The Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) is a research centre established in 1996.
It is based at the Kelvin Grove campus of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Queensland, Australia and is part of the Faculty of Health.
The centre was established as a joint venture of the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC)Queensland Government – Motor Accident Insurance Commission "CONROD and CARRS-Q" , 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009 and 12 March 2012. and QUT, and also receives funding from competitive research grants for specific projects. CARRS-Q's stated vision is "for a safer world in which injury-related harm is uncommon and unacceptable",Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "CARRS-Q: About Us: Our Vision, Mission and Key Outcomes", 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009. which it works toward by conducting research, training road safety professionals, and giving awards to other organisations or individuals for successful road safety initiatives.
Areas of research CARRS-Q's areas of research are currently divided into Intelligent Transport Systems, Occupational Road Safety, Regulation and Enforcement, Road Safety Infrastructure, School and Community Injury Prevention, and Vulnerable Road Users. The centre is part of the School of Psychology and Counselling in QUT's Faculty of Health,QUT Faculty of Health, School of Psychology & Counselling "Faculty of Health: Psychology and Counselling: About The School" , 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009. and some of its researchers have psychology qualificationsCentre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "CARRS-Q: Staff Profiles: Academic Research Staff", 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009. and focus on the behavioural aspects of road safety.QUT ePrints &keywords=behaviour&order=-date%2Fcreators_name%2Ftitle "Advanced Search: Affiliation matches any of "Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety – Qld (CARRS-Q)" AND Keywords matches "behaviour", 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009.
Teaching activities CARRS-Q has Masters and PhD students, some of whom are concurrently employed as Research Officers.Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "CARRS-Q Postgraduate Students", 2009. Retrieved on 12 November 2009.
Research facilities CARRS-Q has a range of equipment used in road safety research on driver behaviour, including an instrumented four-wheel drive (4WD) vehicle and a driving simulator.
The instrumented 4WD is equipped with sensors such as a multimedia datalogger, physiological devices (EEG, ECG and EMG), laser scanner, radars and eye trackers.Queensland University of Technology: "Inside QUT: 4WD mindset" , 2006. Retrieved on 15 April 2010.
The CARRS-Q Driving Simulator was officially launched on 19 March 2010.Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "CARRS-Q: Advanced Driving Simulator", 2010. Retrieved on 10 March 2010. It is based on a Holden Commodore sedan that was donated for the purpose, and sits on a six degrees of freedom motion platform.Queensland University of Technology "QUT CARRS-Q driving simulator launch", 24 March 2010. Retrieved on 30 March 2010.
Queensland Road Safety Awards The Queensland Road Safety Awards (QRSA) were first held in the year 2000Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "QRSA: Previous Winners", 2009. Retrieved on 11 November 2009. and are a joint initiative of CARRS-Q and the RACQ to "recognise and honour the outstanding efforts of individuals and groups who have started projects or programmes to improve safety on Queensland roads".Royal Automobile Club of Queensland "RACQ: Road Safety Awards" , 2008. Retrieved on 11 November 2009.
Collaboration CARRS-Q has links with similar organisations worldwide, such as the French National Institute for Transportation Safety Research (INRETS) and University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), through exchange of visiting researchersCentre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "Staff Profiles: Visiting Research Staff", 2009. Retrieved on 12 November 2009. and collaboration on research papers.Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland "Research Publications", 2009. Retrieved on 12 November 2009.
References
External links CARRS-Q website