12.

ALGEBRA, STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

DRIVING SAFELY
ANCAP, the Australian New Car Assessment Program, crash-tests cars in five ways:
• front-on test where the car hits a barrier at 64 km/h
• side impact test where the car is hit on the driver’s side by another car travelling at 50 km/h
• pedestrian test to assess head and leg injuries to pedestrians at 40 km/h
• pole test where the car moves sideways at 29 km/h and hits a pole lined up with driver’s head
• whiplash test where the stationary car is ‘rear-ended’ by another car travelling at 32 km/h.
The 2016 Toyota Prius received a 5-star safety rating, scoring 36.22 out of 37.

CHAPTER OUTLINE
A1, S1.1 12.01 Blood alcohol content (BAC)
S1.1 12.02 Accident statistics
A1 12.03 Speed, distance and time
A1 12.04 Stopping distance
IN THIS CHAPTER YOU WILL:
• use formulas to calculate blood alcohol content (BAC) for males and females, based in number of
drinks consumed, number of hours drinking and the person’s mass
• interpret BAC and solve problems involving reducing BAC
• analyse data and graphs involving BAC and road accidents
• construct and interpret graphs that illustrate the level of blood alcohol over time
• solve problems involving speed, distance, speed and time
• use formulas to calculate stopping distance

Shutterstock.com/conrado
 TERMINOLOGY
blood alcohol content (BAC) braking distance fatality
reaction distance reaction time standard drink
stopping distance

SkillCheck
1 Evaluate each expression, correct to two decimal places.
WS
0.03 0.04 0.1
a b c
Assignment
Homework12 0.015 0.023 0.034
26 − 15 10 × 7 − 5 × 7.5 2 × 10 − 18
d e f
5.5 × 45 6.8 × 64 5.5 × 83

2 a Copy and complete this table for the linear function y = 4 − 0.3x.

x 0 1 2 3 4 5
y

b If this function was graphed, what would be the gradient of the line?

3 For each set of data, find the:

i mean ii median iii mode
iv range v interquartile range.

Answer correct to one decimal place where necessary.

a
5 7 8 9 10 4 5 2 4 1
b 10 12 14 9 0 2 8 12 1

4 Evaluate the subject of each formula.

a v = u + at when u = 2.3, a = 8.7, t = 3
b s = kv(kv + b) when k = 4.1, v = 42.3, b = 7.2
D
c S=  when D = 128, T = 3.4
T
5 Convert:
a 25 km to m b 2463 m to km
c 3 h 45 min to hours d 5.2 h to hours and minutes
.
e 7.3 h to hours and minutes f 20 km/h to m/s
g 110 km/h to m/s h 3.5 m/s to km/h.

502 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 6 A plane moves at an average speed of 840 km/h for 1 day. How many km
does it travel?

7 A car travels 245 km in 3 h 45 min. What is its average speed in km/h?

8 Find, correct to the nearest cent:

a 14 % of $35.80 b 9.5% of $26 580 c 12.5% of $298.60.

12.01  Blood alcohol content (BAC)

Your blood alcohol content (BAC) is the concentration of alcohol in your blood. A person
WS
with a BAC of 0.05 has 0.05 grams (or 50 mg) of alcohol per 100 mL of blood.
When alcohol is consumed, skills that safe driving requires become impaired and a driver will BAC formula
Homework
practice
have difficulty concentrating on multiple tasks at a time. For example, a driver may be able to
monitor their speed but be unable to stay within their lane. WS

Alcohol affects a driver’s: Graphing

HomeworkBAC

• judgement – ability to reason and respond appropriately

• concentration – ability to focus
• comprehension – ability to understand a situation quickly
• reaction time – ability to respond to a situation quickly.

Shutterstock.com/Ralf Kleemann

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 503

 Calculating BAC
A standard drink, for example a middy of beer or a small glass of wine, contains 10 grams
of alcohol.

iStock.com/270770

iStock.com/yarn

A person’s BAC depends on four factors:
• the sex of the person
• number of alcoholic drinks consumed
• how quickly the drinks are consumed
• the mass of the person.

Calculating blood alcohol content

10 N − 7.5H 10 N − 7.5H
BAC male = and BAC female =
6.8 M 5.5 M
where N = number of standard drinks consumed
H = number of hours drinking
M = mass in kg

Blood accounts for about 7% of a person’s mass so if we assume 1 kg ≈ 1 L then an

80 kg male driver will have 5.6 L of blood whereas a 60 kg female driver has only 4.2 L
of blood. The male has a greater mass to ‘soak up’ the alcohol and will not get drunk
as quickly.

504 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 EXAMPLE 1

Justin and Britney were at a party for 5 hours. Justin, who weighs 75 kg, had 6 standard
drinks and Britney, who weighs 58 kg, had 5 standard drinks.
a Who had the lower blood alcohol content (BAC)?
b If 7% of Justin’s mass is blood, what is his blood volume, correct to one decimal
place?

Solution

a For Justin: N = 6, H = 5, M = 75 For Britney: N = 5, H = 5, M = 58

10 N − 7.5H 10 N − 7.5H
BAC male = BAC female =
6.8 M 5.5 M
10 × 6 − 7.5 × 5 10 × 5 − 7.5 × 5
= =
6.8 × 75 5.5 × 58
= 0.0441... = 0.0391...
≈ 0.044 ≈ 0.039
Britney had the lower BAC.
b Justin’s blood volume = 7% × 75 = 5.25 L.

Limitations of the formulas

The BAC formulas only give an approximate BAC because many other factors affect BAC,
such as:
• your health
• the time taken for your liver to process alcohol
• the size and type of drink
• how fast you drink (the faster you drink, the higher your BAC)
• alcohol is absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream if food is in your stomach
• the type of mixer used (water and juice slow absorption while carbonated mixers speed it up)
• the temperature of the drink (warm alcohol is absorbed quicker).

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 505

 Getting back to a BAC of zero
A healthy liver can only break down about one standard drink (10 g alcohol) per hour. Not
even black coffee or cold showers will speed up the rate at which your body gets rid of
alcohol. Once a person stops consuming alcohol and is at a certain BAC level, a normal body
can only reduce the BAC by between 0.015 and 0.02 per hour.

Returning to zero BAC

For a body that reduces BAC by 0.015 per hour, the number of hours before zero
BAC is reached is:
BAC
Number of hours =
0.015
For a body that reduces BAC by 0.02 per hour, the number of hours before zero
BAC is reached is:
BAC
Number of hours =
0.02

EXAMPLE 2

Justin and Britney from Example 1 are both on provisional licences (P plates). They
stopped drinking at 11 p.m. and waited until one of them had a BAC of zero and could
legally drive home. Who drove home and at what time? Assume BAC is reduced by
0.015 per hour.

Solution

For Justin: BAC = 0.044 For Britney: BAC = 0.039

BAC BAC
No. hours = No. hours =
0.015 0.015
0.044 0.039
= =
0.015 0.015
= 2.9333... h = 2.6 h
= 2 h 56 min = 2 h 36 min

Press SHIFT to change decimal hours to hours and minutes.

Britney drove home 2 h 36 min after 11 p.m., that is, at 1.36 a.m.

506 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Graphing BAC

EXAMPLE 3

After drinking 5 standard drinks, Ben’s BAC was 0.09. His BAC decreases over time
according to the linear function B = 0.09 − 0.014H.

a Use the formula to complete this table of values, correct to three decimal places.

Time after 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

drinking, H hours
Blood alcohol 0.09 0.08 0.04
content, B

b Graph the linear function on a number plane.

c What is the gradient of the line and what does it represent?
d Use your graph to find:
i Ben’s BAC after 3 h 15 min ii when his BAC reaches 0.05.
e Use the formula to find when Ben’s BAC reaches zero.

Solution

a Time after 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

drinking,
H hours
Blood 0.09 0.083 0.076 0.069 0.062 0.055 0.048 0.041 0.034 0.027 0.02
alcohol
content, B

b Ben’s BAC
0.1
0.09
0.08
Blood alcohol content (B)

0.07
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.03
0.02
0.01
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
      Hours of drinking (H )

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 507

 c Choosing two points on the line or from the table, (0, 0.09) and (5, 0.02):
0.02 − 0.09
Gradient = = −0.014.
5− 0
The gradient is the rate at which Ben’s BAC is decreasing per hour.

d i BAC after 3.25 h ≈ 0.045 From graph

ii BAC reaches 0.05 after about 2.9 h (or 2 h 50 min)
e When B = 0:
 0  = 0.09 − 0.014H
0.014H = 0.09
0.09
H=
0.014
= 6.428...
≈ 6 h 26 min
Ben’s BAC reaches zero after 6 h 26 min.

DID YOU KNOW?

Princess Diana’s tragedy

In 1997, Princess Diana, the mother of Princes William and Harry, died in a car accident
in a road tunnel in Paris, France. Hotel security manager Henri Paul was the driver
of the Mercedes Benz that crashed into a pillar, killing himself, the princess and her
partner Dodi Fayed. He had a BAC of 0.187, was driving at 105 km/h, and none of them
were wearing seat belts. His BAC was over 3 times the legal limit of 0.05, equivalent to
drinking nine shots of whisky together quickly.
If Henri Paul’s BAC had dropped by 0.017 per hour, how long would it have taken
his BAC to return to zero?

Exercise 12.01  Blood alcohol content (BAC)

1 What is the main factor affecting your blood alcohol content? Select A, B, C or D.
A age
B number of drinks consumed
C time of day
D heart function

508 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 2 Christine weighs 61 kg, Carla weighs 52 kg and Connie weighs 55 kg. If each drink 8
standard drinks over 6 hours, who has the highest BAC? Select A, B, C or D.
A Christine
B Carla
C Connie
D BAC is the same as they are all female

3 Mabel and Madge drank wine at an 80th birthday party over 4 hours. Mabel, Example

who weighs 94 kg, had 4 standard drinks and Madge, who weighed 87 kg, had 1
3 standard drinks.
a Who had the higher blood alcohol content, correct to two decimal places?
b If 7% of Mabel’s weight was blood, how much blood did she have?

4 Who has the lowest blood alcohol content (BAC), correct to two decimal places?
Select A, B, C or D.
A a 72 kg male who drank 8 drinks over 4 hours
B a 65 kg female who drank 9 drinks over 5 hours
C an 82 kg female who drank 7 drinks over 6 hours
D a 93 kg male who drank 10 drinks over 7 hours

5 This table shows the BAC (to two decimal places) for various body masses and
number of drinks.

  Number of drinks
Body mass (kg) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
50 0.03 0.07 0.10 0.14 0.17 0.20 0.24 0.27 0.31 0.34
55 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.13 0.16 0.19 0.22 0.25 0.28 0.31
73 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.19 0.21 0.23
82 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.13 0.15 0.17 0.19 0.21
95 0.02 0.04 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.11 0.13 0.14 0.16 0.18
100 0.02 0.03 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.15 0.17

a How many drinks does a 73 kg person need to drink to reach the legal limit of 0.05?
b How many drinks does a 100 kg person need to drink to reach the legal limit of 0.05?
c What is the mass of a person who has a BAC of 0.16 after 7 drinks?
d What is the BAC of a 55 kg person after 8 drinks?
e Draw a line graph showing the BAC of a 50 kg person for 1 to 10 drinks.

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 509

 6 A heavy drinker consumes a large quantity of alcohol most days of the week
whereas a moderate drinker consumes less alcohol less frequently. The two graphs
show the difference in the decline of the BAC for a heavy drinker and a moderate
drinker over time.

Decline in BAC for a heavy drinker

0.12

0.1
BAC (g/100 mL)%

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (hours)

Decline in BAC for a moderate drinker

0.12

0.1
BAC (g/100 mL)%

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 5.9
Time (hours)

a Which drinker’s BAC returns to zero quicker?

b What is the rate of decline of BAC for a:
i   heavy drinker? ii moderate drinker?
c What is the BAC of a heavy drinker after 1 h 30 min?
d What is the BAC of a moderate drinker after 4 h 15min?
e What is the difference in the BAC for a heavy and a moderate drinker after 3 hours?
f Write a sentence or two describing the difference in the rate of BAC decrease for
each type of drinker and possible reasons for the difference.

510 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 7 Mark is 19, weighs 72 kg and holds a provisional licence with a zero alcohol limit. He
started drinking at 6 p.m. and had 10 schooners of full strength beer (15 standard drinks)
over 6 hours. He stopped drinking at midnight.
a What was his BAC, to two decimal places, at midnight?
b How long did it take before his BAC was back to zero if his BAC reduced by
0.02 per hour?
c At what time could he legally drive his car?

8 Maria is 17, weighs 61 kg and holds a provisional licence with a zero alcohol limit. She Example
started drinking at 10 p.m. and had 6 mixer (9 standard) drinks over 4 hours. 2
a What was her BAC, to two decimal places, at 2 a.m. when she stopped drinking?
b 
How long did it take before her BAC was back to zero if her BAC reduced by
0.015 per hour?
c At what time could she legally drive her car?

9 Hugh had a BAC of 0.06 when he stopped drinking and it took 5 hours for his BAC to
return to zero. At what percentage rate per hour was his BAC reducing?

10 Chloe has a BAC of 0.08 and burns off alcohol at the rate of 0.016 per hour. Example

a Copy and complete this table of values showing the decline in her BAC over 3
5 hours.
Time (hours) BAC
0 0.08
0.5 0.072
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5

b Use the table of values to draw a line graph representing this information.
c 
If Chloe stopped drinking at midnight, then estimate to the nearest 15 minutes,
when Chloe’s BAC is equal to:
i   0.05 ii 0.
d What is the gradient of the line and what does it represent?

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 511

 INVESTIGATION

BAC feelings and effects

BAC Person’s feelings Actual effects
0.03–0.05 relaxed worse concentration and coordination
talkative less able to make a judgement
0.05–0.1 blunted feelings bad reflexes
lack of self-control unable to perceive depth
decreased reasoning skills
0.1–0.2 need to be over-expressive or act in a decrease in reaction time
loud and disruptive manner loss of physical control
slurred speech
0.2–0.3 can’t remember simple things loss of understanding
in a daze loss of sensations
possible loss of consciousness
Over 0.3 depressed can’t read signs
think they can do anything can’t respond to traffic signals
impaired breathing
loss of bladder control
unconsciousness or death

For example, a person in a nightclub with a BAC of 0.15 might talk loudly, disrupt other
patrons and express themselves in a way that is not typical of their personality. Their
speech may be slurred and they may not be able to walk or dance properly.

a How does a person feel with a BAC of 0.24?

b State three effects of drinking to a BAC of 0.06.
c What is the legal BAC for:
i a learner driver? ii a P-plate driver?
d Investigate the penalties for driving with a BAC of:
i 0.05 ii 0.1 iii 0.4
e Does a BAC below the legal limit mean that it is safe to drive? Explain.

512 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 DID YOU KNOW?

BAC limits for drivers

The BAC limit in NSW (2017) for most drivers is 0.05, but lower if you are a less
experienced driver or a driver of a heavy vehicle:
0 for all learner (L) and provisional (P) drivers
0.02 for drivers of buses, taxis, trucks over 13.9 tonnes or carrying dangerous goods
0.05 for all other drivers
Compared to a driver with a zero BAC, the risk of an accident with a BAC of 0.05 is
double, 0.08 is 7 times and 0.15 is 20 times.
How many drinks can a provisional driver have if they plan to drive? Justify your answer.

12.02  Accident statistics WS

Alcohol, excessive speed, driver fatigue and distraction are the main causes of road accidents.
Investigating
Homework
drivers in road
The risk of an accident resulting in death or serious injury is doubled for every 5 km/h you fatalities

travel over 60 km/h. For example, a car travelling at 65 km/h is twice as likely to crash and a
car travelling at 70 km/h is four times as likely to crash! WS

In a fatal accident, one or more persons die but there may be others who suffer serious Investigating
Homework
injuries or permanent disability. Fatal means ‘resulting in death’. young drivers

Here are some statistics regarding fatal accidents in NSW.

• 65% occur in country areas.
• 13% involve alcohol.
• 30% affect motorcyclists.
• 88% of drink drivers involved in
fatal accidents are male.
iStock.com/vasiliki

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 513

 EXAMPLE 4

This table shows the involvement of alcohol in road accidents in 2015 in NSW.

Alcohol Fatal crash Serious injury Non-serious Total

involved injury
Yes 43 386 382 811
No 283 5205 11 976 17 464
Total 326 5591 12 358 18 275
Source: Centre for Road Safety, Transport for NSW, State of NSW

a What percentage (correct to one decimal place) of fatal crashes involved alcohol?
b What percentage of the total road accidents had no alcohol involved?
c What percentage of the alcohol-involved road accidents involved a serious injury or
fatality?
d If 14% of accidents involving alcohol were head-on crashes, how many was this?

Solution
43
a Percentage of fatal crashes involving alcohol = × 100%
326
= 13.1901 …%
≈ 13.2%
17464
b Percentage of road accidents not involving alcohol = × 100%
18275
= 95.5622 …%
≈ 95.6%
c Percentage of alcohol-related accidents involving
43 + 386
serious injury or fatality              = × 100%
811
= 52.8976 …%
≈ 52.9%
d Number of head-on crashes involving alcohol = 14% × 811
= 113.54
≈ 114

514 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 EXAMPLE 5

This table gives the number of road fatalities in NSW from 2006 to 2015.

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Road fatalities 496 435 374 453 405 364 369 333 307 350
Source: Centre for Road Safety, Transport for NSW, NSW Government ‘Road traffic casualty crashes in
New South Wales: Statistical Statement for the year ended 31 December 2015’ roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au

a For the 10-year period, find:

i the mean number of fatalities per year
ii the range
iii the median
iv the interquartile range.
b Draw a column graph representing the data.
c Write a sentence discussing the trend in fatalities from 2006 to 2015. Suggest reasons
for these trends.

Solution
a  i sum of fatalities
Mean =
number of years
3886
=
10
= 388.6

  ii Put the values in ascending order:

307 333 350 369 364 374 405 435 453 496

lowest score lower quartile median upper quartile highest score

Range = highest score − lowest score

= 496 − 307
= 189
364 + 374
iii Median = = 369
2
iv Interquartile range = upper quartile – lower quartile
= 435 – 350
= 85

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 515

 b Road fatalities in NSW over a 10-year period
500

400

Road fatalities
300

200

100

0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
        Year

c The main trend is the decline in the number of road fatalities. This decline is possibly
due to better road safety awareness programs, more police patrols and lower speed
limits in school and roadworks zones.

Exercise 12.02  Accident statistics

1 In one year, 440 driver deaths on Australian roads were related to alcohol. Of these
driver deaths, 224 had a BAC of over 0.05 and 273 were aged under 34.
a What fraction of drivers who died had a BAC over 0.05?
b What percentage (to the nearest whole number) of the drivers were aged under 34?
c What percentage of the drivers had a BAC of 0.05 or less?

Example
2 This table shows the number of Australian driver deaths by state and territory
4 over two years.

Year NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas NT ACT

2014 307 248 223 107 183 33 39 10
2015 350 252 243 102 160 34 49 15
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,
Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

a How many driver deaths were there in Australia in:

i   2014? ii 2015?
b Find the average annual number of driver deaths in Australia over the two-year
period.
c Which state or territory has the fewest driver deaths? Why do you think?
d Which state or territory had the smallest change between 2014 and 2015?
e Which states and territories had fewer driver deaths in 2015 than they did in 2014?
f Write a sentence describing the similarities and/or differences in the data for the
years 2014 and 2015.
g Draw a divided bar graph representing the data for the year 2015.

516 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 3 An accident survey reported that for fatigued drivers in 18 764 single-vehicle crashes,
70.2% were driving cars, 75.5% were male, 35% were aged under 24 years and 9.6%
were aged over 60 years.
a How many drivers were aged 24 to 60?
b How many crashes did not involve cars?
c How many drivers were female?

4 This sector graph shows the category of person killed Road fatalities one year
in road accidents. Cyclist 2%
a To the nearest degree, what is the sector angle in
the graph for:
Pedestrian
i  Driver? ii Passenger? 15%
  iii  Cyclist?
Driver
b If there were 443 road fatalities last year, how Motorcyclist
14% 50%
many persons killed were:
i   passengers? ii motorcyclists? Passenger
c If there were 68 pedestrians killed this year, how 19%
many drivers were killed?

5 This table shows the drivers under 40 years who died

in road accidents over 4 years.

Year
Age of driver 2012 2013 2014 2015
under 17 70 66 65 65
17–25 284 230 234 226
26–39 300 243 252 272
All ages 1300 1187 1150 1205
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,
Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

a Find the number of drivers aged 25 or less who were killed over the 4 years.
b Calculate (correct to one decimal place) the percentage of drivers killed in 2012
who were 17–25 years old.
c What was the percentage decrease (correct to one decimal place) of drivers killed
aged 26–39 between 2014 and 2015?
d Which year had the fewest road fatalities overall?
e Which year had the fewest road fatalities for people aged 17–25?

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 517

Example
6 This table shows the number of Australian road injuries involving different categories of
5 people over six years.

Year Drivers Passengers Pedestrians Motorcyclists Pedal cyclists All road users
2008 3360 943 651 2341 1419 9315
2009 3420 1010 635 2576 1723 9854
2010 3421 988 726 2491 1780 9884
2011 3824 1047 632 2647 2017 10 667
2012 3713 995 643 2680 2157 10 671
2013 3773 1060 658 2881 2517 11 351
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,
Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

a Which year and category had the highest number of road injuries?
b How many road injuries were there in Australia over the six years?
c 
What is the mean annual number of injuries involving motorcyclists (correct to one
decimal place) over the 6 years?
d What is the range of passenger injuries over the 6 years?
e What is the median number of driver injuries over the 6 years?
f What is the interquartile range of pedal cyclist injuries over the 6 years?
g Represent the data for passengers and pedestrians on a line graph.

7 This table shows the number of Australian fatal crashes over 7 years categorised by
number of vehicles and pedestrians involved.

Year Single-vehicle Multiple-vehicle Pedestrian Total

crashes crashes crashes crashes
2009 649 509 189 1347
2010 544 520 169 1233
2011 504 463 184 1151
2012 520 503 167 1190
2013 515 430 156 1101
2014 463 438 149 1050
2015 491 447 163 1101
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,
Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

a Calculate for single-vehicle crashes:

i the mean number of crashes over the 7 years
ii the median
iii the range
iv the interquartile range.
b Construct a column graph to represent the data for pedestrian crashes.
c 
Looking at the data for total crashes, describe any general trends over the
7 years and possible reasons for these.
d 
Why do you think there are more single-vehicle crashes than multiple-vehicle crashes?

518 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 8 This clustered column graph compares male and female road fatalities over five years.

Road user deaths by gender

Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,

2015

Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

2013 2014
Year
2012
2011

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Number of deaths
Male Female

a How many male deaths, to the nearest 50, occurred in 2013?

b How many female deaths, to the nearest 50, occurred in 2014?
c How many road user deaths, to the nearest 50, occurred in 2015?
d 
Describe any patterns in the data over the years and any differences between males
and females, stating reasons for your comments.

9 This table shows the times of day NSW road casualties occurred in 2015.

Time of day Road casualties

12 midnight–1:59 a.m. 447
2 a.m.–3:59 a.m. 270
4 a.m.– 5:59 a.m. 429
6 a.m.–7:59 a.m. 1404
8 a.m.–9:59 a.m. 2135
10 a.m.–11:59 a.m. 2080
12 midday–1:59 p.m. 2125
2 p.m.–3:59 p.m. 2608
4 p.m.–5:59 p.m. 2918
6 p.m.–7:59 p.m. 1985
8 p.m.–9:59 p.m. 1119
10 p.m.–11:59 p.m. 752
Source: Centre for Road Safety, Transport for NSW, State of NSW

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 519

 a Which time interval had the highest number of casualties? Give a reason why this
may be so.
b Which time interval had the lowest number of casualties? Give a reason why this
may be so.
c For this data set, find:
  i the range ii the mean (correct to one decimal place)
iii the median.
d i Describe the pattern in the number of road casualties over the 24-hour period.
   ii Do you think the pattern would still be the same for today? Give reasons.

10 This table shows the age and sex of speeding drivers involved in road accidents in
NSW in 2015.

Age Male drivers Female drivers

17–20 357 150
21–25 319 125
26–29 195 71
30–39 374 145
40–49 286 104
All ages 2069 788
Source: Centre for Road Safety, Transport for NSW, State of NSW

a How many speeding drivers were aged 40–49?

b How many speeding female drivers were aged under 30?
c What percentage of speeding drivers aged 17–20 were male? Answer correct to
three significant figures.
d What percentage (correct to two decimal places) of female speeding drivers were
aged 17–20?
e What patterns do you notice between the numbers of male and female speeding
drivers? Why do you think this is so?
f What patterns do you notice in the number of speeding drivers as age increases?
Why do you think this is so?

520 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 DID YOU KNOW?

Driver fatigue
Fatigue is mental or physical tiredness due to lack of sleep. In 2015, 16% of road fatalities
in NSW involved driver fatigue. Most fatigue-related road fatalities occur between midday
and 6 p.m., not at night. Fatigue is a factor in about 20% of head-on collisions where
a vehicle crosses to the wrong side of the road due to a driver’s slower reaction time or
‘microsleeping’.
Here are some statistics on drivers in fatigue-related road accidents.
• 77% were driving cars.
• 72% were male.

Shutterstock.com/Kathie Nichols
• 26% were aged 17 to 25.
• 51% died or were seriously injured.

12.03  Speed, distance and time

Speed limits are imposed to ensure drivers travel at a safe speed for the road and surrounding
environment. Some common speed limits in NSW are: WS

School zone 40 km/h Speed formula

Homework
practice

Residential area 50 km/h

City street 60 km/h WS

Highway 100 km/h Speed stories

Homework

Motorway 110 km/h

WS

Average speed
Distance,
Homework
speed and
time
distance travelled
Average speed =
time taken
D
S=
T

D
This formula can also be written as D = ST or T = .
S

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 521

 EXAMPLE 6
Speed,
distance and Dean left home at 6 a.m. to travel from Sydney to Brisbane, a distance of 1027 km.
time
He stopped for meal breaks and fuel and arrived in Brisbane at 8.30 p.m.
a What was his average speed for the trip, correct to the nearest km/h?
b How far, to nearest kilometre, could he travel at this speed in 50 minutes?
c How long, in hours and minutes, would it take him to drive 864 km at this speed?

Solution

a D = 1027 km; T = 14.5h 6 a.m to 8.30 p.m.

D
S=
T
1027
=
14.5
= 70.8275...
≈ 71 km/h
Average speed was 71km/h.
50 5
b S = 71km/h; D = ?; T = 50 min = h= h
60 6
D = S ×T
5
= 71 ×
6
= 59.166...
≈ 59 km

He could travel 59 km.

D
c T=
S
864
=
71
= 12.169...
≈ 12h 10 min 8.45 s Press to convert decimal hours to
hours, minutes and seconds.
≈ 12 h 10 min
It would take him 12 h 10 min.

522 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Exercise 12.03  Speed, distance and time
1 Eva drove 93 km from Wollongong to Nowra in 1 hour 30 min. What was her average
speed in km/h? Select A, B, C or D.
A 46.5 B 31 C 62 D 60

2 Stefan travelled 160 km at an average speed of 76 km/h. How long was his journey in
hours and minutes? Select A, B, C or D.
A 2 h 10 min B 2 h 6 min C 2.2 h D 2.1 h

3 Larni drove 742 km from home to her farm in 9 h 30 min. Example

a What was her average speed, correct to the nearest km/h? 6

b How long, in hours and minutes, would it take her to drive 1026 km at this rate?
c How far, to the nearest kilometre, could she travel at this rate in 3 h 10 min?

4 Cathy drove at an average speed of 57 km/h. At this rate, how long, in hours and
minutes, will it take her to drive:
a 507 km? b 160 km? c 440 km?

5 Tan cycled 24 km to Scott’s place at an average speed of 16 km/h. He cycled back at

12 km/h. Find:
a the total time for Tan’s complete trip
b Tan’s average speed, to the nearest km/h, for the trip.

6 Justine’s car journey took 9 h 45 min at an average speed of 9.5 m/s. What is her:
a average speed in km/h?
b distance travelled, correct to the nearest metre?

7 How far, in metres to one decimal place, will a vehicle travel in 0.1 seconds when
travelling at:
a 40 km/h? b 60 km/h? c 80 km/h? d 100 km/h?

8 Courtney drove a racecar for 402 m at 530 km/h.

a How long, to the nearest second, did it take?
b How far (correct to the nearest metre) could she travel in 10 seconds at this speed?

9 Luis rode his motorbike 460 m in 6.011 seconds.

a What was his speed in m/s, correct to one decimal place?
b How long, to the nearest 0.1 minute, would it take to go 58 km at this rate?

10 a Casey’s average speed was calculated at 208.33 km/h for a 60.72 km motorbike race.
How long, to the nearest 0.1 minute, did he take?
b If he took the same time to complete a 72.4 km race, what was his average speed in
km/h for this race, correct to the nearest km/h?

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 523

 11 Shellie and Roxy set off for the beach 11.5 km away. Shellie rides her motor scooter at
32 km/h and Roxy cycles at 11 km/h. How many minutes head start should Shellie give
Roxy so they arrive at the beach at the same time?

12 A car is travelling at 75 km/h. How far, to the nearest 0.1 m, will it travel in the
5 seconds it takes you to cross the road?

13 Police investigating a car crash determined that the car covered 20.7 m in 1.2 s. At what
speed was the car travelling in km/h?

12.04  Stopping distance

See, think, brake
Imagine you are driving and you see a child run out onto
the road in front of you. You hit the brakes to avoid an
accident. What is the time and distance from when you
sense the danger to when you come to a full stop?

Shutterstock.com/Amy Johansson
Stopping distance
• Reaction time is the time between sensing a situation and applying the brakes.
• Reaction distance is the distance travelled during your reaction time.
• 
Braking distance is the distance travelled from when you apply the brakes until you stop.
• Stopping distance = Reaction distance + braking distance

Reaction distance Braking distance

Stopping distance

524 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Braking distance
In dry conditions, a car travelling at 60 km/h can stop 20 m before one travelling at 80 km/h.
Drivers tend to underestimate stopping distance because the time taken to stop depends on
many factors:
• your speed
• your reaction time
• the condition of your brakes and tyres
• the rate at which you decelerate
• the road surface and slope
• the wind speed and weather
• the weight of your vehicle
• driver visibility, whether it is night or day.

Braking distance formula

The approximate braking distance (d m) can be found using the formula:
d = kv2
where v km/h is the initial speed of the car and
k is a constant.

EXAMPLE 7

Ben has a reaction time of 1.5 s. He was driving at 60 km/h when he saw a tree had fallen
across the road. He applied his brakes and stopped 17.4 m later.
a What was his reaction distance, to the nearest metre?
b What was his stopping distance?
c Use the braking distance formula d = kv2 and the given values to find:
  i the value of k (correct to two significant figures)
  ii the braking distance, to the nearest metre, when travelling at 84 km/h
iii the stopping distance, to the nearest metre, when travelling at 84 km/h
iv the speed, to the nearest km/h, of a vehicle with a braking distance of 100 m.

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 525

 Solution

a Reaction distance is the distance car travels in 1.5 s at 60 km/h.

Convert 60 km/h to m/s first.
60 km/h = 60 000 m/h Converting km to m
60000
= m/s Converting h to s
3600
= 16.666 m/s
d=s×t
= 25 m
Reaction distance is 25 m.
b Stopping distance = reaction distance + braking distance
= 25 + 17.4
= 42.4 m
c   i Given d = 17.4 m and v = 60 km/h,
d = kv2
17.4 = k × 602
= 3600k
17.4
k=
3600
= 0.004 8333…
≈ 0.0048
ii Given v = 84 km/h and k = 0.0048,
d = kv2
= 0.0048 × 842
= 33.8688
≈ 34
Braking distance is 34 m.
iii Stopping distance = reaction time + braking distance
= 25 + 34
= 59 m
Stopping distance is 59 m.

526 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 iv Given d = 100 m and k = 0.0048,
d = kv2
100 = 0.0048v2
100
v2 =
0.0048
= 20833.333...
v = 20833.333...

= 144.3375…
≈ 144
Speed is 144 km/h.

Speed and road conditions

It will take longer to stop on a wet road and even longer on an icy road. The braking distance
changes with the condition of the road.

EXAMPLE 8

This table shows the different stopping distances at four different speeds and two different
road conditions for a driver whose reaction time is 2 s.

Stopping distances for various speeds and road conditions

Speed Road Reaction Reaction Braking Stopping The equivalent
(km/h) time (s) distance (m) distance (m) distance (m) of
40 dry 2 22.2 7.9 30.1
40 wet 2 22.2 12.6 34.8
50 dry 2 27.8 12.3 40.1 8 car lengths
50 wet 2 27.8 19.7 47.5 4 bus lengths
60 dry 2 33.3 17.7 51.0 Olympic
swimming pool
60 wet 2 33.3 28.3 61.6 3 cricket pitches
100 dry 2 55.6 49.2 104.8 length of a
football field
100 wet 2 55.6 78.7 134.3 width of 10
houses

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 527

 a What do you notice about the reaction distances?
b Discuss the difference in braking distance for a car travelling at:
i 40 km/h on a wet road and 50 km/h on a dry road
ii 50 km/h on a wet road and 100 km/h on a wet road.
c Discuss the difference in stopping distance for a car travelling at:
i 40 km/h on a dry road and 40 km/h on a wet road
ii 60 km/h on a dry road and 100 km/h on a dry road.
d Why should you reduce speed when travelling on a wet road?
e Draw a clustered column graph to represent the data and say why this is a good
representation of the data.

Solution

a The reaction distances increase with speed but do not depend on the road condition.
b  i There is a 10 km/h difference in speed but the braking distances are about the same.
ii The speed is doubled but the braking distance is roughly 4 times greater.
c  i 
At 40 km/h there is a 5 m difference in the stopping distance between a dry and
wet road and this difference is significant.
ii There is a 40 km/h difference in speed but the stopping distance is doubled:
51.0 m and 104.8 m.
d You take longer to stop on a wet road so you should reduce your speed to avoid any
incidents.
e The height of the columns shows clearly that as the speed increases, the difference
between the stopping distances on dry and wet roads is greater.

Stopping distances
160
Dry road
140
Wet road
120
Stopping distance (m)

100

80

60

40

20

0
40 50 60 100
Speed (km/h)

528 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

Exercise 12.04 Stopping distance
1 Darley saw a car stopped 80 m in front of him. He just stopped in time after travelling
51 m while braking. What was his reaction distance? Select A, B, C or D.
A 29 m B 80 m C 51 m D 30 m

2 A van moving at 110 km/h travelled a distance of 118.4 m on a wet road before its driver Example

applied the brakes and finally stopped another 79.3 m later. What was the van’s stopping 7
distance?

3 A motorcyclist with a quick reaction time stopped in 15.6 m after braking for a distance
of 9.8 m. How far did he travel during the time it took to react to the danger?

4 This table shows the reaction, braking and stopping distances for a driver on a wet road
with a reaction time of one second.

Speed (km/h) Reaction time Reaction Braking Stopping

(s) distance (m) distance (m) distance (m)
40 1 11.1 B 23.7
50 1 A 19.7 33.6
60 1 16.7 C 45.0
100 1 27.8 78.7 D

a Find the values of A, B, C and D.

b 
When the speed is doubled from 50 km/h to 100 km/h, find to the nearest whole
number the percentage increase in:
i braking distance ii stopping distance.
c If a driver with a reaction time of 1 s is travelling on a wet road at 100 km/h and
sees an obstacle 110 m ahead, will he stop in time? Give reasons for your answer.

5 Two cars were moving side-by-side along a dry road in a 40 km/h school zone when Example

their drivers each saw children crossing 50 m ahead. Fran applied her brakes within 8
1 second but Hanna took 2 seconds. Use the table of stopping distances from
Example 8 on page 527 to find:
a how far Hanna travelled under brakes
b how far Fran travelled before she applied her brakes
c if either would stop in time. Why?

6 Two truck drivers were travelling through a town on a dry road. Mark was doing
60 km/h and took 2 s to react to an accident up ahead while Sanjay was travelling at
40 km/h but took 4 s to react. Use the table of stopping distances from Example 8 on
page 527 to find:
a how far Sanjay travelled before the brakes were applied
b how far Mark travelled under brakes
c which driver had the greater stopping distance.

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 529

 7 Fatima has a reaction time of 1.6 s. When travelling at 80 km/h, she applied
his brakes and travelled 62 m before stopping. Use the braking distance formula
d = kv2 to find:
a the constant k, correct to four decimal places
b the braking distance, to the nearest 0.1 m, when travelling at 105 km/h
c 
the speed (to the nearest km/h) of Fatima if she travels 75 m under brakes before
stopping
d the stopping distance (to the nearest 0.1 m) from a speed of:
i  80 km/h ii 105 km/h.

8 A car travelling at 115 km/h covered 89.6 m under brakes. Use the formula d = kv2
to find:
a the constant k, correct to three significant figures
b the braking distance, correct to one decimal place, if the initial speed is 95 km/h
c the stopping distance for a driver with a reaction time of 2 s who is travelling at
115 km/h.

9 Use the formula d = 0.02754v2 where v km/h is the speed of a car and d m the distance
the car travels under brakes, to find (correct to three significant figures) the braking
distance of a vehicle travelling at:
a 35 km/h b 61 km/h c 112 km/h d 93 km/h.

10 A car cruising at 80 km/h travelled 41.8 m on an icy road during the time it took for the
driver to see a stop sign and start braking. It then travelled 57.2 m under brakes before it
stopped.
a What was the driver’s reaction time in seconds, to two decimal places?
b What was the stopping distance?

11 Use the formula d = 0.00435v2, where d m is the distance travelled under brakes and
v km/h the speed as brakes are applied, to find the speed of a racecar, correct to the
nearest km/h, with a braking distance of:
a 142 m b 91.2 m c 101.4 m d 68.9 m.

12 A car travelled 84.3 m under brakes when initially travelling at 106.3 km/h. Use the
braking formula d = kv2 to find (correct to three significant figures):
a the constant k
b the braking distance for a car applying brakes from a speed of 110 km/h
c the stopping distance of a car travelling at 110 km/h if the driver’s reaction time is 2 s.

530 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 1 2
13 The formula d = x + 5x , where x km/h is the speed of a vehicle and d m the distance
2
travelled, is only used for very fast cars. How many metres can a racing car travel at a
speed of:
a 100 km/h? b 250 km/h? c 300 km/h?

14 The graph shows the stopping distances on wet and dry roads with various
reaction times.

Stopping distances at a speed of 100 km/h

200
Dry road
180
Wet road
160
Stopping distance (m)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 2 4
Reaction time (s)

a A driver on a dry road has a reaction time of 4 s. How far will he travel before he
stops?
b How many metres does it take for a car to stop when travelling at 100 km/h on a
wet road if the driver has a reaction time of:
i  1 s? ii 2 s? iii 4 s?
c Use the graph to copy and complete this table.
Road condition Reaction time Stopping distance

d Compare the benefits of showing data in a table with data represented on a graph.

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 531

 INVESTIGATION

STOPPING DISTANCES
1 a    Use this table to describe the relationship between road conditions, speed and
stopping distance, for a driver with a reaction time of 1.5 s. All values in the table
are rounded to one decimal place.

Distances for a reaction time of 1.5 seconds

Road Speed Reaction Braking Stopping
condition (km/h) distance (m) distance (m) distance (m)
Dry 60 25.0 17.4 42.4
100 41.7 48.2 89.9
Wet 60 25.0 27.8 52.8
100 41.7 77.2 118.8
Icy 60 25.0 138.9 163.9
100 41.7 358.8 427.5

This table of values, to one decimal place, was found using an online calculator.
b Find an online calculator and use it to determine the stopping distance for:
   i a car travelling at 60 km/h on an icy road if the driver has a reaction time of 1.6 s
   ii the difference in stopping distances at 80 km/h for reaction times of 0.9 s and 1.4 s
iii a car travelling on a dry or wet road at 110 km/h, if reaction time is 1.5 s.
2 This graph shows the reaction and braking distances for cars travelling at various
speeds. Use the graph to investigate the effect of speed on stopping distances.

Stopping distances at various speeds

112

96
Speed (km/h)

80

64
Reaction distance
Braking distance
48

32

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Distance (m)

Give one trend that you have discovered by looking at stopping distances with
road conditions and speed.

532 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 DID YOU KNOW?

Will you stop in time?

These graphs were published by the Australian Federal Police to display stopping distances
for different speeds and road conditions. If you are driving in a 60 km/h zone and a child
runs onto the road 45 metres ahead and you brake hard, will you stop in time?
Dry conditions

Metres 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

50 km/h Stops in time

55 km/h Stops in time

60 km/h Touches

65 km/h Hits at 32 km/h

70 km/h Hits at 46 km/h

75 km/h Hits at 57 km/h

80 km/h Hits at 66 km/h

Reaction Braking

Wet conditions

Metres 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

50 km/h Stops in time

55 km/h Hits at 14 km/h

60 km/h Hits at 32 km/h

Source: Australian Federal Police, ACT

65 km/h Hits at 44 km/h

70 km/h Hits at 53 km/h

75 km/h Hits at 63 km/h

80 km/h Hits at 70 km/h

Reaction Braking

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 533

 INVESTIGATION

REACTION TIME TESTS

1 Use an Internet search engine to find a Reaction Time Test where the times you take
to click the button when the light comes on are recorded and the average reaction time
calculated. Work in groups of 4 or 5 and decide who has the best average reaction time.
2 Work in pairs to measure your ‘reaction distance’.
• Your partner holds the top of a 30 cm ruler, at the 30 cm end.
• You sit on a chair with your thumb and forefinger around the bottom of the ruler,
at the 0 cm end.
• Your partner drops the ruler at a random time.
• You catch the ruler and record the reaction distance.
• Repeat 5 times and find your average reaction distance.
• Swap places with your partner and repeat.
Which student in the class has the fastest reaction time (shortest reaction
distance)? What is the class average?
3 Name three activities where a fast reaction time is an advantage.

Study tip
More exam tips
• Read all instructions carefully. Don’t rush.
• Calculate the average time you should spend on each question.
• If one answer is taking too long, stop and ask yourself: ‘Am I on the wrong track?’
Don’t get bogged down. You may need to retrace your steps, start again or come
back later.
• When you have finished a question, make sure you have actually answered it.
Do you need to write the answer in a sentence? Put a circle or box around the answer
to highlight it.
• Make sure that your answer is reasonable, especially if it involves money or
measurement. Did you round the answer correctly and include the correct units?
• If you have some time left at the end of the exam, double-check your answers,
especially for the more difficult or uncertain questions.

534 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 SAMPLE HSC PROBLEM

This graph shows the blood alcohol content (BAC) of a 55 kg woman according to the
number of drinks she has had.

BAC for a 55 kg person after a number of drinks

0.35

0.30

0.25

0.20
BAC

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Number of drinks

a Bianca is 55 kg. Estimate her BAC after 5 drinks.

b How many drinks will cause her to reach a BAC beyond 0.1?
c When BAC reaches 0.3, a person usually passes out. After how many drinks will this
occur?
d What is the gradient of the line in the graph and what does it represent?
e If Bianca consumes 8 drinks, how many hours will it take her to return to a
BAC
BAC of zero? (Use the formula: h = )
0.015

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 535

 12. CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter, Driving safely, looked at the mathematics behind safe driving, covering the
areas of measurement (blood alcohol, speed and stopping distance), algebra (formulas) and
data analysis (road accident statistics). You should be familiar with the terminology, formulas,
graphs and calculations involved with BAC, road accidents, speed and stopping distance.
Make a summary of this topic. Use the outline at the start of this chapter as a guide. An
incomplete mind map is shown below. Use your own words, symbols, diagrams, boxes and
reminders. Gain a ‘whole picture’ view of the topic and identify any weak areas.

Accident Speed, distance

statistics and time

DRIVING
SAFELY

Blood alcohol Stopping

content (BAC) distance

536 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 12. TEST YOURSELF

1 Jennifer weighs 56 kg and drank 3 glasses of wine at a party over 3 hours. She thought Exercise

she was safe to drive but when pulled over and tested, she was over the legal limit of 12.01
1
0.05. She later discovered that each wine glass contained 1 standard drinks. Use the
2
10 N − 7.5H BAC
formulas BAC female = ; Number of hours = to answer the following
5.5 M 0.015
questions.
a What was her BAC, to three decimal places, when she was tested?
b How long, in hours and minutes, did it take before her BAC was back to zero?
c What would her BAC be, to three decimal places, after 3 standard drinks in
3 hours?

2 This table shows the BAC for women of different weights and number of drinks Exercise

consumed in an hour. 12.01

Body weight (kg)

Drinks per hour 45 55 64 73 82 91 100
1 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02
2 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.04
3 0.14 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.06

Sheridan is 64 kg. At a party, she consumed 2 drinks in the first hour and 3 drinks in the
second hour.
a Calculate Sheridan’s BAC:
  i  at the start of the party
    ii  after the first hour
      iii  after the second hour.
b 
If Sheridan had no more drinks, how many hours until her BAC returns to zero?
Assume that her body reduces her BAC at the rate of 0.018 per hour.

3 a Why is a heavier person less affected by alcohol? Exercise

12.01
b Why are females more affected by alcohol?

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 537

Exercise 4 This table shows the number of people killed in road crashes in an 8-year period in Australia.
12.02
Road fatalities in Australia for 2008–2015
Drivers Passengers
Year Male Female Male Female
2008 495 175 177 125
2009 521 186 182 148
2010 470 166 154 129
2011 422 146 158 126
2012 459 151 124 136
2013 393 164 101 102
2014 386 146 109 118
2015 424 131 117 132
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016,
Road trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.

a What is the mean number of male drivers killed per year?

b What is the range of female passengers killed over the 8 years?
c In 2015, what percentage (correct to one decimal place) of drivers killed were male?
d In 2015, what percentage (correct to one decimal place) of females killed were drivers?
e What do you notice when you compare the numbers of drivers with the number
passengers killed each year? Give a reason why this may be so.
f What is the median number of female drivers killed per year?
g Is the number of drivers killed each year generally increasing or decreasing? Give a
reason why this may be so.

Exercise
5 This table shows the number of Australian fatal crashes over 7 years categorised by
12.02 number of vehicles and pedestrians involved.

Year Single-vehicle Multiple-vehicle Pedestrian Total

crashes crashes crashes crashes
2009 649 509 189 1347
2010 544 520 169 1233
2011 504 463 184 1151
2012 520 503 167 1190
2013 515 430 156 1101
2014 463 438 149 1050
2015 491 447 163 1101
Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), 2016, Road
trauma Australia, 2015 statistical summary BITRE, Canberra ACT.
a Which category of crash shows a steady decline over the years until 2015?
b In 2015, what percentage (correct to one decimal place) of crashes involved pedestrians?

538 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565

 c 
True or false? There are always more single-vehicle crashes than multiple-vehicle
crashes.
d Which year had the highest number of:
i  multiple-vehicle crashes? ii crashes overall?
e Calculate the percentage increase (to one decimal place) in single-vehicle crashes
between 2014 and 2015.
f Draw a sector graph to display the data for 2015.
3
6 Scott took 2 h to drive from Canberra to Bodalla, 200 km away. Exercise
4
a What was his average speed, correct to the nearest km/h? 12.03

b 
How long, in hours and minutes, would it take him to drive 430 km to Newcastle at
this speed?
c How far, to the nearest km, could he travel at this speed in 5 hours?

7 A truck driver was travelling in the Northern Territory at 150 km/h on a road with Exercise

no speed limits. He began braking 3 seconds after he saw a sign to a truck stop. If he 12.04
travelled 810 m under brakes before coming to a stop, how far did he travel after seeing
the sign?

8 George is travelling on a dry road at 65 km/h and sees a cow in the middle of the road Exercise

about 70 m ahead. He takes 1.2 s to apply the brakes, then travels 24 m under brakes 12.04
before coming to a stop. Did he hit the cow? Give reasons for your answer.

9 The following measurements were taken in a school zone.

Stopping distances on a wet road in a school zone Exercise

12.04
Reaction Reaction Braking Stopping
time (s) distance (m) distance (m) distance (m)
1 11.1 12.6 A
2 22.2 12.6 B

   4 44.4 12.6 C

The speed limit in a school zone during school hours is 40 km/h.

a What do you notice about the braking distances?
b What do you notice about the reaction distances?
c Find the values of A, B and C.
d 
If an 85-year-old driver in a school zone has a slow reaction time of 4 s, would he
stop in time if he sees a child crossing the road 50 m ahead?
e Suggest two strategies for this driver that would help him avoid any accidents when
driving.

ISBN 9780170413565 12. Driving safely 539

 Exercise
10 This graph gives the braking distance for a car travelling on a dry or wet road at
12.04 various speeds.

Braking distances
90
Dry weather
80
Wet weather
70

Braking distance (m)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
40 50 60 100
Speed (km/h)

a 
What is the difference in braking distance on a dry road for two cars travelling at
50 km/h and 100 km/h respectively?
b How much further will a car travel under brakes on a wet road at 60 km/h than on a
dry road at the same speed?
c If a car travels 50 m under brakes on a dry road, what is its approximate speed?
d What is the approximate speed of a car on a dry road that travels 12 m after the
brakes are applied?
Qz
e 
Write a sentence noting any similarities or differences between braking distances
Chapter quiz on wet and dry roads, giving reasons for your answer.

540 NCM 11.  Mathematics Standard (Pathway 2) ISBN 9780170413565