Crashes involving roadside objects are a major road safety problem in Victoria, accounting for almost one-fifth of all crashes resulting in an injury or a fatality. In considering how best to reduce the number and severity of crashes in which vehicles strike roadside objects the Committee encountered conflicts with other community objectives. These included preserving native roadside vegetation, beautifying roadsides with planted trees, keeping utility costs low through use of overhead electrical power-lines and using rigid poles for telecommunications transmission systems. The Committee considers that one of the first steps in addressing roadside safety is to acknowledge the issue. One of the reasons for the disregard of roadside safety issues is a lack of understanding by the public of the dangers involved if a vehicle strikes a roadside object. The Committee notes that there is still much to do for government, agencies and the general community to firstly raise awareness and then tackle the issue. In terms of roadsides object crashes the safest roadsides are those that contain no obstacles at all. However achieving this is not always possible. Not all hazardous roadside objects can be removed, either because of the cost of removal or because it is not feasible to relocate the objects elsewhere, for example traffic signals at intersections. The Committee notes that protective devices, such as guard rails and crash cushions, can also be a danger if struck and should only be used when the roadside object cannot be removed. (Author/publisher)
Abstract