The Amy Gillett Foundation recently commissioned the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) to gather data from police reports regarding incidents involving cyclists and motorists across Australia. We wanted to know the age and gender of both the cyclist and motorist involved in collisions (both fatalities and serious injuries), time of day, day of week, weather conditions and causal factors, if available.
The full report can be found here [PDF]
The study demonstrated the huge void in the available information, which made it impossible to analyse the detailed causes of these accidents.
To this end the Amy Gillett Foundation, in partnership with the Monash University Accident Research Foundation, has announced it will jointly fund a postgraduate research scholarship, to focus most likely on bicycle crashes and interactions with various classes of road users, particularly motorists and cyclists.
Named the "Safe Family Research Scholarship" (Amy's maiden name was Safe), candidates with degree/s in the areas of psychology, public health, epidemiology or related disciplines and with an interest in road safety are encouraged to apply.
Expression of Interest Form [DOC] - for interested students wishing to apply
Marilyn Johnson - 2007 Recipient (press release)
The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is committed to reducing death and serious injury from unintended events in all aspects of daily living through high quality research and independent recommendations. MUARC ensures its research findings are conveyed to governments, industry and the community in ways that facilitate maximum impact in policy and practice. A key feature of the way MUARC works is to build partnerships with groups that can make a difference - the partnership with the Amy Gillett Foundation is thus an excellent way to address the issue of bicycling safety.-Ian Johnston, Director, MUARC.
