Latest News
Safe System Snippet: #235 We salute the humble road hump – another Safe System solution
Physical treatments in the road environment are the most effective way to slow vehicles. Road humps are one of the most powerful Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) tools in the toolkit. To operate efficiently and safely, the following design principles should be...
Safe System Snippet: #234 It is well known that a town bypass will improve road safety
It is well known that a town bypass will improve road safety. Elvik Et. Al. (2001) found that the reduction in injury crashes equated to approximately 25%, but that one factor in the success of this was the treatment/management of the old highway. At the time the...
Safe System Snippet: #233 Anti-dazzle (or anti-glare) screens
Anti-dazzle (or anti-glare) screens are designed to minimise light from opposing headlight. A study from the UK found that these screens can reduce injury crashes by up to 11%. When installing, make sure the design of the attachments doesn’t impact the barrier’s...
Safe System Snippet: #232 Evalutation of existing speed camera locations
Safe System Solutions was appointed as the Independent Road Safety Experts by the NSW Government to evaluate nine existing speed camera locations. The review was performed to understand if these cameras are still providing a safety benefit and should remain or if...
Safe System Snippet: #231 ‘Dynamic Visual Obstruction’ or ‘Masking’
Left turning vehicles can block the sight lines for vehicles trying to exit the side road. This is called ‘Dynamic Visual Obstruction’ or ‘Masking’. The addition of a left turn lane can sometimes exacerbate this issue as the masked vehicle is given greater opportunity...
Safe System Snippet: #230 Where is yellow road line marking used in Australia?
Where is yellow road line marking used in Australia? There are a number of situations where yellow line marking is used instead of white, these are: To denote no stopping at a locations (along kerb or edge of the road) ((Road Rule 169)) To reinforce not to stop...
Safe System Snippet: #229 Left turn slip lanes treatments
Left turn slip lanes treatments continue to be a source of debate in industry. We generally like TMR’s approach in their Road Safety Policy and their Guide to Traffic Management Part 6 which sets Queensland’s process for thinking about pedestrian and cyclist safety at...
Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS)
Soon you’ll need a licence to work with road safety barrier systems. The Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS) has been launched, and will ensure the people who design, install, and maintain road safety barriers on Australia’s and New...
Safe System Snippet: #228 Vehicle Star Safety Rating
A New Zealand study has found that owners of cars with low star ratings (1 or 2 stars) are most likely to be young, female and earning less than $50,000 per year. But, 86% of them either did not know their star safety rating or wrongly believed they had a safer...
Bikes and Trucks – can it be done safely?
Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd. has been assisting in the continued rollout of the Sharing Roads Safely training course. The course was developed for heavy vehicle drivers to increase safe interactions with vulnerable road users, specifically motorbike riders, cyclists...
Safe System Snippet: #227 Active transport networks are a good investment.
Active transport networks are a good investment. A Norwegian study found that the benefit of establishing a coherent network of routes for pedestrians and cyclists is at least five times the costs (Sælensminde 2002). This analysis includes investment and maintenance...
Safe System Snippet: #226 Gateway treatments
Gateway treatments can reduce casualty crashes by up to 35%. Gateway treatments (also referred to as entry treatments or town thresholds) are used to delineate the transitions from higher speed to lower speed environments. This is achieved through the use of speed...
Safe System Snippet: #225 Truck rollovers
Truck rollovers occur with all types of trucks but in Australia are more common with trucks carrying timber, livestock, and bulk liquids. A study of 239 truck rollover crashes in the USA showed the following contributing factors: almost half resulted from...
Safe System Snippet: #224 Road Safety Audits (RSAs)
Road Safety Audits (RSAs) are an established and proven practice around the world. They reduce death and serious injury in the transport realm. The practice of undertaking RSAs has been successfully operating in world leading road safety jurisdictions (such as the UK,...
Safe System Snippet: #223 Bent-out cycle lane crossings
Bent-out cycle lane crossings are designed to provide a gap of one or two car lengths between the main carriageway and crossing. This provides an area where a vehicle can store when they turn off the main carriageway; creating safer turning movements and increasing...
Safe System Snippet: #222 Pedestrian protection at signalised intersections
Pedestrian protection at signalised intersections Pedestrian protection gives pedestrians a head start to begin crossing before a vehicle gets a green light to proceed. In NSW, more than 500 intersections are being upgraded to include this protection and all new...
Presentation to NZ’s Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council
Earlier this month, Sam Pasley (Aotearoa lead for Safe System Solutions NZ) and Kenn Beer presented to NZ’s Motorcycle Safety Advisory Council on some of the latest and greatest in road design, assessment and management of roads for motorcycle safety. This included:...
Safe System Snippet: #221 Audio Tactile Line Markings (ATLMs)
Audio Tactile Line Markings (ATLMs) (also called profiled lines or rumble strips) can reduce the likelihood of crashes by up to 45%. Black ATLMs have even more advantages as: - You can create continuous ATLM on both broken and unbroken centrelines (no gaps). - You...
Safe System Snippet: #220 The ‘barrier effect’
Traffic speed isn’t just a safety issue. In areas with a lot of high-speed traffic, people walk less and also experience negative outcomes for health, wellbeing and sense of community. The cost of the ‘barrier effect’ of busy roads on walking in the UK was estimated...
Austroads Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) Update project – Webinar
Register to join members of our team Tana Tan (PhD) and Duncan McRae for a webinar that will provide an overview of the Austroads Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (LAMS) Update project. Dr Tana Tan is the Research and Evaluation Lead at Safe System Solutions Pty...