1 intro to road safety engineering

Welcome to the Road Safety Engineering
Workshop – Semarang, 19th & 20th April 2012

An introduction to road safety
engineering

Semarang
19th & 20th April 2012

Phillip Jordan, Consultant
Road Safety International Pty Ltd

My Objectives:

• To outline briefly the problem of road safety -
globally and in Indonesia
• To outline “road safety engineering”
• To emphasise the important role of the road in
road safety
• To encourage you to design, construct and
manage safer roads

Introduction to road safety engineering

A Global Problem

• 1.3 million deaths each year on roads of the world (about
3600 per day, or 150 per hour, or more than 2 per minute !)

• Over 15 million are seriously injured


A Global Problem

The WHO predicts that by 2020 there will be 2.3 million
traffic crash deaths worldwide, constituting 27.4% of all
injury related deaths
90% of these will occur in low and middle income
countries
For example, Indonesia had 34,000 fatalities in
2011(Police figures)
By 2020 that may be up to 60,000 deaths

Global road safety - Phillip Jordan

An Indonesian Problem

• Some 34,000 deaths each year on the roads of Indonesia
• Over 250,000 are injured (that’s 700 per day)
• 61% of deaths are motorcyclists
• 15 -20% of deaths are pedestrians
• Numbers are increasing!


An Indonesian Problem

Motorcyclists Males

Victoria had a serious safety problem 40 years ago

• In 1970, 1061 people died on the roads of Victoria
(a rate of about 9 deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles)
• Legislation, public awareness, engineering and co-
ordination between agencies has reduced this figure.
• In 2011, 287 people died on Victoria’s roads
(a rate of 0.9 deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles)

There is hope !


1 intro to road safety engineering

What is road safety engineering?

Road safety engineering is:

“the modification of the physical road environment,
using proven processes and techniques, that
endeavours to reduce risk for all road users”



A profession that combines:
• Traffic engineering
• Road design
• Human factors
• Detailed analysis
• Reactive processes
• Proactive processes
• Lots of judgment



The two main processes in RSE are:

• Blackspot investigation (a reactive process) – relies on the
crash record for a site, and aims to reduce the crash frequency
and/or severity at that site.

• Road safety audit (a proactive process) – takes the same skills
but applies them during the design stages of a new road project
to prevent crashes.


Some engineers in the past have blamed all crashes
on the human – the drivers, the pedestrians, the
motorcyclists.

These engineers have not understood that they have
a vital role to play in reducing crashes.

Improvements to the road are some of the most cost-
effective things to do to improve safety.

For example – in Australia, the National Road Safety Strategy has road
improvements (blackspots etc) to be the highest priority


Crashes involve....

• Humans
• Vehicles
• Roads

The Haddon Matrix


If you have a location on a highway where many
crashes occur, you might.....

• Do nothing – its not your job!
• Blame the drivers/riders
• Ask the Police to enforce the road rules there
• Work with the local community and teachers to educate
drivers/riders and pedestrians about road safety
• Ask DGLT to inspect all the vehicles at the location and take
the unsafe ones off the road
• Ask the local hospital to improve their emergency services


If you have a location on a highway where many
crashes occur, you might.....

• Or maybe you are enlightened and you will understand that
you have a blackspot on your highway.
• You will get as much Police crash data as possible.
• You will read it, prepare a collision diagram and a crash factor
grid.
• You will be a detective and look for patterns in the crashes
(types of crashes, time of day, weather conditions, day vs night)
• Then you will develop low cost countermeasures that address
the main patterns of crashes


• If so – you will be acting responsibly and will be
helping to reduce the crashes and the crash severity
at your problem site

• This is what crash investigation is all about.


Many differences, many
similarities

• There are many different roads around the world
• There are many different road users also


similarities

• Some countries drive on the left side, some drive on
the right side.
• A few drive on both sides!!! - joking
• Some countries have good crash reporting systems,
some do not.
• Some have many motorcycles – some do not
• Some have many different road users – some don’t.
• What lessons are there for Indonesia from other
countries?


Roads and users may differ, but
safety is a global problem

Which country is this?


similarities

What lessons are there for Indonesia from other countries?

1. Road safety is a business – you must show economic benefits from your
work.
2. Road crashes cost the Indonesian community a lot of money – almost
3% of GDP.
3. Road safety takes a long time to improve – but the sooner we start, the
sooner Indonesia will benefit from safer roads and lower trauma costs.
4. You can have a life long career in road safety engineering.
5. Improving blackspots is one of the most cost effective things you can do.


What is a Road Crash?

“a rare, random, multi-factorial event in
which one or more road users has failed to
cope with their environment.”


Road crash definition

 road crashes are :-
 rare - 1 in 200 people injured every year

 random - impossible to predict where and when
the next crash will happen

 multi-factor - combination of behavioural, vehicle
and highway factors.


These are crashes –
they are not “accidents”
We should use the word “CRASH”

Accident implies that :
• the cause was unpredictable
• no human could have done anything to prevent it
• it is outside of our “control”
• It was in the “hands of the gods”


We should use the word “CRASH”

But a road crash:

• Can have “things” done to prevent it
• Is within our “control”
• Can be prevented
• Is related closely to risk, and is predictable


Road safety is a global problem


Please remember…….

Road safety engineers can make a vital
contribution to road safety in Indonesia.

Putting the road into road safety

LESSON 1: Engineers can improve safety by
making low cost improvements at blackspots


We eliminate blackspots with treatments such as:

• Signs
• Line markings
• Intersection improvements
• Street lighting
• Barriers and roadside hazard improvements

• These can be summarised into 5 actions.....


 warn
 inform
 guide
 control
 forgive


Road safety engineers should....

..... create a road
environment which warns,
informs, guides and
controls all road users, but
forgives them when they
make a mistake


 warn
 inform
 guide
 control
 forgive


• warn
• inform
• guide
• control
• forgive

SHOULD ONLY BE USED IF THE
BRIDGE IS NARROWER THAN TOO GENERAL
THE ROAD

Road safety engineers should…

 warn
 inform
 guide
 control
 forgive

What is this warning of ?


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

TOO GENERAL

LESSON 2: Engineers improve safety by
correctly using warning signs

Good warning signs must be:
- specific (not general)
- well located – not too close, not too far, not hidden
- sometimes repeated/duplicated
- reflective (for night time safety)
- well maintained


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

RHS
Roundabout


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Confirmation signage

providing good, timely information

Good information is:
- provided when and where it is needed
- able to be read easily
- sometimes repeated (especially on high speed roads)
- well maintained

Guide post

o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

CAM’s, guide posts, edge lines, centre lines


??

o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

One CAM only, we need a series of CAM’s.
Use plastic signs if these get stolen.


 warn
 inform
 guide
 control
 forgive

Plastic guide post



R/C guide posts

 warn
 inform

X
 guide
 control
 forgive

providing good guidance to road users

Good guidance must be:
- continuous through a curve and along a route
- consistent across a network (not only at some
places, and not others)

- standardised where possible


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Speed restriction sign


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Traffic signals


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Roundabout


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Railway crossing signals


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Regulatory traffic signs

??

o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Even this badly maintained sign can
be recognised as a Stop sign

providing correct traffic control

Good traffic control must be:
- enforceable by Police (legally compliant)
- standardised – all signals the same colour, all
signs the same shape/colour
- well located – highly visible
- well maintained
(why are so many traffic signals out of action in Indonesia?)


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Sealed shoulders


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Driveable roadsides


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

X
This is NOT forgiving


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Crash cushions


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Crash barriers


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive
Wire rope safety barriers


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive
X

Crash barriers – if used they must be
correctly installed and maintained


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive
X

Deep drains are not forgiving – if used
they must be covered and maintained


o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Slip based lighting columns

??

o warn
o inform
o guide
o control
o forgive

Sometimes we simply need a new highway!

providing a forgiving road

A “forgiving” road is one that:
- does all that is possible to keep the vehicles
on the road
- has driveable side slopes, no uncovered
drains nearby
- removes or relocates roadside hazards
- uses forgiving roadside furniture
- has crash barrier only where really needed

LESSON 7: Engineers improve safety by installing
crash barriers only where really necessary

Barriers should only be the last option – and if used they
must be correctly installed and maintained:
- located well off the road
- correct height, long enough to shield the
hazard
- safe terminals (most terminals are not safe in Indonesia)
- good reflectors (for night time safety)
- well maintained

There will be more on these topics in the
remainder of this workshop


Road safety engineering – has
a big future in Indonesia:

I look forward to detailing the blackspot
process next – are there any questions?


1 intro to road safety engineering

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