In the year ending 2001, some 1,736 persons were killed on Australian roads in 1,583 road crashes. Although this represented a 4.7% decrease in the previous year, this toll was still too high. Many more thousands were injured in road crashes. In order to formulate more effective preventative measures, we must first understand what the factors are that lead to vehicle crashes.

Crash investigation is the cornerstone of any preventative program. With a proper understanding of what is occurring in road crashes, valid education programs and enforcement strategies can be invoked in a concentrated effort to reduce the road toll.

For those who have suffered injury or loss as a result of a road crash, proper investigation and interpretation will ensure they are compensated. The courts will also benefit if they can be assured that those who purport to be experts in the field can show that they have at least obtained a recognized level of education.

The results of crash investigation and collision analysis are heavily relied upon in both the civil and criminal arena and as such the legal fraternity and those they represent must be afforded the opportunity to choose from persons who have completed competencies and have qualified to a recognised standard in this specific field of investigation and those who have not.