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Safe System Snippet 263: Australian roadside drug testing procedures
Drivers most frequently test positive for the use of alcohol and/or cannabis (according to Penning Et Al). These two drugs affect driving ability in a dose-dependent manner especially when used in combination. However, the same study suggested that drivers on cocaine,...
Safe System Snippet 262: Mobile speed camera operations in Australian jurisdictions
In late 2020, Transport for NSW published a report titled: Mobile speed camera operations in other Australian jurisdictions. In the report they note that all Australian jurisdictions have speed camera programs that include mobile cameras. They state, “Evaluations of...
Congratulations to Ontario’s newest Road Safety Auditors!
Congratulations to Ontario’s newest Road Safety Auditors!Earlier this week, Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd. in partnership with Good Roads, delivered our three day Road Safety Audit training course in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. With 32 participants from municipalities,...
Safe System Snippet 261: Adding a bullbar to a vehicle can make it 50% more deadly. Why is this?
Adding a bullbar to a vehicle can make it 50% more deadly. Why is this?: ⚠ Bullbars cause the mechanics of crashes with pedestrians and cyclists to change. According to Victorian Government research, this can cause death of a pedestrian at half the speed of a vehicle...
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘀 – 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 course with Mildura Rural City Council
Last month, Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd. delivered our Traffic Engineering Fundamentals - Signs and Lines course for Mildura Rural City Council. This one-day technical training is based on the latest Australian Standard AS 1742 series covering the function, and...
Safe System Snippet: #260 Tailgating
Tailgating does not result in a high proportion of death and serious injury in Australia and New Zealand, however a recent study found being tailgated is one of the most stressful driving experiences (Ochenasek Et. Al.). There have been several concerted efforts to...
Safe System Snippet: #259 The Safe System in a cartoon
We love this. The Safe System in a cartoon. Beautifully illustrated by Hope McConnell from The Spinoff with support from Waka Kotahi – NZTA. Click on the image to view.
Safe System Snippet: #258 Risk and responsibility…
Risk and responsibility… we’re not a fan of this ad. A bicycle and rider = ~ 80kg and goes ~ 20 km/h. A car = ~ 1,500kg and goes ~ 50km/h in urban areas. Kinetic energy in the bicycle rider’s control = 1,234J Kinetic energy for the car driver’s control =...
Safe System Snippet: #257 Kerbing
While kerbing provides a high level of delineation, it provides very little redirective properties. Even barrier kerb doesn’t act like a road safety barrier and is easily mountable by cars and trucks. It is for this reason that we tend to categorise separation using...
Safe System Snippet: #256 Dynamic Visual Obstruction
Dynamic Visual Obstruction is the term for when a moving vehicle (or propped vehicle) blocks another vehicle’s sightlines. This phenomenon often occurs at signalised intersections when a right turn bay blocks the view for a turning driver/rider (and approaching...
Safe System Snippet: #255 Errors and violations on the road
A key principle of the Safe System is that humans make mistakes, but it is important to understand mistake making and be able to categorise into errors and violations. These are two forms of aberration which have different psychological origins and often demand...
Safe System Snippet: #254 Mixed use arterial roads
On those tricky mixed use arterial roads there is often a need to install a midblock pedestrian operated set of traffic signals. These can aid to balance traffic flow and pedestrian crossing opportunity. But these are almost always installed without any traffic...
Safe System Snippet: #253 Are food delivery riders incentivised to act unsafely on the roads?
Are food delivery riders incentivised to act unsafely on the roads? The quicker they deliver, the more deliveries they can make, and the more money they make. Do they take more risks to deliver quickly? Safe Work Australia has identified some common road safety...
Safe System Snippet: #252 School Crossing Supervisors
We require School Crossing Supervisors to work in and around live traffic. Do you think they are provided with appropriate risk management controls? Would we allow other workers to operate on our roads under these conditions?
Safe System Snippet: #251 Wire rope safety barriers in the central median of the Eastern Freeway
One of Victoria’s longest standing barrier design debates involves the wire rope safety barriers in the central median of the Eastern Freeway. These barriers protect road users from impacts with the concrete footings of the lighting columns and with travelling to the...
Safe System Snippet: #250 Transverse rumble strips
Transverse rumble strips are laid across a travel lane and are used to warn motorists of a potential hazard by creating a noise and vibration feedback to a driver when driven over. Transverse rumble strips are mainly used on the minor approach to priority-controlled...
Safe System Snippet: #249 Barriers to the safe use of personal mobility devices
We continue to see increases in the use of personal mobility devices (e-scooters, e-skateboards, etc.). As a result, the National Transport Commission has developed a document titled: Barriers to the safe use of personal mobility devices - Decision Regulation Impact...
Safe System Snippet: #248 Vehicle activated systems at intersections
There are a variety of vehicle activated systems available to reduce the risk of crashes at intersections. For higher speed intersections there has been considerable trialling and successful deployment of side activated speed limits for the main road. The concept uses...
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