I. INTRODUCTION

A.1 In Chapter 1, we outlined three Commission case study projects, which provided information on the current compensation system for transport accident victims. ¹ While these were very useful, we required further statistical information to formulate new compensation directions. In this Appendix, we present some of the information on the New South Wales community, which has assisted us in making recommendations for a Transport Accidents Scheme for New South Wales. We also examine some of the statistical material available on a transport accident victims, particularly in New South Wales. Other information is presented in the appendices to the Actuary’s Report, which can be obtained separately from the Commission.

II. THE NEW SOUTH WALES COMMUNITY

A.2 The nationwide Census carried out on 30 June 1981 produced information concerning the population of New South Wales. Table A.1 summarises basic information on the Population of New South Wales at the Census date.

Table A.1: Population Census: Age and Gender

New South Wales 1981

Age Group	Males	Females	% of Persons
0-14	641,621	613,099	24.5
15-19	220,763	220,243	8.4
20-24	218,159	213,776	8.4
25-34	414,169	411,857	16.1
35-44	126,803	313,826	12.5
45-54	273,236	261,347	10.4
55-64	238,286	250,237	9.5
65 and Over	215,747	303,848	10.1
TOTAL	2,548,984	2,577,23 3	100.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1981 Census of Population and Housing-Census Statement (4 October 1982), p.2, table 7.

A.3 The Census also emphasised the multicultural nature of the New South Wales community, a factor of some significance to the administrators of a new compensation scheme. Approximately 20 per cent of the population was born overseas. ² While many of these people came from English speaking countries, ³ a substantial proportion used other languages. ⁴ Of those people aged five years or more who were born overseas, more than 10 per cent did not speak English well or at all. ⁵

A.4 The Census also collected information on both families and households. While families could consist of one person, ⁶ they are generally

... defined on the basis of blood and marriage (including de facto) relationship, and are largely based on the nuclear (immediate) family. ⁷

Households ⁸ can consist of one person or several individuals who are not a family, one or more families or one family and non-family members (who are at least 16 years of age). ⁹ More than one household can live in one house. ¹⁰ There was no separate category for de facto relationships. Their classification as a family or not depended upon the stated relationship between the partners. ¹¹

A.5 The following Table shows the family types of the New South Wales population on 30 June 1981. In the calculation of families in each group, we have excluded single people and non- family groups. ¹²

Table A.2: Population Census: Family Type

New South Wales 1981

Family Type	% of Population	% of Families
Head, Spouse and Dependants	38.1	36.3
Head and Spouse only	14.8	28.9
Head and Dependants only	4.8	6.8
Other Family Groups	26.7	28.0
		100.0
Head only	8.0
Non-Family Groups	7.6
	100.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1981 Census of Population and Housing - Census Statement 4 (October 1982), sheet 2, table 9.

A.6 The vast majority of households in New South Wales consisted of only one family (97 per cent). ¹³ In the context of the Census, of course, the term “family” includes those living alone. A more conventional definition of “family” was used in a special survey into the labour force status and other characteristics of families. ¹⁴ This showed that of all people aged 15 years or more in New South Wales, ¹⁵ 85 per cent lived as family members, 12 per cent lived alone while the remaining 3 per cent did not live alone or in a family. ¹⁶ Of those people who were either spouses or unmarried family heads almost 53 per cent had dependent children present. ¹⁷

A.7 Table A.3 gives the marital status at the date of Census of the New South Wales population aged 15 years or over.

Table A.3: Population Census: Marital Status

New South Wales 1981

		Percentage in each age group
Marital Status and Gender		15-19	20-24	25-64	65 +	All ages
Never Married	M	99.4	78.8	14.9	7.3	31.2
	F	95.9	55.9	8.3	8.1	22.8
Now Married	M	0.5	19.8	75.9	71.5	60.3
	F	3.9	40.2	76.2	35.9	58.3
Separated but not divorced	M	0	0.9	3.0	2.2	2.3
	F	0.1	2.4	3.5	1.4	2.7
Divorced	M		0.4	4.9	2.9	3.6
	F		1.4	6.3	2.5	4.5
Widowed	M			1.3	16.1	2.7
	F		0.2	5.7	52.0	11.6

• Indicates less than 0.1 per cent after rounding.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census 81 - Cross-classified Characteristics of Persons and Dwellings, 15 August 1983, Cat. No. 2444.0, p.81, table 43.

When we examine age and gender of transport accident victims, particularly those who are killed, the figures in Table A.3 shed light on their likely marital status and, therefore, financial interdependence with others.

A.8 Rates of marriage of widowed people are also relevant in considering the approach to compensation in respect of death.

Table A.4: Widowed People: Rates of Marriage

New South Wales 1981

	per thousand widowed people
Age Group	Male	Female
15-19	0	28
20-24	38	76
25-34	124	84
35-44	89	42
45-54	64	19
55-64	36	7
65 +	9	1
ALL AGES	22	6

Source: Collation of data from Australian Bureau of Statistics, Marriages, New South Wales 1981, Cat No. 3305.1, p.5, table 6 and Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1981 Census of Population and Housing - Cross- Classified Characteristics of Persons and Dwellings, 15 August 1983, Cat No. 2444.0, p.81, table 43.

It can be seen from this Table that young widows have a relatively high rate of remarriage, but generally the widows’ rate of remarriage is considerably lower than that of the widowers. Overall the remarriage rate of widowers is more than three times that of widows.

III. TRENDS IN THE LABOUR FORCE

A. Introduction

A.9 Because the Transport Accidents Scheme selects an earnings-related base for Compensation in respect of lost earning capacity, information on the workforce status and income of the New South Wales population is important. The concept of workforce attachment for compensation purposes should also adequately reflect the reality of people’s working lives. This means among other things, taking account of rates of unemployment, duration of unemployment and the extent to which people move in and out of the labour force. Longer-term trends in labour force participation and in lifetime patterns of work are also important.

A.10 A useful starting point is the labour force status of the New South Wales population. ¹⁸ Less than half of the population is in the labour force, with the largest proportion of these being wage and salary earners (81 per cent of the labour force). While a significant proportion of the population is aged 15 years or more and is not in the labour force, quite a number of these are likely to be students, either still at school or in tertiary education.

Table A.5: Population Census: Labour Force Status

New South Wales 1981

Labour Force Status	Percentage of Population
Wage or salary earner	37.4
Self-employed	3.6
Employer	2.1
Unpaid Family Helper	0.4
Unemployed	2.6
TOTAL LABOUR FORCE	46.2
Under 15, not in labour force	24.5
15 and over, not in labour force	29.4
TOTAL NOT IN LABOUR FORCE	53.8

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1981 Census of Population and Housing-Census Statement 4 (October 1982), sheet 5, table 19.

A.11 The Census also collected information from all people aged 15 years or more on their income. ¹⁹ “Income” for the purposes of the Census was income from all sources including wages, or similar earnings, welfare benefits, family allowances, tips, gratuities and superannuation. It was also intended to be a gross figure, with tax, superannuation and health insurance not being deducted. ²⁰ Of those responding to the income question ²¹ 14 per cent stated they had no income. Nearly 85 per cent ²² of those who stated they had some income received total income of less than the 1981 equivalent of AWE. ²³

A.12 At the time of the 1981 Census, only 4 per cent ²⁴ of the New South Wales population who disclosed any income would have received income above the proposed new ceiling of the scheme of 150 per cent of AWE. The accuracy of this estimate is, of course, subject to several limitations. A significant proportion of the population aged 15 years or more did not state any income. While the Bureau-of Statistics stated that it was likely from previous Census Content Checks that non- respondents were low income earners, there may still be a number of high income earners in this pool who are not included in these figures. ²⁵ The Census Content Checks had also revealed that a significant proportion of people had disclosed their net income rather than gross, ²⁶ so that a larger proportion of the population would fall outside the ceiling using gross income figures. There is also the possibility of deliberate under-reporting of income for other reasons, such as fear of disclosure to taxation agencies. To be weighed against these possibilities for under-recording of income levels, is the fact that it includes income from all sources, not just earnings in the sense relevant for receipt of compensation.

B. Composition of the Labour Force

A.13 Table A.6 gives more detailed information on the labour force.

Table A.6: Labour Force^(a): Gender and Status New South Wales March 1984

Labour Force Status	Male (‘000)	Female (‘000)	Persons (‘000)
Employed
- Full time (F/T)	1,313.4	563.9	1,877.3
- Part-time (P/T)	85.7	287.6	373.3
- TOTAL	1,399.1	851.5	2,250.6
Unemployed
- Looking for F/T work	143.8	80.2	224.0
- Looking for P/T work	8.0	28.0	36.0
- TOTAL	151.8	108.2	260.1
TOTAL LABOUR FORCE	1,550.9	959.7	2,510.6
Participation Rate	76.9%	45.9%	61.1%
Unemployment Rate	9.8%	11.3%	10.4%

(a) The labour force consists of those members of the civilian population aged 15 years or more who are either employed or unemployed at the time of survey.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Labour Force Australia, March 1984 (Preliminary Estimates), Cat. No. 6202.0, p.6, table 3.

The composition of the labour force has undergone considerable changes over the past few decades. Participation rates of married women, particularly those with dependents, have increased markedly. Changes have also occurred over the last decade in relation to unemployment rates, the duration of unemployment, the relative proportion of full and part-time workers, the hours worked and other aspects of labour force experience. We explore some of these more recent trends as well as examining some of the changes of workforce participation in families.

1. Women and Employment Patterns

A.14 During this century ²⁷ there has been a steady increase in the labour force participation rates of women particularly married women. The following graph illustrates this trend over the past 20 years and compares it with the trend for males over this same period. It is interesting to note that there has been a similar reverse pattern among men.

Table A.7: Civilian Population aged 15 years and Over: Labour Force Participation Rates

Source: Collation of Australian Bureau of Statistics, The Labour Force Australia 1978 (Including Revised Estimates from August 1966), Cat.No.62040, p.11, table 1 and p.13, table 2 and The Labour Force Australia, February 1984, Cat. No.6302.0.

A.15 There are many complex social reasons for this increased participation. An important factor is the change in the pattern of women’s lives. Whereas, for many, the pattern early this century was perhaps a short period of work, followed by marriage, and a large number of children spread over much of her lifetime, the widespread availability and acceptability of effective birth control has changed this pattern.

Women are having fewer children and most have completed child-bearing by the time they are 31 years old, leaving many years in which to participate in the labour force while their children are at school. ²⁸

The labour force participation rate among women in married couple families with dependent children in 1982 was 46 per cent. ²⁹ Where women have dependent children present they are more likely to work part-time than if there are no dependent children. ³⁰ In married couple families, where the husband is employed, the proportion of women in the labour force increases as the age of the youngest dependent child increases. The proportion of women in the labour force increases from about one third, where the youngest dependent child is under five to almost 60 per cent where the child is 15 or over. ³¹

A.16 There are various other features of women in the labour force, which are dealt with under the general headings applicable to the whole labour force. This includes the patterns of part-time work and unemployment, which in most cases are higher than the equivalent figures for males of the same age group.

2. Unemployment

A.17 The rate of unemployment in Australia has risen markedly in the period from 1972 to 1984. From a low in 1973 of 2 per cent the rate increased to 6 per cent in 1978. ³² The rate of unemployment remained relatively consistent until late 1982, when it rose sharply topping almost 11 per cent in early 1983. ³³ The rate since then has fallen slightly, though there have been some small rises over the period. ³⁴

A.18 Even more striking than the overall trends in unemployment have been the patterns in different age groups. Young people between the ages of 15 and 19 years have been particularly affected. The unemployment rate in 1972 for young people was 6 per cent. By 1982 the male rate was 16 per cent, while the female rate, having reached 20 per cent in 1979, was sitting at 17 per cent. ³⁵ Rates were also higher than average in the 20-24 year age group. ³⁶ With the rapid increase in unemployment in late 1982, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15-19 reached over 30 per cent in January 1984. ³⁷ This increase was partly due to the influx of school leavers into the labour market but, notwithstanding fluctuations throughout the year, the rate remained around 25 per cent for most of 1983. In March 1984, it was 26 per cent. ³⁸

A.19 While the rate of unemployment in older age groups has not increased as much as among young workers, the duration of their unemployment has risen more dramatically. In 1972 the average duration of unemployment in Australia was almost 10 weeks, while by 1982 the mean duration was 33 weeks. ³⁹ In that same period the average duration of unemployment for those aged 35 and over rose from about 13 weeks in 1972 to about 46 weeks in 1982, reaching a maximum of over 50 weeks in 1981. ⁴⁰ For most of the decade the duration of unemployment in this age group was somewhat longer than in all other age groups, but in the period after 1978 the duration of unemployment in this group was significantly longer. The current average duration of unemployment over all age groups in February 1984 was 41 weeks, while the median duration was 19 weeks. ⁴¹

3. Full and Part-time Work

A.20 Over this same ten year period, between 1972 and 1982, there has been an increasing number of workers, both male and female, who have moved into part-time work. The following Table illustrates this trend.

Table A.8: Employed People: Full and Part-Time Status

Australia 1972-1982

August	Male (000)		Female (000)		Persons (000)
	Full-Time	Part-Time	Full-Time	Part-Time
1972	3,632.3	125.4	1,356.1	496.0	5,609.9
1974	3,710.9	136.2	1,416.9	591.2	5,855.2
1976	3,665.6	170.7	1,371.3	690.2	5,897.8
1978	3,626.0	206.3	1,392.1	745.2	5,969.6
1980	3,762.9	208.0	1,461.8	814.0	6,246.7
1982	3,775.5	241.0	1,487.8	843.3	6,347.6
Percentage increase between 1972-1982	3.9	92.2	9.7	70.0	13.1

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Statistics Australia 1982, Cat No. 6101.0, p.24, table 3.4.

While the overall number of employed people has increased by 13 per cent much larger percentage increases have occurred in male and female part-time work. There has also been a larger percentage increase in the number of females compared to males working full-time over the ten year period. Most of the increase in the male labour force has been through population growth while much of the increase in the female labour force has been through greater labour force participation. ⁴²

A.21 The increased incidence of part-time work is not spread evenly over the population. In all age groups in August 1982, more men worked full-time than part-time, ⁴³ although the proportion of part-time to full-time workers was greatest in the 15-19 years and 65 years and over groups. Similarly for all female workers, except the 65 years and over age group, there were more full-time workers than part-time, though the proportion of part-time workers was much higher. ⁴⁴ In the case of married women, the ratio of part-time to full-time workers was much higher, with the numbers of part-time workers exceeding that of full-time workers in the 35-44 year age group, as well as in the over 65 years group. ⁴⁵

A.22 The experience of part-time work is not always the choice of the worker. In August 1982, a survey of part- time workers revealed that 16 per cent of them would have preferred to work more hours, while 5 per cent had actively looked for full-time work over the four weeks prior to the survey. This pattern was somewhat stronger in relation to male workers than to female workers. ⁴⁶

4. Labour Force Experience Generally

A.23 A person’s labour force attachment (or non-attachment) at any one time does not necessarily reflect his or her labour force experience over a longer period. Nor does it necessarily indicate a permanent intention to be in or out of the labour force. In Table A.5 above, we examined the communities labour force status as reported in the 1981 Census. In March 1984, the participation rate in New South Wales of all males 15 years or over was 77 per cent and 46 per cent for all such females. ⁴⁷ However, the following Table shows that the participation rate over an annual period is considerably higher.

Table A.9: Labour Force Experience: Gender and Marital Status and Age

Australia 1982-1983

	Percentage in each age group
	15-19	20-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-59	60-64	65 +
Married Males		99.4	99.0	97.8	95.3	86.3	60.7	13.5
Married Females	73.4	69.6	63.2	67.0	53.7	34.2	15.8	4.4
All Males	75.8	97.6	98.4	97.1	94.0	84.1	59.4	12.9
All Females	72.4	81.7	66.8	67.7	54.7	36.0	16.7	3.8
Persons	74.1	89.7	82.5	82.7	74.9	59.9	37.2	7.8

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Experience Australia during the Year ending February 1983 (Preliminary), 9 September 1983, Cat No. 6205.0, p.4, table 2.

The overall rates were 83 per cent for married males, 52 per cent for married females, 82 per cent for all males and 54 per cent ⁴⁸ for all females. However, in the under 45 age groups, the participation rates are considerably higher, particularly in the case of female workers. This, to some extent, probably reflects the different work expectations between older and younger women.

A.24 Table A.10 shows the proportion of time spent by the non-institutionalised civilian population in the labour force during the year February 1981 to February 1982.

Table A.10: Civil Population: Time in Labour Force by Gender

Australia 1981-1982

Time in Labour Force in Weeks	Percentage
	Males	Females
Nil	17.2	45.9
1 to less than 4	0.8	1.8
4 to less than 13	2.4	3.9
13 to less than 26	1.7	3.2
26 to less than 52	9.9	11.2
Whole period	68.0	34.0
TOTAL	100.0	100.0

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Experience Australia During the Period February 1981 to February 1982, 23 September 1983, Cat No. 6206.0, p.8, table 4.

A.25 One general trend overtime has been that the percentage of people in older age groups who are working has declined, both among men and women. Table A.11 illustrates the changing pattern in those aged 45 years and over.

Table A.11: Labour Force Participation Rates: Population aged 45 years or more

Australia 1972-1982

	Percentage in Each Age Group
	Year	45-54	55-59	60-64	65 +
All Males	1972	95.6	90.6	76.5	22.3
	1975	93.9	87.8	68.8	16.7
	1979	91.2	81.9	53.5	11.5
	1982	90.0	79.1	47.7	9.2
All Females	1972	45.4	31.3	17.1	3.8
	1975	46.3	31.2	15.6	3.9
	1979	46.8	26.1	13.2	2.4
	1982	49.6	25.9	9.8	2.5

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Statistics Australia 1982, Cat No. 6101.0, p.12, table 2.3.

A more detailed breakdown of all females in the 45 to 54 year age group reveals that the increase there is a consequence of increased labour force participation by married women. ⁴⁹ All other groups in both sexes show falls- some quite marked over that 10 year period. With the increased push to early retirement, these figures may further decrease.

A.26 A person who is not in employment or self-employment at any one time may be looking for work, not actively seeking work but wishing to gain employment or not wishing to work at the time. A survey, ⁵⁰ conducted in July 1983 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showed that 87 per cent of those looking for full-time work registered with the Commonwealth Employment Service, while only 28 per cent of those looking for part-time work were registered. Most people searching for part-time work contacted employers directly. ⁵¹ The percentage of women who did not register with the Commonwealth Employment Service was greater, both in relation to full and part-time work than the percentage of men. ⁵² The longer a person was unemployed, the more likely she or he was to become registered at the Commonwealth Employment Service. ⁵³ However, it would seem that registration at the Service is only one possible indicator that a person is actually seeking work.

A.27 Besides those classified as in the labour force who are unemployed and actively seeking work, there are those outside of the labour force who may wish to find a job. In March 1983, approximately one million people in New South Wales were not in the labour force ⁵⁴ and just under a quarter of these people wanted a job, though they were not actively seeking work. ⁵⁵ Discouraged job seekers are defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as those who wanted a job but were not actively seeking work because they believed that they could not find a job for any of the following reasons:

• considered to be too old or too young by employers;
• language or racial difficulties;
• lack of necessary training, skills or experience; orno jobs in locality or area of work.⁵⁶

About 85 percent of discouraged job seekers in New South Wales at that time were women, as were 79 percent of those who wanted a job. ⁵⁷ About 70 percent of those who wanted a job said they could start work immediately. ⁵⁸

A.28 Where a person is outside the labour force but would like to work, he or she may have spent some time out of the labour force. Table A.12 gives some indication of the likely period since their last job. Among these people, 70 per cent of men and 27 per cent of women ⁵⁹ reported that their main reason for not actively seeking work, though they wanted jobs, was personal considerations, such as ill-health disability, pregnancy or studies. ⁶⁰ Almost 15 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women ⁶¹ outside the labour force who wanted jobs were discouraged job seekers. For women, the largest single reason given for not actively seeking work ⁶² was family considerations, which included ill-health of another person, inability to find child-care and other reasons associated with children. ⁶³

Table A.12: People outside the Labour Force who want a job: Time since last job ^(a)

New South Wales March 1983

Time since last job	Percentage of all who wanted a job
Less than 1 year	21.8
1 to less than 3 years	19.7
3 to less than 5 years	12.0
5 to less than 10 years	16.4
1 0 to less than 20 years	11.4
Over 20 years	4.2
Never worked	14.4

(a) “job” means paid employment for two weeks or more in any job or business.

Source: Australian Bureau Of Statistics, Persons not in the Labour Force Australia (including discouraged job seekers) March 1983, 9 August 1983, Cit No. 6220.0, p.10, table 5.

A.29 Where people were outside the labour force at any time, it is useful to examine what activities they pursued. These will undoubtedly vary with the age of the person concerned and with their gender. In Australia in the year between February 1981 and February 1982, approximately four million females and two million males were out of the labour force at some time during the period. ⁶⁴ Table A. 13 shows their major activities while outside the labour force.

Table A.13: People Outside the Labour Force: ^(a)

Major Activity Australia 1981-1982

(a) Those outside the labour force at some time during the year February 1981-1982.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Experience Australia During the period February 1981 to February 1982, 23 September 1983, Cat. No. 6206.0, p.5, diagram 5.

C. Income of the Labour Force

1. Average Weekly Earnings

A.30 In this Report, average weekly earnings figures are used as a basis for many of the benefits offered under the Transport Accidents Scheme. We selected the figure of full-time adult male weekly total earnings for the reasons outlined in paragraph 8.28. Our intention was to cover the lost earnings of the majority of earners, both employed and self-employed. The current level of AWE in M arch 1984 for Australia was $400.70 ⁶⁵ or $20,836.40 on an annual basis. Our chosen ceiling for relevant earnings of 150 per cent AWE are figures of $601.05 weekly or $31,254.60 annually for the same March quarter. ⁶⁶

A.31 Table A.14 shows the relative levels of other measures of average weekly earnings in comparison with our chosen index.

Table A.14: Average Weekly Earnings of Employees: Various Indices of Weekly Earnings

Australia March Quarter 1984

Weekly Earnings Index	$	% of AWE
Full-time adult male total	400.70	100
Full-time adult male ordinary time	376.20	94
All male total	370.60	92
Full-time adult female total	311.00	78
Full-time adult female ordinary time	304.10	76
All female total	246.50	62
Full-time adult persons total	371.90	93
Full-time adult person ordinary	353.10	88
All person total	321.30	80

(a) AWE as defined in the Glossary above, as full-time adult male weekly total earnings for Australia.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Average Weekly Earnings States and Australia, March Quarter 1984, 12 July 1984, Cat.No.6302.0, p.4, table 1.

It should be noted that these figures are not measures of the average weekly earnings of the self-employed, only of employees.

2. The Spread of Earnings

A.32 Once the level of AWE at anytime is ascertained it is useful to know the distribution of incomes, so that we can estimate the proportion of earners who fall within the earnings limits of the proposed Transport Accidents Scheme. We discussed in paragraphs A.1 -A.12, income data from the Census and noted that this information had certain limitations which might affect the accuracy of our predictions. Unfortunately this is also true for most other sources of data on the spread of incomes.

Weekly Earnings of Employees

A.33 Annually the Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys income distribution, by part-time and full-time status, among employees in August. ⁶⁷ In August 1983 the level of AWE in Australia was about $380, ⁶⁸ and thus, the earnings ceiling for periodic compensation purposes would have been $570.

Table A.15: Weekly Earnings of Employees: Distribution

New South Wales August 1983

Type of Employee	% below $570 (a)	% at/above $570 (a)
Male Full-time	93.8	6.2
Female Full-time	98.9	1.1
All employees	96.0	4.0
Part-time employees	99.2	0.8

(a) The Australian Bureau of Statistics table from which this was collated lists an income group $520 - $580. To calculate the proportion of employees with earnings over $570, one-sixth of the number in this group was used. This assumes an even spread of income recipients in this group. It is more likely that a larger number occur in the lower ranges, thus the estimates for those earning over $570 may be over-estimates.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Weekly Earnings of Employees (Distribution) Australia, August 1983, pp.9-10, table 3.

A.34 One of the possible limitations of these figures is that they do not include earnings of the self-employed or employers. We compare in paragraph A.39 the earnings of the self-employed with the earnings of employees. The figures in Table A.15 have an advantage over Census figures in that they refer to earnings and not total income, which is, therefore, closer to the proposed concept of earnings from personal exertion for compensation purposes. The Bureau of Statistics noted that there was a possibility that the respondents under-reported the level of earnings in the household survey from which the results were drawn ⁶⁹ and this may also limit the accuracy of our assessments.

Income and Housing Survey

A.35 A household survey was conducted bv the Australian Bureau of Statistics between September and November 1982, to collect information, among other things, on the total annual income received in the 1981-82 financial year. Using the figure for AWE in September 1982. we obtained a ceiling on weekly incomes at that time of about $537 for compensation purposes. ⁷⁰ The survey collected information on total income, including income, government cash benefits, workers compensation or traffic accident compensation, interest, rent, dividends. maintenance or income from a trust or will. ⁷¹ It therefore again underestimates the numbers of people whose earnings fall below the ceiling, in much the same way as the Census. However it does not have many of the other difficulties of the Census since it was administered by trained interviewers who could probe people’s responses for accuracy.

A.36 The Commission requested from the Australian Bureau of Statistics the production of a special cross-tabulation for New South Wales, the results of which appear in Table A.16. This classifies income recipients by their labour force attachment

Table A.16: Income Recipients in the Labour Force: Distribution

New South Wales 1981-1982

Labour Force Status	% above 150% AWE	$ below 150% AWE
Male - Full time employed (a)	12.2	87.8
- Self-employed	10.1	89.9
- Total earners (b)	11.7	88.3
Female - Full time employed (a)	2.1	97.9
- Self employed	3.9	96.1
- Total earners (b)	2.1	97.9
Persons - Total earners	8.1	91.9

(a) These were full-time wage and salary earners

(b) This includes both full and part-time wage and salary earners and the self-employed.

Source: Special tabulation by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The figures in this table are somewhat higher than those from both the Census and the employee’s earning surveys. While the Census figures were also for total income, the incidence of under-reporting, especially through providing net, rather than gross figures, may well explain the difference. The inclusion of all forms of income, not just earnings, explains to some extent the difference between this and the other survey on weekly earnings of employees.

3. The Self-Employed

A.37 In the 1981 Census, 13 percent of the New South Wales labour force was recorded either as self-employed or as an employer. ⁷² In the Income and Housing Survey those recorded as self-employed in New South Wales consisted of 12 percent of the labour force. ⁷³ This section of the labour force is not included in average weekly earnings calculations, which are derived from surveys of employee’s earnings completed by employers. It is interesting, therefore to observe what differences there are between the composition of the employed labour force and the self-employed.

A.38 The following Table compares the ages of these two groups in the labour force.

Table A.17: Labour Force: Age and Employment Status

Australia 1982

	Male			Female
Age Group	Wage and Salary Earner		Self Employed	Wage and Salary Earner		Self Employed
	FT %	PT %	%	FT %	PT %	%
15-19	7.6	16.0	0.4	14.2	4.9	0.6
20-24	14.5	23.7	5.0	24.7	10.4	5.5
25-34	27.7	19.5	25.6	25.6	30.1	28.1
35-44	22.4	10.1	27.6	17.0	29.8	30.9
45-54	16.7	7.2	22.7	12.9	17.4	22.8
55-64	10.7	13.1	14.1	5.6	6.4	9.0
65 +	0.3	10.5	4.4	•	1.0	3.0
TOTAL	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

• Subject to sampling variability, too high for most purposes.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Income and Housing Survey - Income of Individuals, Australia 1981-82 (Preliminary), 16 September 1983, Cat. No. 6501.0, p.13, table 9.

The Table indicates that for both sexes, the self-employed person is likely to be older. A large proportion of part-time male workers were young, possibly suggesting the influence of studies and such activities. The largest proportion of part-time female workers appeared in the child-rearing age groups between 25 and 45.

A.39 It is also interesting to compare the earnings of these two groups. It is easiest to use average earnings figures, to give some indication of the comparative levels. If a more detailed examination of the average incomes of these groups is made, it can be seen that in virtually every age group the average earnings of the employed are greater than those of the self employed. ⁷⁴

Table A.18: Labour Force: Mean Income and Employment Status

Australia 1982

Employment Status	Male $	Female $	Person $
Full-time employed	341	256	315
Part-time employed	202	154	162
Self-employed	260	166	230
Self employed income, Full-time employed income	76%	65%	73%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Income and Housing Survey - Income of Individuals, Australia 1981-82 (Preliminary) 16 September 1983, Cat. No. 6501.0, p.13, table 9.

4. Non-Wage Benefits

A.40 In addition to wages and salaries, some employees enjoy non-wage benefits. We discuss their relevance for compensation in Chapter 7. An Australian Bureau of Statistics survey conducted between February and May 1979 estimated that there were some four million. ⁷⁵ Australian employees who enjoyed some type of non-wage benefits.

Table A.19: Employees^(a): Non Wage Benefits

Australia 1979

Non-Wage Benefits	Percentage of all employees who receive non-wage benefits
Holiday Costs	6.3
Low-Interest Finance	5.9
Goods and Services	36.7
Housing	5.4
Electricity etc.	2.7
Telephone	7.9
Transport	7.7
Medical	4.9
Union dues	2.1
Club fees	2.1
Entertainment Allowance	4.2
Shares etc.	1.3
Study Leave	2.3
Superannuation	42.2 (b)

(a) Survey included employees who usually worked 20 hours or more a week.

(b) Total exceeds 100 per cent because some employees receive more than one benefit.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Statistics, Australia 1982, Cat No. 6101.0, p.78, table 7.1.

The survey also showed that the vast majority of employees who received non-wage benefits were full-time employees, rather than part-time (93 per cent to 7 per cent). ⁷⁶ The largest numbers came from the occupation group of tradesmen and production workers, followed by clerical workers and then professional or technical workers. ⁷⁷

D. Families and the Labour Force

A.41 We examined in section A the position of women in the workforce. It is interesting to examine further the position of families in relation to labour force participation. Traditionally, it was assumed and is often still assumed that in the majority of families where children are present the mother stays at home and the father goes out to work. In the Australian Bureau of Statistics survey into the labour force status and other characteristics of families conducted in July 1982, 87 per cent of all families included a married couple. ⁷⁸ This term includes de facto partners. Of those families with dependent children present, 45 per cent had both parents in the labour force. ⁷⁹ In 3 per cent of these families, neither parent was in the labour force. In 51 per cent of married couples with dependent children the husband was in the labour force and the wife was not, while in 1 per cent of such families the wife was in the labour force and the husband was not. ⁸⁰

Table A.20: Australian Families: Type and Labour Force Status

Australia July 1982

Labour Force and Family Status	Percentage of all families
	Dependent Children	No Dependent Children
Married Couple Families
- Both spouses in labour force	21.0	14.7
- Husband only in labour force	23.6	10.4
- Wife only in labour force	0.4	0.9
- Neither spouse in labour force	1.6	14.1
Head only Families
- Male head in labour force	0.9	1.0
- Male head not in labour force	0.2	0.5
- Female head in labour force	2.6	1.2
- Female head not in labour force	4.0	3.0
ALL FAMILIES	54.2	45.8

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Australia, July 1982, 7 June 1983, Cat No.62240, collation from table 23, p.37 and table 29, p.40.

A.42 Table A.20 gives an overall picture of the composition and labour force position of families.

A.43 Where the youngest dependent child in a married couple family is four years of age or less, and the husband is in the labour force, the wife is almost twice as likely not to be in the labour force, as to be in the labour force. However, where the youngest child is older, the wife is more likely to be in the labour force than not even in the five to nine year age group. The importance of the age of children to workforce participation by both parents can be seen from the following table.

Table A.21: Australian Married Couple Families: ^(a) Two Parents in the Labour Force

Australia July 1982

Age of Children	Number of Married Couple Families		Percentage Where both in Labour Force
	Both in Labour Force	Total
0-4 only	112.6	402.8	28.0
5-9 only	94.3	174.3	54.1
0-4 and 5-9	86.8	264.3	32.8
0-4 and 10-14	15.5	39.5	39.2
5-9 and 10-14	123.0	232.2	53.0
0-4, 5-9 and 10-14	20.6	67.2	30.7
10-14 and 15-20	98.2	161.0	61.0
10-14 only	155.9	268.2	58.1
15-20 only	88.5	165.6	53.4

(a) Includes “de facto” couples.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families Australia, July 1983, 7 June 1982, Cat No. 6224.0, collation of table 23, p.37 and table 25, p.38.

Table A.21 shows that the older the dependent children, the more likely it is that both parents will be in the labour force.

A.44 Another factor which is of relevance in workforce participation where dependent children are present, as well as generally, is the age of the parent. As we discussed earlier, it is a very common pattern for women to take a period of paid work during child-bearing years and then resume paid work when children reach school age, ⁸¹ whereas in older generations the cessation of paid work either at marriage or child-birth was more likely to be permanent. Table A.22 shows the labour force participation rates of male and female spouses and family heads in different age groups, where there are dependent children present.

Table A.22: Australian Families with dependent children: Type, Age and Gender

Australia July 1982

Labour force (a) and Family Status	No. in Age Group (‘000)
	15-19	20-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65 +
Husband
In lf	•	56.9	609.6	720.3	326.2	72.1	•
No in lf	•	•	13.4	18.5	22.9	17.3	4.8
Male Family Head (b)
In lf	-	4.7	6.5 +	11.9	8.2	•	•
Not in lf	-	0.5	1.5	1.4	1.8	•	•
Wife
In lf	•	31.3	312.0	376.7	102.4	6.1 +	•
Not in lf	11.5	99.3	453.4	279.9	119.8	19.5 +	•
Female Family Head (b)
In lf	•	7.0	18.0	37.8	11.7 +	•	•
Not in lf	5.3	24.7	59.8	43.5	17.9	5.0	•

(a) “Labour Force” abbreviated as “lf” in Table A.22.

(b) “Family Head” relates to single parent families.

• Means subject to sampling variability, too high for most practical uses.

+ Means that a somewhat higher figure, which is unable to be calculated from the source is appropriate.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Status and Other Characteristics of Families, Australia July 1982, 7 June 198 3, Cat No. 6224.0, pp.14-15, table 6.

A.45 This Table shows that even where families have dependent children, the labour force participation of women increases in the post-35 year age group, so that there are more women with dependent children in the labour force at that time, than not. This probably reflects the growing trend for women to return to the labour force, even if they leave to have children, at least once these children reach school age. It appears the person most likely not to be in the labour force where dependent children are present is the female unmarried family head. This is consistent with figures which show that in June 1981, approximately 84 per cent of single female parents were in receipt of income support in comparison with only 18 per cent of single male parents. ⁸²

IV. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES

A. Introduction

A.46 In 1983, 966 people were killed in New South Wales in traffic accidents. ⁸³ This was a fall of 23 per cent from the figure of 1,253 fatalities recorded in 1982. ⁸⁴ One reason for this decrease was alleged to be the initial impact of random breath testing, though its long-term effects are less certain Table A.23 shows fatality rates in the States and Territories of Australia for 1983.

Table A.23: Motor Vehicle Accidents: Fatality Rates

States and Territories 1983

Jurisdictions	Traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometres
New South Wales	2.2
Victoria	2.0
Queensland	2.3
South Australia	2.5
Western Australia	1.6
Tasmania	1.9
Northern Territory	5.2
ACT	1.9

Source: Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st, 1983, p.7.

A.47 The total number of people injured in 1983 was 33,978. ⁸⁵ This is a slight fall from the 1982 total of 34,553. ⁸⁶ Of the persons injured in 1983, 28 per cent were admitted to hospital, 65 per cent were treated but not admitted to hospital and 7 per cent ⁸⁷ appeared to require no treatment The limitation of this breakdown is that the recording of injury and degree of injury relies on reports made to police and their observations. ⁸⁸

B. The Victims

1. Those Killed

A.48 In 1983, 30 percent of those killed were car drivers,(the largest single group), 5 percent were truck drivers, 25 percent were vehicle passengers, 15 percent were motor cyclists, 1 percent were motorcycle passengers, 22 per cent were pedestrians and 3 per cent were pedal cyclists or pedal cycle passengers. ⁸⁹ The following table gives an age and gender breakdown of the people killed.

Table A.24: Motor Vehicle Accidents Fatalities: Age & Gender

New South Wales 1983

Age Group	Male	Female	Persons
0 - 14	51	44	95
15 - 19	154	35	189
20 - 24	134	31	165
25 - 29	75	22	97
30 - 39	82	20	102
40 - 49	55	17	72
50 - 59	46	18	64
60 +	97	82	179
Unknown	1	2	3
TOTAL	695	271	966

Source: Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st, 1983, pp.11-12.

A.49 This Table illustrates the large number of deaths occurring among young people in motor vehicle accidents. Over half (57 per cent) of those killed are under the age of 30. Forty-three per cent of those killed are young men under 30, while overall, males account for almost three- quarters of all deaths in motor vehicle accidents. Perhaps an even more striking statistic is the fact that in 1982, 58 per cent of all deaths among young males and 52 per cent of all deaths among young women aged between 15 and 19 years were as the result of motor vehicle accidents. ⁹⁰ In the 20 to 24 year age group, 52 per cent of all male deaths and 37 per cent of all female deaths arise from motor vehicle accidents. ⁹¹

A.50 In framing proposals for compensation in respect of death caused by a transport accident, it is helpful to know the marital status of people killed in motor vehicle accidents, and, if possible, the number of dependent children who are likely to be entitled to compensation. Table A.25 shows the marital status of different age groups of motor vehicle accident fatalities. ⁹² Comparing Table A.24 with Table A.25, it appears that males and females who have never married have higher death rates in traffic accidents than those who have married, and this is consistent with the concentration in deaths among young people.

Table A.25: Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Fatalities: Marital Status

New South Wales 1982

Age Groups	Married		Widowed or Divorced		Never Married		Total (a)
	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
Under 15	0	0	0	0	56	55	56	55
15 - 19	2	1	0	0	180	54	182	55
20 - 24	26	10	0	1	182	27	208	38
25 - 29	46	11	9	2	60	13	115	26
30 - 34	50	7	6	4	22	4	79	15
35 - 44	53	22	9	4	14	3	76	29
45 - 54	43	14	13	8	9	3	65	25
55 - 64	36	24	12	15	11	2	60	41
65 +	43	21	31	42	12	8	87	71
TOTAL	299	110	36	76	546	169	928	355

(a) Includes those whose marital status was not known.

Source: Special tables provided by Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A.51 The number of surviving dependent children of deceased traffic accidents victims is more difficult to ascertain The Australian Bureau of Statistics has produced a table for the “issue” of males and females who had ever married and who died in a motor vehicle traffic accident. This, of course, does not tell us if the children were dependent, though it is possible to make assumptions about the dependent status of the children of people in particular age groups. For example, if a person under 30 died leaving children, it may be appropriate to assume these children had been dependent upon the deceased.

Table A.26: Motor Vehicle Traffic Accident Fatalities: Average Issue of Married People ^(a)

New South Wales 1982

Age at Death (years)	Male MVA Death	Female MVA Death
15 - 19	1.00	1.00
20 - 24	1.04	0.82
25- 29	1.25	1.54
30 - 34	1.70	1.91
35 - 44	2.65	2.62
45 - 54	3.00	3.05
55 - 64	2.68	3.03
65 +	2.70	2.00

(a) Includes widowed and divorced females.

Source: Special advance tables provided by Australian Bureau of Statistics, from the forthcoming publication Deaths, New South Wales 1982, Cat. No. 3307.1.

2. Those Injured

A.52 Of the 33,978 people reported injured in traffic accidents, 61 percent were male and 39 per cent were female. ⁹³ These percentages are somewhat different from the proportions in fatal accidents, where 72 per cent were male and 28 per cent were female. ⁹⁴ The following table provides an age profile equivalent to Table A.24, for injured people.

Table A.27: Motor Accident Injuries: Age and Gender

New South Wales 1983

Age Group	Male	Female	Persons
0 - 14	2,601	1,702	4,321
15 - 19	4,396	2,095	6,501
20 - 24	4,559	2,126	6,696
25 - 29	2,352	1,299	3,656
30 - 39	2,653	1,792	4,451
40 - 49	1,467	1,272	2,746
50 - 59	1,162	1,106	2,278
60 +	1,332	1,460	2,794
Unknown	265	260	535
TOTAL	20,787	13,112	33,978

(a) Several persons of unknown gender are included in this column.

Source: Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st 1983, pp.21-22.

A.53 From this Table, we see that 62 percent of all people injured in motor vehicle accidents are under 30 years of age. Forty-one per cent are young males under 30. Of those young men injured between the ages of 15 and 29, 66 per cent are either car drivers or motor cycle riders.

A.54 Some further information on people injured in motor vehicle accidents is available from the statistical collection of the Department of Health. These figures only apply to people admitted to private or public hospitals as the result of motor vehicle accidents. Table A.28 refers to separations, which occur when an admitted hospital patient is discharged, transfers to another institution or dies. Therefore, if one traffic accident victim transfers from one or more hospital to another, he or she is recorded several times as a separation. It also lists the average number of beds occupied each day and the average duration of stay of motor vehicle accident victims. To give some comparison there were 28,000 public hospital beds and 6,300 private hospital beds in New South Wales in 1983.

Table A.28: Motor Vehicle Accident Patients(a) Public and Private Hospitals

New South Wales 1981

Hospital type and Location	Separations	Average No. of Beds per Day	Average Stay (days)
Public Hospitals
Metropolitan	10,136	300	10.8
Country	9,119	204	8.2
TOTAL	19,255	504	9.6
Private Hospital
Metropolitan	1,014	16	5.8
Country	164	4	7.9
TOTAL	1,178	20	6.1

(a) For details of compensable status, see Table 13.3.

Source: Department of Health (New South Wales).

The Department of Health statistics also revealed that some 191,130 bed days were used by motor vehicle accident victims, and that over half of all hospitalised accident victims of both sexes were under 30 years of age. This is consistent with all other data on the incidence of injury among different age groups. Another interesting fact is that about 75 per cent of all motor vehicle accident in- patients in 1981 were treated at hospitals located within the same Health Region as they lived.

A.55 Little information is available from other sources on the seriousness of injuries suffered in transport accidents. It is almost impossible, for example, to find out how long a transport accident victim is incapacitated for work or how many suffer permanent incapacities. We discuss later comparative data from the Adelaide In-Depth Accident-Survey, which gives some information on this question. However, Table A.28 lists the nature of injuries of those people who “separated” from hospitals in New South Wales in 1981.

Table A.29: Motor Vehicle Accident Patients: Nature of Injury

New South Wales 1981

Nature of Injury	All Separations		Deaths (in hospital)		% of total bed days
	No.	%	No.	%
Fracture of skull	1,200	5.9	36	15.7	6.5
Fracture of spinal trunk	1,749	8.6	22	9.6	15.0
Arm fracture	1,655	8.1	5	2.2	6.5
Leg fracture	3,013	14.7	20	8.7	34.7
Dislocation	401	2.0	0	-	2.0
Sprain or strain	615	3.0	0	-	1.3
Intracranial injury	2,694	13.2	64	27.9	9.9
Internal injury of chest, abdomen or pelvis	635	3.1	33	14.4	4.1
Open wound	2,604	12.7	7	3.1	5.8
Superficial injury	558	2.7	1	0.4	0.8
Contusions	1,014	5.0	1	0.4	1.7
Injury to nerves or spinal cord	95	0.5	4	1.7	0.4
Other injury	824	4.0	6	2.6	2.3
Observation	3.48	1.7	0	-	0.3
Other condition(a) (ie. not an injury)	3,028	14.8	30	13.1	8.8
TOTAL	20,433	100.0	229	100.0	100.0

(a) Includes readmissions for continuing treatment.

Source: Department of Health (New South Wales)

A.56 It can be seen from Table A.29 that the majority of motor vehicle accident patients separating from (and therefore admitted at some time to) hospital in 1981 suffered some form of fracture. Injuries which caused the largest single number of deaths were head injuries, though relative to the number of people separating from hospital having suffered these injuries, the number of deaths is only just over 2 per cent. The largest proportion of separations by death occurs with internal injuries of chest, abdomen or pelvis. The largest single reason for occupation of beds was leg fractures.

3. The Location

A.57 For the administration of a Transport Accidents Scheme, it is important to know the location of accidents and the place of residence of accident victims. We know from the Health Department data that 75 per cent of motor accident victims are admitted to hospitals in the same health region as they live. ⁹⁵ There appears to be no better data available about the residence of motor accident victims in New South Wales. However, there is information available about the location of motor traffic accidents, as the Traffic Accident Research Unit collects such information for all the Statistical Divisions of New South Wales. These do not correspond with Health Regions, but give some idea of the incidence of accidents in different areas of New South Wales.

A.58 The following Table divides the numbers of people killed and injured into their various accident locations.

Table A.30: Motor Traffic Accidents: Location

New South Wales 1983

	Deaths		Injuries
Statistical Division	Number Killed	Rate per 100,000 Population (a)	Number Injured	Rate per 100,000 Population (a)
Sydney	447	13	20,060	602
Hunter	94	19	3,165	644
Illawarra	49	15	1,969	622
Richmond-Tweed	33	23	958	663
Mid-North Coast	68	35	1,595	831
Northern	51	28	1,153	644
North-Western	44	40	749	678
Central Western	43	26	1,192	715
South-Eastern	62	43	1,354	939
Murrumbidgee	32	22	882	608
Murray	36	35	681	660
Far Western	7	22	220	689
TOTAL	966	18	33,978	634

(a) Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population of Local Government Areas New South Wales, at 30 June 1983, Cat. No.3206.1

Source: As above and Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st, 1983, pp.37-46.

In general while the number of deaths and injuries in the Sydney Statistical Division is high, the rate of death and injury is lower than that in any other statistical division The South Eastern Statistical Division, ⁹⁶ has the highest rate of injury and the highest rate of deaths.

C. Alcohol and Road Accidents

A.59 The Traffic Authority of New South Wales states that there are three main sources of information on alcohol involvement in traffic accidents: ⁹⁷

• blood tests taken at post-mortem examination of those killed in traffic cases;
• blood tests taken in hospitals for people injured in traffic crashes; ⁹⁸ and
• breath tests of drivers and motor cycle riders involved in traffic accidents. ⁹⁹

Table A.31:, Alcohol Blood Tests: Motor Vehicle Accident Victims Attending Hospital

New South Wales 1983

Blood Alcohol Level (g/100 ml)	No.	Percentage of Total
Nil	16,533	76.2
less than .050	1,649	7.6
0.050-0.079	382	1.8
0.080-0.149	1,157	5.3
0.150 and over	1,859	8.6
Unsatisfactory samples	104	0.5
TOTAL	21,684	100.0

Source: Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road ,Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st 1983, p.33.

While the majority of those tested had no alcohol in their blood, almost 16 per cent were over the legal limit A large proportion of those were over 0.15.

A.60 Of those who were tested at post-mortem examinations, ¹⁰⁰ 73 percent of pedestrians tested did not have any alcohol in their bloodstream while 57 per cent of motor cycle riders and 57 per cent of drivers also had no alcohol in their bloodstream. However 38 per cent of drivers tested had blood alcohol content of over the legal limit of 0.05. The vast majority of these were over 0.08, with 67 per cent of those over the legal limit, being over 0. 15. In the case of motor cycle riders, 33 per cent were over the legal limit, with 63 per cent of those over the legal limit being over 0.15. Twenty-six per cent of pedestrians had blood alcohol contents of over 0.05, with 94 per cent of those over the legal limit being over 0. 15. ¹⁰¹ Higher proportions of males killed were affected by alcohol. Seventy-three per cent of female and 55 per cent of males had a nil blood alcohol reading, while 39 per cent of males and 20 per cent of females were over the legal limit. The age group with the highest proportion over the legal limit was the 20-24 year age group (48 per cent). In all other age groups, from 15 to 49, between 34 and 42 per cent were over the legal limit, while in the over 50 age groups, the percentages were smaller. ¹⁰²

A.61 Since December 1982 ¹⁰³ there has been a legal requirement that certain people, who attend or who are admitted to hospital following a motor vehicle accident, are-blood tested. ¹⁰⁴ These are drivers, motor cycle riders and pedestrians ¹⁰⁵ who are 15 years or over. ¹⁰⁶ Table A.31 shows the results of these tests, as recorded by the Department of Health. ¹⁰⁷

A.62 It is police practice to require a driver or motor cycle rider to undergo a breath test if she or he is involved in a traffic accident. Understandably, a large proportion of those who are killed in fatal crashes are not tested. ¹⁰⁸ Table A.32 provides a summary-of breath test results for others involved in traffic crashes where death or injuries occur.

Table A.32: Alcohol Breath Tests: Drivers and Riders in Injury or Fatal Crashes(a)

New South Wales 1983

Breath Test Results	Survivors of Fatal Crashes		Injury Crashes		Total %
	Drivers	Riders	Drivers	Riders
Positive	49	3	1,880	376	5.9
Negative	515	9	19,844	2,049	57.6
Not tested	193	8	10,877	2,753	35.6
Unknown if tested	9	1	283	38	0.8
TOTAL	764	21	32,884	5,216	100.0

(a) Excludes those who were killed in fatal crashes.

Source: Traffic Authority of New South Wales, Road Traffic Crashes in New South Wales, Statistical Statement Year ended December 31st 1983, p.33.

While a significant proportion were not tested, of those who were, the vast majority (91 per cent) had a negative result.

A.63 While not related to the number of accidents and resulting personal injury, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research publishes detailed statistics on drink/driving offences. In 1981, for example, there were 25,995 appearances in court on drink/driving offences. Ninety- seven per cent were found guilty. The following table shows a breakdown of offenders by age and gender, in comparison to the number of licence holders.

Table A.33: Drink/Drive offenders: Age and Gender

New South Wales 1981

	Males		Females
Age	% of those found guilty	% of licence holders	% of those found guilty	% of licence holders
17-19	13.0	5.7	10.2	5.5
20-24	29.9	13.2	28.4	14.0
25-29	17.5	13.6	17.2	14.6
30-34	12.5	13.4	14.8	14.5
35-39	8.6	1.0	10.8	12.0
40+	18.5	43.1	18.6	39.4
TOTAL NUMBER	23,834	1,926,051	1,045(a)	1,225,565

Ages of 382 offenders not known. Gender not known in one case.

Source: Department of Attorney General and of Justice, New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Court Statistics 1981, p.28, table 3.5.

The Bureau figures also show that while females hold 39 per cent of all licences, they account for only 4 percent of all convicted drink/drive offenders. Young males under 25 account for 42 percent of the convicted drink/drivers but only 12 percent of licence holders. ¹⁰⁹

D. The Missing Information

A.64 There is a great deal of relevant statistical information on traffic accident victims which is not collected in New South Wales or in other Australian jurisdictions. The following are some examples where there is no data or inadequate data:

• duration of incapacity for work;
• incidence of permanent incapacity;
• seriousness of permanent incapacity;
• number of injured people convicted of certain offences in relation to their injuries; and
• occupation status or income level of road accident victims.

Some of these are very important for the proposed Transport Accidents Scheme, and it should be a central function of any new authority to collect this information. For the purposes of costing the proposed Scheme, the Actuary was forced to make assumptions from the information available, including that from overseas.

A.65 There are some potential sources of data. For example, the Workers’ Compensation Commission keeps detailed records of work accidents, including “journey accidents” and “course of employment motor vehicle injuries”. However, it is currently impossible to obtain the relevant information for these classes of workers’ compensation cases. Looking overseas, the New Zealand accident compensation scheme may be able to provide some of this data, ¹¹⁰ but much of it cannot readily be obtained in a form which could answer these questions.

A.66 One survey which has attempted to obtain data on some of these questions was conducted by the Road Accident Research Unit of the University of Adelaide. It was based on a random sample of 304 accidents which occurred in the central part of the Adelaide metropolitan area and to which an ambulance was called, during the twelve months from 23 March 1976. According to the report these accidents represent 8 per cent of the total number of accidents to which an ambulance was called throughout the state. The survey involved in-depth follow-up of the survey sample, including questions on the period of restriction of normal activities, permanent disability and degree of severity of injury. Involved in the 304 accidents there were 921 people, 527 of whom were classified as “active participants” because they were in control of a vehicle or were pedestrians. Comparison of death and injury rates in the survey and in South Australian road accident statistics generally and between South Australia and New South Wales, reveal that this information could be useful for New South Wales, at least within similar road user groups.

A.67 Table A34 gives an overall picture of the severity of injury suffered by each type of road user in the survey.

A.68 In general terms, the Table shows that pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motor cyclists were the most likely to be injured, while pedestrians tended to be the most seriously injured. This is consistent with other information which showed that pedestrians ¹¹² and pedal cyclists, ¹¹³ were the types of road users most frequently admitted to hospital, while pedestrians tended to be in hospital the longest. ¹¹⁴ This is also reinforced in Table A.35 which gives the period of restriction of normal activities. It can be seen that pedestrians and pedal cyclists were most often restricted, about one-third being restricted for three months or more. Twenty per cent of motor cyclists were restricted for three months or more. The Table also shows that car and truck occupants are the least likely to suffer restriction of their normal activities.

Table A.34: Road Accident Survey: Injury Severity

Adelaide 1976

	Percentage of each type of road user
Type of Road User	Nil	Minor	Moderate	Severe	Serious	Critical	Fatal	Total Number
Pedestrian	2.3	25.0	20.5	29.5	11.4	4.5	6.8	44
Pedal Cyclist	4.3	21.7	39.1	21.7	8.7	4.3	-	23
Motor Cyclist	3.7	37.5	30.0	16.2	7.5	-	5.0	80
Car Occupant	52.0	32.9	11.0	2.1	1.1	0.8	0.1	727
Occupant of Light Commercial Vehicle	53.3	20.0	26.7	-	-	-	-	15
Occupant of Heavier Commercial Vehicle	81.0	14.3	4.8	-	-	-	-	21
Bus Occupant	18.2	72.7	9.1	-	-	-	-	11
ALL ROAD USERS	44.5	32.5	13.9	5.0	2.3	1.0	0.9	921

Source: University of Adelaide Road Accident Research Units, Adelaide In-Depth Accident Study 1975-1979, Part 1, p.37, table 16.

The survey stated that the severity of bus occupant injury was higher than was actually the case, because in one accident the bus was carrying a large number of passengers, possibly up to sixty and almost all these people transferred to another bus within a minute or so before they could be counted and included. It was also noted that 10 car occupants, the a majority of who were almost certainly not injured, were not graded because the team was unable to examine them after the accident. ¹¹¹

Table A.35: Road Accident Survey: Period of Restriction of Normal Activities

Adelaide 1976

	Pedestrain (a)		Pedal Cyclists (b)		Motor Cyclists (c)		Car Occupants (d)		Truck Occupants (e)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Not restricted	6	(15.8)	5	(22.7)	13	(17.6)	499	(76.1)	37	(84.4)
Up to 1 week	9	(23.7)	3	(13.6)	10	(13.5)	85	(13.0)	5	(11.4)
1 week-3 months	8	(21.1)	6	(27.3)	32	(43.2)	58	(8.8)	2	(4.5)
3 months or more	12	(31.6)	8	(36.4)	5	(20.3)	13	(2.0)	0	-
Fatally injured	3	(7.9)	0	-	4	(5.4)	1	(0.2)	0	-
Not known	6	(13.6)	1	(4.3)	6	(7.5)	81	(11.0)	3	(6.4)
TOTAL	44	(100.0)	23	(100.0)	80	(100.0)	737	(100.0)	47	(100.0)

Source: University of Adelaide Road Accident Research Unit, Adelaide In-Depth Accident Study 1975-1979.

(a) Part 2, p.44, table 18.

(b) Derived from discussion, part 3, p.25.

(c) Part 4, p.71, table 51.

(d) Part 6, p.143, table 5.6.

(e) Derived from discussion, part 5, p.18.

A.69 The survey also ascertained the incidence and severity of permanent physical disabilities. In addition to the eight people killed, at least 68 were left with some form of permanent physical disability. ¹¹⁵

Table A.36: Road Accident Survey: Resulting Permanent Disability

Adelaide 1976

Period of Restriction	Pedestrians (a)		Pedal Cyclists (b)		Motor Cyclists (c)		Car Occupants (d)		Truck Occupants (e)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
None	23	(57.5)	15	(65.2)	48	(68.6)	680	(96.2)	47	(100.0)
Minor	2	(5.0)	7	(30.4)	16	(22.9)	23	(3.3)	-	-
Major	12	(30.0)	1	(4.3)	4	(5.7)	3	(0.4)	-	-
Fatal	3	(7.5)	-	-	4	(5.7)	1	(0.1)	-	-
Unknown	4	(9.1)	-	8	(10.0)	30	(4.1)	-	-
TOTAL	44	(100.0)	23	(100.0)	80	(100.0)	737	(100.0)	47	(100.0)

Sources: University of Adelaide Road Accident Research Unit, Adelaide In-Depth Accident Study 1975-1979.

(a) Derived from discussion, part 2, p.44.

(b) Derived from discussion part 3, p.25.

(c) Derived from discussion part 4, p.71.

(d) Part 6, table 5.7, p. 143.

(e) Derived from discussion, part 5, p.18.

This Table shows that about one-third of pedestrians suffered major permanent disabilities, while a substantial proportion of both pedal cyclists and motor cyclists experienced minor permanent disabilities. In total 10 of the people were severely disabled, while one infant was totally incapacitated. ¹¹⁶

A.70 Blood alcohol levels of the active participants in these accidents were collected. These showed that in 19 per cent of pedestrian accidents, either the driver or pedestrian had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit in South Australia of 0.08. Fifteen per cent of drivers in multi-vehicle crashes were over the legal limit. ¹¹⁷ In single vehicle accidents, where a vehicle collides with a parked car, tree or utility pole, 50 per cent of the drivers had a blood alcohol content over 0.08. Fifty- five per cent were over the New South Wales limit of 0.05, while 33 per cent were over 0.15. The report stated that:

These accidents tend to occur late at night, at times when drivers are most likely to have been drinking. Because a collision with a utility pole or tree is often very severe even at normal traffic speeds in the metropolitan area, these drivers and their passengers are often very badly injured and so a close association is found between the severity of the crash measured in terms of the injuries sustained by the persons involved and the [blood alcohol] level of the driver. 118

In the case of motor cycle accidents, 19 per cent of the riders were above 0.08, and 12 per cent above 0.15. The two highest readings were 0.22, and in both these accidents the rider was killed in the accident. ¹¹⁹

A.71 Some information was available on the occupational status and educational attainment of people involved in the survey accidents. Contrary to the view expressed in some submissions, ¹²⁰ there was generally no “bias towards an over-representation of unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers,” ¹²¹ except in the areas of motor cycle accidents. I n this area, unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled workers accounted for about 75 per cent of the riders, compared to 50 per cent of the employed population. ¹²² One possible explanation given for this over-representation is that it reflects

... a preference of young, unskilled, semi-skilled, or skilled males for motor cycles, either as a comparatively cheap form of transport or as a way of expressing themselves. 123

No conclusions were made on this question, though inquiries indicated that economic considerations were not of primary significance. ¹²⁴

A.72 There was also some information available on driving offences committed by active participants in the surveyed accidents. In the case of motor cyclists, there were 26 motor cyclists who survived the accident and were considered by the research team to have committed a violation, in relation to either a traffic control device or some other traffic rule prior to the accident. Only 50 per cent of these were charged, which means only 20 per cent of the motor cyclists in the survey sample were prosecuted for a violation arising from the accident. ¹²⁵ In relation to car drivers, 202 were assessed by the research team as having disobeyed a traffic control or as having breached some other traffic rule before the accident just over half of these people were prosecuted, which means overall, only 26 per cent of car drivers were penalised for a violation arising from the accident. ¹²⁶

V. OTHER TRANSPORT ACCIDENT VICTIMS

A.73 Very little information about public transport accidents, other than numbers of people killed or injured, is available in New South Wales. In 1983, five people were killed and 752 people injured in Urban Transit Authority bus accidents (other than Urban Transit Authority employees). These include passengers in buses and people hit by buses. ¹²⁷ The State Rail Authority advised ¹²⁸ that in the year ended 30 June 1983, the following numbers of deaths and injuries occurred.

Table A.37: Railway Accidents: Deaths and Injuries^(a)

New South Wales 1982-1983

	Number of People
Type of Accident	Killed	Injured
Train Accidents	0	66
Accidents to trespassers involving train movements	28	69
Accidents at Level Crossings	8	37
Other Accidents(b)	7	198
TOTAL	43	370

(a) Excluding accidental deaths and injuries of employees.

(b) Represents those injured or killed when failing out of or within train in motion, when on platforms and coming in contact with a moving train. and falling when boarding or alighting from a stationary train.

Source: State Rail Authority of New South Wales

No comparable information is available on accidents involving public or private ferry services.