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Safe System Snippet: #247 Appropriate and practical treatments for cut batters
In the past, roadside design somewhat ignored cut batters feeling that they would be redirective and present a much lower risk than fill batters and fixed hazards (trees, culvers, power poles etc.). However, in more recent times there has been an acknowledgement that...
Safe System Snippet: #246 Kinetic Energy = ½ Mass x Velocity^2
Kinetic Energy = ½ Mass x Velocity^2 For a 1000kg car: 60km/h is equivalent to a 14m fall 80km/h is equivalent to a 25m fall 100km/h is equivalent to a 40m fall Video credit: Volvo
2023 Australasian Road Safety Conference – Road Safety Trivia Night
For those attending the Road Safety Conference in Cairns, make sure you book a spot at the:- Road Safety Trivia Night - Trivia Hosts: Kenn Beer & Kathy Doukouris from Safe System SolutionsDo I need to know lots: No, we cater for all levels of knowledge When:...
Safe System Snippet: #245 A Roundabout Numerical Design Tool (ARNDT)
In many contexts roundabouts have high alignment with Safe System principles. To help road designs, TMR offers free software to identify potentially hazardous geometry of proposed or existing roundabouts and to predict crash rates. A Roundabout Numerical Design Tool...
Safe System Snippet: #244 Wide Centre Line Treatment (WCLT)
Wide Centre Line Treatment (WCLT) can reduce cross centreline fatal and serious injury crashes by up to 35% (Austroads). Some design considerations: Design should consider use of Audio Tactile Line Marking in conjunction with the wide centreline. In retrofit...
Safe System Snippet: #243 Motorcycle Clothing Assessment Program (MotoCAP)
Soft tissue injuries are the most common injuries experienced by motorcyclists involved in crashes in Australia, yet there are no mandated clothing requirements (only helmet requirements). Even if there were other requirements (gloves, boots, pants and/or jacket)...
Safe System Snippet: #242 Exposure to material encouraging speeding
A study from the University of the Sunshine Coast has shown what we all suspected - that exposure to material encouraging speeding increases actual speeding rates in drivers. 628 Queensland motorists (263 men and 365 women aged between 17 and 88 years) were part of...
Safe System Snippet: #241 Working Width
Working Width is the barrier system width + dynamic deflection of the system + vehicle roll allowance. Working Width should be provided as clearance from any non-frangible hazards behind the barrier.
Safe System Snippet: #240 Road safety risk around schools
Main factors influencing road safety risk around schools. Safety around schools has always been a major focus for road safety improvements. While these areas actually present low trauma rates, the special protection the community demands for child safety provides...
Safe System Snippet: #239 Effective measures for the reduction of animal crashes
In Australia, the biggest source of trauma in animal crashes are kangaroos (trauma for both for the kangaroos and the humans). The effects of a number of measures that have been found are reproduced in the second figure below. As you can see, in this study, the...
Safe System Snippet: #238 Trail bike safety project
In Victoria, every year, around 700 crashes are reported that involve trail bike riders in forest, park or bush settings. Of these crashes, around 350 are serious injury crashes and 5 are fatal. Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action,...
Safe System Snippet: #237 Perceptual countermeasures
Perceptual countermeasures (sometimes call perceptive countermeasures) are any alterations to the road environment to change a road user’s perception of the environment with the aim to alter their behaviour. Common perceptual countermeasures include transverse lines...
Safe System Snippet: #236 Bridge width and road safety
Bridge width and road safety. Two great studies have been produced regarding the effects of bridge width on road safety. One by Mak and one by Corben Et. Al. In summary, increasing the bridge width results in a significant reduction of crashes - 35%. In another...
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...