and death caused to pedestrians in road accidents.

According to World Health Organization figures, around 1.2 million people were expected to die this year as a result of road crashes. Of those, 90% of deaths would likely be among pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

A group involved in helping to influence the world's road safety regulations met earlier this year in Adelaide to discuss major issues affecting pedestrian safety.

The Pedestrian Safety Expert Group, part of the global International Harmonised Research Activities (IHRA) program, includes representatives from the Japanese Government, European Union, United States Government, Australian Government, and industry leaders from Japan, Europe and the US.

Representing Australia is Professor Jack McLean, Director of the Centre for Automotive Safety Research at the University of Adelaide.

Professor McLean has an international reputation for the quality of the work of his centre. The centre was instrumental in the introduction of 50km/h speed limits throughout Australia, and Professor McLean has been working with world leaders in the field of pedestrian and vehicle safety for almost 40 years.

"The Pedestrian Safety Expert Group meets twice a year to work through major issues and discuss the latest research," Professor McLean said. "The meeting in Adelaide was the sixteenth time our group has met, and we share those meetings right across the globe.

"The group's work feeds into the wider efforts of the IHRA program, which influences decisions made by automotive industry bodies in the US, Japan and Europe, and United Nations safety and environmental regulations."

Among the research discussed at the Adelaide meeting was the latest work conducted by the university's Centre for Automotive Safety Research, including simulations of pedestrian head injuries caused by vehicle accidents and potential safety measures.

The quality of the work conducted at the University of Adelaide was praised by the Chairman of the Pedestrian Safety Expert Group, Mr Yoshiyuki Mizuno (Executive Director, Japan Automobile Standards Internationalization Center).

"Australia has a problem, just as all countries have problems with pedestrian accidents," Mr Mizuno said.

"Professor McLean is working seriously for this field and providing good suggestions with backup data to support his arguments. We very much appreciate his dedication to this work."

Mr Mizuno said the group's work would feed into Australian regulations, just as it would into automotive regulations in the US, Japan and Europe.

"I give thanks to the University of Adelaide and the Australian Government for their support of this activity," Mr Mizuno said.

"I stress that this is a very important activity... that can help not only governments but also industry.

"Our one major purpose is to reduce injury. Our activity can contribute to the improvement of this situation," he said.

The next meeting of the Pedestrian Safety Expert Group will be held in Japan this month.

Story by Daavid Ellis