A recent review on priority issues to reduce excessive speeding on Australian roads highlighted an urgent need for further research and development into low cost perceptual countermeasures. A preliminary review was therefore undertaken aimed at identifying suitable perceptual countermeasures, either existing or proposed, reported in the literature that could be used immediately or developed for future use in this country. Visits were also made to a number of prominent research organisations in Europe to see first hand what suitable treatments they were developing that could be relevant for use in this country. A number of promising road and roadside treatments were subsequently identified that seemed to have speed and crash reduction potential. However, there were relatively few current developments in this area and a need was identified for a more systematic development, implementation and evaluation program. A detailed plan of research was then developed which included a laboratory research program followed by on-road demonstration trials to ensure that the speed and crash benefits of the more successful of these measures would be implemented and thoroughly evaluated on the road. (A)
Abstract