The approaches to accident reduction by specific engineering measures developed by Local Authorities in the UK over the past 15 years have proved to be highly cost-effective. The TRRL's Overseas Unit believes these methods offer considerable potential for reducing accidents in developing countries, particularly in view of the emphasis placed on low-cost engineering countermeasures. This paper reports on a co-operative research programme between the Papua New Guinea Department of Transport and the TRRL in which the techniques of accident investigation and the evaluation of countermeasures have been introduced to the country for the first time. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has established over the past ten years one of the best nation-wide, road accident reporting systems available among developing countries. A mainframe storage system was established in 1981 but in 1987, a switch was made to a microcomputer system developed by the TRRL Overseas Unit. Seven years of data, some 35,000 accident records, are now available on microcomputer. This valuable source of data is the basis of the co-operative programme of road safety research that includes geometric design and alcohol studies in addition to evaluating engineering improvements. Countermeasures being evaluated in PNG include roundabouts, land dividers, chevron boards, footpaths alongside rural highways and speed reduction devices. Before-and-after accident analyses have shown that the roundabouts built in Port Moresby over the past eight years have, overall, been successful in reducing accidents.
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