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When designing roadside barriers, there are many factors to consider within the context of the site. One important trade-off is between the stiffness of the barrier system and its offset from the edgeline.  A more flexible barrier system typically reduces occupant...

Riders face unique challenges on the road. Their smaller size compared to other vehicles makes it more likely for drivers to miss seeing them - creating situations where anticipation and quick reactions can make all the difference.  While we work to make drivers more...

Lateral Protection Devices (LPDs) fitted to trucks are an effective way to lessen the severity of a crash with a pedestrian or cyclist. According to Knight et. al (2005) the effectiveness of LPDs in preventing fatalities in crashes with the side of large trucks range...

In this video, it’s hard to tell exactly what’s happened. Let’s give the driver the benefit of the doubt and hypothesise that they identified the queuing vehicles too late and made a choice to avoid a rear-end collision with the queue.  This scenario highlights an...

Did you know that there’s no legal requirement to install a Give Way sign at a T-intersection? According to the Road Rules, vehicles on the terminating road are already required to give way to traffic on the through road (includes garbage bins it seems 😂). This means...

Pedestrians face frequent, varied, and high-severity risks in urban areas, particularly at intersections. These risks aren't just due to crossing the road; intersections are also high-risk points where vehicles may leave the road unexpectedly - whether avoiding other...

In three recent road safety audits, we’ve observed items attached to barrier systems that are not part of the system. While some, like the plastic guidepost contraption, are unlikely to affect the barrier's functionality, it’s not considered good practice....

Merges from the right are a higher risk road design than merges from the left (in drive-on-the-left countries) for a number of reasons:  Drivers’ line of sight  Blind Spots: Drivers in drive-on-the-left countries sit on the right side of the vehicle, making it more...

Click above for a few of the basic facts about fatigue and driving.  -------------  Follow us on LinkedIn for more snippets and news: @Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd

The AGRD Part 4A discusses an ‘average walking speed of 1.2 m/s’ and further acknowledges that ‘there are pedestrians who may walk at different rates and designers need to consider the types of pedestrians and their likely walking speeds’.  The TMR supplement expands...

  Some traditional Local Area Traffic Management studies focus on how cars move through an area – but here at Safe System Solutions we’re about more than that. We want all road users to be safe and to be able to get to their destination. Our Local Area Traffic...

Street/road art is becoming more and more popular. But what are the risks, and how can they be assessed?   In 2021, Maribyrnong City Council painted colourful polka dots of varying sizes on roads in Yarraville Village to catch the eye of drivers and encourage them to...

A common misconception is that car registration pays for road construction. In reality, roads are funded through general taxation, meaning everyone contributes - cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. State and Territory registration fees cover insurance and...

There was a time when roadside alcohol and drug testing seemed impossible, yet today, they're essential tools in the road safety toolkit. So, where are we now with roadside fatigue testing?  Fatigue is a major contributor to road trauma, but there’s still more work to...

Dr Amy Williamson, Safe System Solutions Technical Lead – Safe People, has received a prestigious Austroads Achievement Award for leadership in road safety.  The award recognises Amy’s exceptional leadership as the inaugural chair of the Australian and New Zealand...

Would you ride a bike to work if the journey was on flat terrain, less than 5 kilometres, and in a moderate climate?   Sounds ideal, right?  That’s the situation for most people living in Horsham, in Victoria’s west, yet just 1% of Horsham workers cycled to work in...

While this near miss involves a driver that is incorrectly and inappropriately using the intersection, it does highlight one of the additional risks for those trying to navigate the road network in a wheelchair or mobility scooter; their lower eye height compared to...

The Safe System’s principles - proactive interventions and designing roads that anticipate, minimise and manage human error are reshaping how practitioners in the USA think about road safety.  These are exciting times for the transport safety community as the Safe...

When we think about intersections, the focus is often on conflict points (those spots where vehicles can collide due to crossing paths). But did you know intersections also pose a higher risk for run-off-road crashes?  This happens when drivers or riders are forced to...

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, facing high risks on our roads and streets. This is one of the reasons we are corporate supporters of Victoria Walks.  One of Victoria Walks’ great pieces of work (with the help of the TAC and MUARC) looked at ten years...