AN INVESTIGATOR'S ACCOUNT OF A NEVER-ENDING ROAD TOLL
Written by
Karla Bunney
On
6th October, 2011
In other news
- In the Mix—the latest iPhone/iPad app
- Mag pioneers latest technology
- Author of The Job, Charlie Bezzina, joins the Herald Sun’s True Crime Scene
- Everything you need to know for a successful 2012 NRL punting season
- In the Mix crowned Australian winner of Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards 2011
- Sneak peak at the 100 Years of Grand Final Records boxed set
- Catch all the action with the Australian Open tennis iPad app
- ACCC launch iPhone app, a win for safety-conscious consumers
- AFL Record 2011 International Rules Series
- Meet Jan 'Yarn' Wositzky the man Tommy Woodcock told his life story to
- Were school lunches in the 1900s that different from today?
- Possum Pie, Beetroot Beer and Lamingtons - a cookbook with a difference
- Official souvenir magazine of the 2011 Toyota AFL Premiership - out now
- Possum Pie, Beetroot Beer And Lamingtons - Family Event at Westgarth Books
- ShopSmart NSW app
A former investigator with the Accident Investigation Section (now the Major Collision
Investigation Unit) has released a new book titled Road Kill, which covers in confronting detail
more than 10 fatal road accidents he investigated during his eight years working with the AIS.
These horrific scenes have weighed heavily on Craig Hodge for more than 12 years, and he made the difficult decision to publish these cases in an attempt to change habits on the road. “If I can make people understand how and why, then they can assess the way they approach the road, and their responsibility to themselves, and to others,” said Hodge.
Road Kill also looks at the multi-layered effects of the job on Hodge’s personal life, and he offers his suggestions for reducing the road toll, including:
• The introduction of a compulsory defensive driving course for all learner and probationary drivers and five-or 10-yearly for all other drivers; and
• Integrated road safety education throughout schooling, including bike education and guest speakers who have been affected by the road toll.
Hodge explains the choice of the hard-hitting title, Road Kill, in the foreword: ‘'Unfortunately, when it comes to road safety, you have to smack people between the eyes to make them take notice.” He goes on to say: “There’s one point I need to make perfectly clear: in no way does the title reflect my feelings about the hundreds, if not thousands, of road trauma victims I encountered during my career. (Victims being a blanket term that also encompasses the loved ones left behind). Those who have died in such senseless circumstances need a voice, and they need to have not died in vain. So if the title of this book shocked you and, more importantly, made you pick it up and start to read – then it has served its purpose.”