Road safety

The clocks skipped an hour over the weekend in Victoria and NSW, as Australia’s two most populous states started daylight savings ahead of summer. Do interrupted sleeping patterns and longer daylight have an impact on road safety?

The 2021 Toyota Yaris has been awarded a five-star crash safety rating when measured against new, tougher criteria. An Australian-specification right-hand-drive version of the 2021 Toyota Yaris has been tested by European authorities, and validated by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

An analysis of more than 2 million driver records in the United States has identified the types of cars most likely to receive a speeding ticket, with certain car owners up to 49 per cent more likely to speed than others. US insurance agency Insurify analysed its database of 2.5 million applications to see which car owners reported the highest rate of speeding offences and comparing that number to the total number of drivers for each model.

The number of cyclist deaths in Australia has doubled over the last three years, according to a new report examining the country's road safety record for 2020. In the 12 months to June 2020, 48 cyclists died on Australian roads, compared to 34 deaths in the previous corresponding period – a year-on-year increase of more than 40 per cent. COMMENT: Why drivers should give cyclists a chance – and some room on the road

Russian authorities are considering making it compulsory for all new cars sold there to be equipped with alcohol breath test “interlock” devices – whether or not the buyer has a history of drink driving. In Australia, states and territories mandate the fitment of breath test “interlock” devices to cars owned by repeat drink driving offenders. The devices – which require drivers to exhale into a tube to prove they are not intoxicated – are fitted at the driver’s expense.