The Key Issues of Road Design Found from Road Safety Inspections and Road Safety Audits

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aja Tumavičė ◽  
Juratė Vitkienė ◽  
Svaja Kaniušėnienė ◽  
Igoris Kravcovas ◽  
Ineta Lingytė
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Accident Rate ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Street Design ◽  
Road Design ◽  
Road Project ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Road Safety Audit ◽  
Road Safety Audits

In order to reduce accident rate on roads and streets more and more various road safety measures are being imple- mented each year. Nevertheless, road safety problem exists in most countries. For example, even though accident rate in Lith- uania was almost halved (6372 to 3161 yearly accidents) from years 2004 to 2015, fatality rate is still quite high – 8.3 per 100000 people. New regulations, approved in 2008, dictate the need of carrying out road safety audits and road safety inspec- tions for all road and street design projects. This paper presents most common road design errors and methods of fixing those errors based on Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Road Research Institute road safety auditors’ experience from years 2011 to 2016. Most common safety problems are organized and presented in groups ordered by their importance. Recommen- dations on how to improve road safety audit and inspection procedures in the future are formulated, as well as suggestions on improving road project design stage by taking most common flaw priority into consideration.

scholarly journals Identification and Analysis of Problems in the Implementation of Road Safety Audit in Lithuania

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
Aja Tumavičė ◽  
Igoris Kravcovas ◽  
Vilma Jasiūnienė
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Design ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Road Safety Audit ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Road Safety Audits

Road Safety Audits have already been tightly incorporated in the road design process throughout the world. It has proven to be an effective way of increasing road safety without requiring many resources. The cost-benefit-ratios of Road Safety Audits in developed countries are rather high. In Lithuania, the procedure on Road Safety Audits is fairly new, and the direct links between different problems and their occurrence frequency throughout the years are yet to be determined. In this paper, several audits on road safety, performed between the years 2011 and 2017 by the Road Research Institute of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, is analysed. The trends of most relevant problem types identified in those audits throughout the years for different types of roads and streets are presented. Based on those trends, the causes of some common problems are being recognised. Recommendations on possible solutions are suggested.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF SPECIAL PLANS AND TECHNICAL DESIGNS WITH REGARD TO TRAFFIC SAFETY

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatas Čygas ◽  
Vilma Jasiūnienė ◽  
Mantas Bartkevičius
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Road User ◽  
The Road ◽  
Safety Improvement ◽  
Improvement Measures ◽  
Road Safety Audit ◽  
Road Safety Audits ◽  
Made In

Traffic safety situation in Lithuania, despite the progress made in 2008, is still not good enough compared to the other European Union countries. Therefore, Lithuania implements the traffic safety improvement measures affecting all the elements of the traffic safety system “Road user‐road‐vehicle”. In 2008 Lithuania started implementing the road safety audit procedure which substantially contributes to the improvement of safety situation on Lithuanian roads. This article gives the analysis of road safety audits of special plans and technical designs for road construction and reconstruction in Lithuania, makes the analysis of the main deficiencies of plans and designs and gives recommendations for their elimination. Santrauka Eismo saugumo situacija Lietuvoje, nepaisant 2008 m. pasiektos pažangos, vis dar yra nepakankamai gera, palyginti su kitomis Europos Sąjungos šalimis. Atsižvelgiant į tai, Lietuvoje įgyvendinamos eismo saugumo gerinimo priemonės, darančios įtaką visiems eismo saugumo sistemos „Eismo dalyvis–kelias–transporto priemonė“ elementams. Lietuvoje 2008 m. buvo pradėta taikyti kelių saugumo audito procedūra, kuri prisideda prie eismo saugumo gerinimo Lietuvos automobilių keliuose. Straipsnyje pateikta Lietuvoje atliktų specialiųjų planų ir automobilių kelių tiesimo bei rekonstrukcijos techninių projektų kelių saugumo auditų analizė, išanalizuoti pagrindiniai planų ir projektų trūkumai, pateiktos rekomendacijos jiems šalinti.

ROAD SAFETY AUDIT: A CASE STUDY

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cumhur Aydin ◽  
Nura Balla
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Road Accidents ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Road ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Road Projects ◽  
Road Safety Audit ◽  
Road Safety Audits

As a consequence of increasing traffic volume and mobility, road accidents have been a serious problem especially in low and middle-income countries. The number of road accidents in such countries tends to increase every year. Considering different contributing factors to the road accidents, road and its environment have played an important role. Road safety audits and road safety inspections have been worldwide used tools to monitor and to evaluate road projects and existing road sections from the safety perspective. In this study, through the evaluation of different safety auditing techniques applied in the world, a case study on a Nigerian Road Section has been implemented. The expectations from such a study are: (i) To show the main safety deficiencies of the Nigerian road sections; and (ii) To introduce a new tool to the local road authorities to further use it for monitoring their road sections. Based on this study, the audit report was prepared to summarize findings with possible countermeasures.

scholarly journals Performance Evaluation of Vehicle Restraint Systems in the Context of Design and Installation

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-460
Author(s):  
Shahram Tahmasseby ◽  
Deepti Muley ◽  
Bernd Wolfgang Wink
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Design ◽  
Preliminary Design Stage ◽  
And Performance

Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS), a necessary component of the road design, are widely implemented by transport authorities to protect vehicles from severe incidents, mainly colliding to the roadside as well as median obstacles and other potential hazards. The performance evaluation of vehicle restraint systems at the design and installation stages is largely made according to either European or American standards. The local traffic conditions and vehicle compositions in countries, which are noticeably different from Europe and North America, necessitate a customized guideline in which the design and installation of road safety barriers are more adapted to the local conditions of the country. This paper briefly reviews the main features of EN1317, and NCHRP 350/MASH standards, which are predominantly used for the design, installation, and performance evaluation of VRS in Europe and the United States respectively. Moreover, the contribution of these standards in developing the VRS guideline for the State of Qatar is explained. The study recommends customizations to the design and installation of VRS, which are presently implemented according to the guideline developed by the Public Work Authority in Qatar. The present guideline follows European as well as American standards. The recommendations are made based on empirical studies and evidence observed by undertaking a series of site visits, audits, and perform inspections of VRS components installed on Qatari roads and highways. The study findings demonstrate the performance of VRS can be enhanced by incorporating the design and selection of road safety components such as guardrails, terminals, transitions, and crash cushions at the preliminary design stage of roads and highways. This study brings about practical insights and implications for road designers, contractors, supervision teams, and road safety auditors. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091665 Full Text: PDF

scholarly journals ROAD SAFETY AUDIT ‐ POSSIBILITY TO AVOID A DANGEROUS ROAD SECTION

Transport ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 181-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvydas Pikūnas ◽  
Vidmantas Pumputis
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Road Traffic Accidents ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Formal Procedure ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Road Safety Audit

The number of road traffic casualties is still very high, even though the number of fatalities in European countries is falling. In road traffic accidents involving personal injury, economic resources are destroyed and the productivity of economy is correspondingly impaired. Costs resulting from traffic accidents represent the largest single part of the overall cost of traffic in economus. Knowledge about the harm it does to economy is essential if measures to reduce road traffic accidents are identified and introduced. Economic evaluation of road safety measures using cost‐benefit analysis is based on the costs incurred as a result of road accidents. The avoidance of such costs represents the economic benefit of road safety measures. Road safety audit is a formal procedure for independent assessment of the accident potential and likely safety performance of a specific design for a road or traffic scheme - either new construction or alteration of an existing road.

scholarly journals Contemporary Guidance on Management of Road Safety Audits

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Auttapone Karndacharuk ◽  
Paul Hillier
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Audit Process ◽  
Harm Minimisation ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
Road Safety Audit ◽  
Road Safety Audits ◽  
Recent Policy

Although there is good awareness of road safety audit as a proactive technique for identifying and mitigating road safety related risks throughout Australasia and internationally, local practices in procuring, managing and conducting audits can vary between jurisdictions. This paper provides an overview of recent policy developments and practical guidance in managing road safety audits in Australia and New Zealand. Based on the update (Austroads 2019) of Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 6 (AGRS), the guidance aims at maximizing alignment with Safe System principles by integrating them into the audit process. This is achieved through improved awareness of practitioners new to the principles and concepts (especially project clients and project managers) and promoting the conduct of audits to realise their harm minimisation benefits.

scholarly journals Driver Liability Assessment in Vehicle Collisions in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1475
Author(s):  
Almudena Sanjurjo-de-No ◽  
Blanca Arenas-Ramírez ◽  
José Mira ◽  
Francisco Aparicio-Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Accurate Estimation ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Self Organizing Maps ◽  
Safety Measures ◽  
Vehicle Collisions ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Visual Clustering ◽  
Open Question ◽  
The Impact

An accurate estimation of exposure is essential for road collision rate estimation, which is key when evaluating the impact of road safety measures. The quasi-induced exposure method was developed to estimate relative exposure for different driver groups based on its main hypothesis: the not-at-fault drivers involved in two-vehicle collisions are taken as a random sample of driver populations. Liability assignment is thus crucial in this method to identify not-at-fault drivers, but often no liability labels are given in collision records, so unsupervised analysis tools are required. To date, most researchers consider only driver and speed offences in liability assignment, but an open question is if more information could be added. To this end, in this paper, the visual clustering technique of self-organizing maps (SOM) has been applied to better understand the multivariate structure in the data, to find out the most important variables for driver liability, analyzing their influence, and to identify relevant liability patterns. The results show that alcohol/drug use could be influential on liability and further analysis is required for disability and sudden illness. More information has been used, given that a larger proportion of the data was considered. SOM thus appears as a promising tool for liability assessment.

scholarly journals The Evaluation of Experimental Variables for Sustainable Virtual Road Safety Audits

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5899
Author(s):  
Yeonsoo Jun ◽  
Juneyoung Park ◽  
Chunho Yeom
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Traffic Light ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Driving Simulators ◽  
Traffic Condition ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Pavement ◽  
Net Promoter ◽  
Road Safety Audits ◽  
Road Marking

This paper evaluates experimental variables for virtual road safety audits (VRSAs) through practical experiments to promote sustainable road safety. VRSAs perform road safety audits using driving simulators (DSs), and all objects in the road environment cannot be experimental variables because of realistic constraints. Therefore, the study evaluates the likelihood of recommendation of VRSA experimental variables by comparing DSs experiments and field reviews to secure sustainable road safety conditions. The net promoter score results evaluated “Tunnel”, “Bridge”, “Underpass”, “Footbridge”, “Traffic island”, “Sign”, “Lane”, “Road marking”, “Traffic light”, “Median barrier”, “Road furniture”, and “Traffic condition” as recommended variables. On the contrary, the “Road pavement”, “Drainage”, “Lighting”, “Vehicle”, “Pedestrian”, “Bicycle”, “Accident”, and “Hazard event” variables were not recommended. The study can be used for decision making in VRSA scenario development as an initial effort to evaluate its experimental variables.

scholarly journals Development of Driving Simulation Scenarios Based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Road Safety Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2039
Author(s):  
Juan F. Dols ◽  
Jaime Molina ◽  
F. Javier Camacho-Torregrosa ◽  
David Llopis-Castelló ◽  
Alfredo García
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Data Exchange ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Safety Analysis ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Driving Simulators ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Design ◽  
Building Information

The analysis of road safety is critical in road design. Complying to guidelines is not enough to ensure the highest safety levels, so many of them encourage designers to virtually recreate and test their roads, benefitting from the evolution of driving simulators in recent years. However, an accurate recreation of the road and its environment represents a real bottleneck in the process. A very important limitation lies in the diversity of input data, from different sources and requiring specific adaptations for every single simulator. This paper aims at showing a framework for recreating faster virtual scenarios by using an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)-based file. This methodology was compared to two other conventional methods for developing driving scenarios. The main outcome of this study has demonstrated that with a data exchange file in IFC format, virtual scenarios can be faster designed to carry out safety audits with driving simulators. As a result, the editing, programming, and processing times were substantially reduced using the proposed IFC exchange file format through a BIM (Building Information Modeling) model. This methodology facilitates cost-savings, execution, and optimization resources in road safety analysis.

Methods for Evaluating Road Safety Measures

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 487-488
Author(s):  
John B. Toomath
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Safety Measures
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document