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This video from Darwin went viral and we can understand why. The astonishingly low chance that this speeding vehicle didn’t collide with another car or a pedestrian. It’s a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in our road/street system. How can a vehicle reach such...

In road safety engineering, kerbs (or "curbs" for our North American friends) are generally considered mountable. This means that when a vehicle exits the roadway, it will traverse the kerb and continue on without redirection. While larger or higher kerbs can be...

The end of a barrier system is the highest risk part. Why? It gets struck the most. It carries the potential to spear a vehicle, vault a vehicle, or cause an abrupt stop, increasing crash severity. So, what can we do as barrier designers do to reduce these risks? 1....

Roundabouts with raised pedestrian crossings (Wombats) create a safe and accessible environment for all road users. And it’s great to see this now appear in the Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4B: Roundabouts. An evaluation of the installation of wombat crossings...

There’s a common misconception that most head-on crashes are caused by risky overtaking manoeuvres (like in the video below). But in Australia, less than 20% of head-on deaths and serious injuries are linked to overtaking. The real culprit? Lane drift-off.Many drivers...

Ever wondered why roundabouts are often designed with adverse crossfall? It’s all about: Drainage: To ensure water flows out efficiently. Visibility: Making the roundabout more pronounced and noticeable. Ease of Construction: To tie into the existing road crossfall....

Unlike cars with their four-wheeled stability, motorcycles rely on only two small contact points with the road, making them highly sensitive to changes in surface conditions. Even subtle variations in texture, dips, ruts, or patches of loose gravel can disrupt their...

We're proud to be corporate supporters of Victoria Walks - an organisation committed to transforming public spaces into safe, vibrant and walkable spaces. Victoria Walks is an evidence-based health promotion charity, leading the move for walkable communities in...

Congratulations to Benjamin Ryan, Engineer at Safe System Solutions, on achieving his iRAP accreditation. This is another great step in our ongoing work to support governments by Star Ratings for roads, streets and upgrade designs. Using Star Ratings to show the...

Throwback to one of Australia’s first wire rope safety barrier commercials, created to educate the public on the extensive rollout along the Princes Highway East (part of the PHE Route Safety Strategy). Local road safety advocate Andy Milbourne delivers a succinct...

A recent UK study found that 43% of people driving a large vehicle did not know the height of the vehicle they were driving. The video below showcases one of Melbourne’s most struck rail bridges - Racecourse Road. For a deeper dive into this issue, check out our...

Rule 72 of the Australian Road Rules states that a driver turning into a road must give way to any pedestrian at or near the intersection who is crossing the road the driver is entering. Unfortunately, this rule is neither well-known nor consistently obeyed. Just have...

When a barrier fails to contain a vehicle it’s often because the vehicle has vaulted over it. This can occur because of several factors: Older barrier systems: These are typically lower than modern barriers, which have been designed with increased height to account...

Drivers may end up going the wrong way on divided carriageways for a variety of reasons, including: 🚘 Confusion about the road layout🚘 Recklessly taking a shortcut🚘 Police chase scenarios🚘 Thrill-seeking🚘 Impairment🚘 Emergencies🚘 Avoiding traffic There are only a few...

The conversation around vehicle safety often centres on private vehicles and their ability to protect occupants. This focus leaves gaps in our understanding of safety outcomes for mass transit modes like passenger rail and buses. Isolated studies have suggested...

When people imagine a vehicle crashing into a roadside barrier, they often picture a shallow-angle drift-off scenario. However, the reality is that barrier systems are struck at a wide variety of angles. The angle of impact is influenced not only by road geometry but...

Safe System Solutions conducted an evaluation of road user behaviour and their perceptions of safety at the Moray Street protected roundabout. Our evaluation found increased usage by both pedestrians and cyclists, large increases in perceived safety for both road user...

When conducting a Safe System Assessment, one key task is to predict potential crashes and quantify their exposure, likelihood, and severity. This is done using the Safe System Assessment Matrix, which includes separate columns for run-off-road crashes and...

When designing 2+1 and 1+1 roads, the central barrier system prevents overtaking. While this enhances safety, it also creates challenges: drivers stuck behind slower vehicles or eager to speed may resort to dangerous behaviour like undertaking (illegally passing a...

Crash outcomes are significantly influenced by the interplay of speed, mass, and crash angle. The angle of impact between vehicles is particularly important in determining the energy transfer to vehicle occupants. Also, vehicles are not uniformly engineered for...