The Centre
for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) is
one of the leading centres in Australia dedicated to research, education
and outreach activities in road safety, and is a vital player in the international
pursuit of road safety. CARRS-Q exemplifies an approach to shaping and
informing public debate that works through long-term partnerships with
key government and industry bodies. The Centre is headed by well-known
and respected Professor of Psychology Mary Sheehan, with a very strong support team of leading academics. |
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| CARRS-Q was established in 1996 as a joint venture initiative of the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). The Centre was created to address the enormous human, economic and social costs resulting from road crashes. This was made possible by a grant from the MAIC through the QUT Foundation. MAIC and QUT provide core funding for staff and research infrastructure. The Centre also obtains major funding support through successful national competitive research grants and consultancies. |
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| In November 2006, MAIC and QUT announced continued further funding
for CARRS-Q over the next 5 years, an important endorsement of the Centre’s
achievements, and its valuable role in the community and commitment to achieving
real and long-term results through providing research based information to policy makers. The major benefit for all key stakeholders
and the Queensland community is the presence of a unique Centre which
is an integral part of a strong collaborative research, policy analysis
and change culture with very close working relationships with Queensland
Transport, Queensland Police Service, Department of Main Roads, RACQ,
QFleet, and other relevant government and industry departments and the Parliamentary
Travelsafe Committee. |
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| CARRS-Q works collaboratively with strong networks in the road safety and injury prevention fields. One important mechanism for external involvement is the Centre’s Governance Committee which has members from key groups within the industry. One such member is the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ). Gary Fites, RACQ’s General Manager External Relations, believes that the partnership with CARRS-Q has helped RACQ in its role of advocating road safety improvements to government. |  |
| The Centre has successfully developed and maintained a strong research and consultancy profile, collaborative research linkages and activities with government, other universities, commercial organisations and cooperatives. It is a key member of the Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation domain of the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation [IHBI] at QUT. The Centre also provides postgraduate research training and professional education in road safety. It has a large cohort of PhD and Masters students and coordinates a Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Road Safety, as well as special programs for practitioners. |  |
In its next developmental phase, the Centre aims to
strengthen and broaden research and intervention development in the areas
of: |
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