How to assess bicycle facilities

One complicating factor with bicycle facilities is that even with off-road paths, some cyclists will choose to ride on the road. It is tempting to eliminate the cyclists on the path as they are not directly exposed to traffic. However, to keep things consistent, it is best to calculate exposure based on the number of cyclists using the corridor, whether they are on the road or not. Only if there is a path that is very remote (or totally shielded from the road) should you reduce the exposure.

With this in mind, the following treatments affect exposure, likelihood and severity:

What is a Safe System Assessment?

A Safe System Assessment is a process to measure road infrastructure’s alignment with Safe System principles and the ultimate objective of eliminating fatal and serious injuries from crashes on the road network.The process is documented in Austroads Report AP-R509-16, VicRoads’ and DPTI’s Safe System Assessment Guidelines. This Fact Sheet provides supplementary information and clarification.