This paper reports on a study of pro-active traffic safety as it applies to crashes at bridges. All recorded crashes at bridges and culverts in Victoria in the five years 1982-1986 were examined, and the characteristics of those crashes analysed. The characteristics included those relating to the bridge or culvert, the approaches, the vehicles, the drivers, and the road user movements. Analysis reveals that there is only a small probability of any given bridge being associated with a crash, and that crash patterns are quite diverse. It is concluded therefore that the best approach to the development of countermeasures is likely to involve a mass application of low cost treatments, applied to a large number of bridges and culverts. Various means of treating bridge hazards are briefly reviewed, including warning and delineation, safety barriers (especially the provision of guard fences), road alignment, road environment, and bridge design and construction. Priorities for treatment of sites, based upon bridge width, traffic flow, and bridge length are developed (A).
Abstract