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Check out this turnaround bay on a side road in New Zealand.   As more and more of the road network becomes divided with a central barrier system, turnaround bays provide designated spots for drivers, including those in large vehicles, to safely turn. The bays can be...

Ever wonder how they repair road safety barriers after they’ve been hit? Here’s a great short video from the Victorian Government showing the repair of life saving road safety barriers. 

There has been a lot of work in recent times to create shared path crossings over roads. This is where both pedestrians and cyclists have priority across a road, and it is marked with a GIVE WAY sign and supplementary ‘to 🚶‍♀️& 🚲’ sign. This is mainly to get...

Some pedestrian incidents are not necessarily included in the definition of road crash, and are therefore not included in official crash data. This can include obstructions on roads, falls, trips and slips, animal bites and personal security.  The World Health...

A see-through effect is part of the ‘visual deceit’ family of crash causation. This occurs when a driver or rider misses the requirement to give-way or stop because the road geometry misleads them. It is common at crossroads, where traffic signals are in close...

Right turn onto a pedestrian is one of the most common crash types for pedestrian death and serious injury at signalised intersections. This occurs when the driver has the ability to filter at the intersection (i.e. they choose when they turn right).  In many...

Higher containment barrier systems are used to protect road users from hazards, but also to protect high value/risk assets like bridge piers, drops onto other roads or railway lines, major electrical or telecommunication assets or areas needing special protection...

A small change in speed can make a big difference.  Speed management is the foundation of a forgiving road transport system. The physics of stopping associated with travelling speed is obvious to most, but the intricate and non-linear relationship with crash energy...

A literature review commissioned by Public Transport Safety Victoria has found, when it comes to pedestrian risk at railway level crossings, the following are high risk groups: school children, disabled and aged. Also identified were young male ‘sensation seekers’ as...

The majority of high severity incidents (deaths and serious injuries) associated with ‘dooring’ is a result of a secondary crash. This is where the initial strike from the door knocks the cyclists into the path of an adjacent vehicle in a traffic lane.   VicRoads,...

Larger turning vehicles exhibit offtracking characteristics. Offtracking is a function of a larger vehicle’s spacing between tyre axles. The maximum distance between a larger vehicle’s front (lead) axle and its rear (trailer) axle determines offtracking. It is...

In 2012, the Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure in South Australia installed 2.3 km of median wire rope safety barrier (MWRSB) along a section of the Victor Harbor Road known locally as Willunga Hill (Dua & Anderson 2013). The section of...

In a recent UK study, it was found that 43% of people driving a large vehicle did not know the height of the vehicle they were driving.   In Melbourne, the 5 bridges most struck by larger vehicles are:   Racecourse Road, Newmarket/Flemington Racecourse Road, CityLink...

To determine the appropriate sample size in a road safety study, we first determine the size of the statistical ‘population’. Next, we need to determine the confidence level required and the acceptable margin of error.  If the statistical population is taken as, say,...

Here’s a question to see how Safe System aligned your road system is:  If, at any time while driving, your vision was completely blocked, what are the chances of death or serious injury? Would there be enough energy in the system to kill when you crashed, or would it...

Congratulations to our Engineering Operations Manager, Max McCardel on winning the 2023 ITE-ANZ Young Professional Award sponsored by Lindsay Oxlad. The judging panel were especially impressed with Max’s: Commitment to the safety of vulnerable road users and promotion...

Pedestrian crash risk dramatically increases around public transport stops. This is because people’s focus is directed to catching their bus/tram/train.   In an audit of 70 bus stops in Melbourne and regional Victorian cities, Victoria Walks found that 60km/h was the...

People leave the road for all sorts of reasons. Falling asleep, vehicle malfunction, distraction, just to name a few. The barrier systems don’t care why people leave the road; they just do their job. Absorb energy, redirect the vehicle, and keep people alive.   Safe...

If a stiffer/higher containment section of barrier system is required, a tested and accepted transition to Thrie beam, or another higher containment system, will reduce the risk of the barrier failing, or worse, the barrier spearing an errant vehicle.   This short...

Seen a road safety barrier system in front of an open area in the roadside? Want to know why?   Here’s our Strategy Lead, Johan Strandroth, explaining the theory behind continuous barrier systems even when there is open space behind the barrier.