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Safe System Snippet 505: Motorcycles & Intersection Collisions
One of the most common crash types leading to motorcycle injuries in urban areas is the right turn against crash, when a driver turns in front of a motorcyclist who is travelling straight. This crash type also happens between cars, and between cars and cyclists, but...
Safe System Snippet 504: We 🩷 Central Barriers
A poem for road safety: Central barrier, you legend. Saving lives without fuss. You are a class act. #BarriersSaveLives ————– Follow Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd for more Safe System Snippets
Safe System Snippet 503: Raised Medians – no substitute for a barrier system
Raised medians are valuable, but they’re no substitute for a barrier system. In a Safe System Assessment, count raised medians as reducing likelihood of crashes, not severity. For severity reduction, think barrier or speed reduction. ————– Follow Safe System...
Safe System Snippet 502: The ‘Airborne’ ‘Ditch’ & ‘Rough Road’ Test
Volvo has developed three run-off-road crash test scenarios. These are the ‘Airborne’ test, ‘Ditch’ test and the ‘Rough road’ test. The ‘Airborne’ test involves the vehicle leaving the road at 80km/h, launching and having a hard impact on the wheels. The ‘Ditch’ test...
Safe System Snippet 501: Are these the southern hemisphere’s 4-Way Stop intersections?
We're impressed with the innovation from Dunedin, NZ. Disrupting ultimate priority one spike down at a time. Dunedin City Council reports they cost ~NZ$15,000. Check out our evaluation of a similar treatment in Mildura, Vic. Pedestrians and cyclists? check out our...
Safe System Snippet 500: A Holistic Approach to Road Safety
🎉 We're celebrating 500 Safe System Snippets 🎉 This incredible video from Norway highlights some fantastic vehicle safety features in modern larger vehicles. This is an essential part of the Safe System approach, and it’s a brilliant demonstration of how advanced...
Safe System Snippet 499: Grade Separated Interchanges – how safe are they?
Grade-separated interchanges (aka flyovers) might seem like the ultimate Safe System solution, but they’re not without their challenges. While they do separate traffic streams on the mainline, they create two new at-grade intersections which can have their own safety...
Safe System Snippet 498: Reverse vs Angle Parking
Converting angle parking to parallel parking reduces casualty crashes by up to 35% (Elvik and Vaa, 2004). The awkward sight lines for drivers reversing out of angle parking causes them to be more likely to miss a vehicle in the through lane. This is particularly the...
Safe System Snippet 497: Run-Off-Road Roulette
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...
Safe System Snippet 496: Motorcyclists and Kerbs
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...
Safe System Snippet 495: Barriers – don’t let them end badly
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....
Safe System Snippet 494: Pedestrians and Roundabouts DO mix
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...
Safe System Snippet 493: Head-On Crashes – It’s Not Just About Overtaking
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...
Safe System Snippet 492: Roundabout Rollover
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....
Safe System Snippet 491: Road Surface and Motorcyclists
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...
Supporter Spotlight: Safe System Solutions & Victoria Walks
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...
⭐ SSS continues to grow AusRAP capability ⭐
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...
Safe System Snippet 490: Wire Rope Commercial – Still Spot On!
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...
Safe System Snippet 489: Mind the Gap… the vertical one
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...
Safe System Snippet 488: Right Turns and Pedestrian Priority
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...