Members of the MICRRH Research Unit have been collecting data for the Rural and Remote Road Safety Project since March 2004. This project is a collaborative venture between the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) based at Queensland University of Technology and the Rural Health Research Unit within the School of Medicine at James Cook University. The project is funded by the Queensland Government and the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and aims to better understand rural road safety problems and advise on effective solutions.

Data for this study is being collected at various hospitals across north Queensland where patients admitted for more than 24hrs as a result of injuries sustained in a road crash are interviewed to gain insight into the reasons for their crash. One such site is Mount Isa Hospital where to date 24 interviews have been completed with a further 28 individuals having accidents within the Mount Isa region but being interviewed in other catchment hospitals.

In addition to collecting data from people involved in road crashes we are also interviewing people who travel the same roads but don't have a crash. This is done by setting up a roadside data collection event where we invite passing motorists to pull over and complete a questionnaire which is similar to that used for hospital interviews. To date we have held 3 roadside data collection events in the region all of which have received an encouraging response from the public. Although the methodology for this part of the project will soon be changing we are planning to hold several more of these events in the coming weeks. So please, if you see us on the road pull over and have your say regarding road safety in rural and remote Queensland.