The main purpose of this paper is to examine the safety performance of the Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. This paper examines the safety performance of this major conduit to the Gold Coast over 16 years, covering 3 distinct periods. 1. before upgrading of the highway (about 6 years); 2. through the construction phase (about 2 years); 3. after upgrading to high class motorway standards (about 8 years) The paper examines how this section of the Pacific Motorway compares with adjoining sections to the north and south. The paper also compares the performance of the Pacific Motorway against crash and casualty rates from other motorways in Australia and overseas. The assessment at this stage is only an initial view, undertaken at a fairly high level. Regardless of this a clear conclusion is reached that, against all measures and comparisons considered so far, the Pacific Motorway is performing at a high level of safety. The paper also concludes with encouragement that higher priority be given to the use of crash data, for ongoing monitoring and analysis. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217225.
Abstract