Injury Analysis and Data
Led by Professor Stuart Newstead, the Injury Analysis and Data team uses statistical analysis methodologies on large and complex datasets to evaluate programs, model safety strategies and analyse the impact of new vehicle fitments.
The team’s expertise is highly multidisciplinary with fundamental training including statistics, data science, mechanical and civil engineering, criminology and psychology, all key disciplines in the safety sciences. Their work focuses primarily on road safety research with a long history of contributing to public safety through program evaluation and modelling.
Major projects
In 2024, the team expanded its research into automated enforcement, evaluating programs across Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and Victoria. This comparative approach is helping jurisdictions understand best-practice applications of enforcement technologies. In the licensing space, research funded by the Baseline Research Program, provided the evidence base on licensing-related risk factors to guide the development of effective policy on access to heavy vehicle driver licensing for optimum road safety outcomes.
They delivered two significant projects evaluating vehicle safety technologies over the year. The first examined the applicability of implementing Europe’s General Safety Regulation in Australia and New Zealand to maximise local safety benefits. The second used real-world crash data linked to high-level injury outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of driver knee airbags to reduce injury in real-world crashes, with research presented at an international academic conference.
Team milestones
A major public-facing milestone was the release of the 2024 Used Car Safety Ratings, which received significant national media coverage for its emphasis on crash avoidance and vehicle aggressivity. The team’s modelling of road safety strategies continues to inform key government priorities, while research on the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework is guiding improvements in licensing standards.
Their work in road safety strategy and trends modelling continues to inform strategic road safety activity at both the state and national level. By identifying the impacts of factors such as population growth and economic circumstances, the team can provide a basis against which countermeasures can be assessed to meet road safety targets, guiding strategic road safety action.
Student success
PhD candidate Jessica Truong completed her thesis on strategies to eliminate serious road trauma in Victoria. 2024 collaborators included Professor Mike Keall (New Zealand) on safety rating methodologies, and Professor Teresa Senserrick (WA) and Associate Professor Lyndel Bates (NSW) on the evaluation of Queensland’s Graduated Licensing System.
The Injury Analysis and Data team has a notable and unique strength in the successful delivery of data-focused, highly analytical research across all injury prevention domains. With expertise in a wide range of research designs and analytical techniques, along with extensive knowledge of key safety data resources, the team has the capacity and capability to deliver high quality research outcomes over a wide range of projects. Areas of specific research expertise include evaluation science, data system design, risk analysis, strategic modelling, survey analysis and statistical epidemiology.