Over the past ten years, Papua New Guinea has established one of the best nationwide road accident reporting systems available among developing countries. In 1987, it switched over from a mainframe system to a microcomputer system developed by the Overseas Unit of TRRL. Seven years of data, some 35,000 accident records, are now available on microcomputer. This paper reports progress on a programme of co-operative road safety research that is designed to exploit this valuable source of data. The work covers three areas of research: (i) accident blackspot investigations and the evaluation of countermeasures; (ii) the effects of highway geometric design on accident rates; rates; and (iii) a survey of driver alcohol levels. The accident blackspot work employs the techniques developed by Local Authorities in the UK over the past 15 years. This system is particularly orientated towards low-cost engineering measures and has proved to be highly cost-effective in the UK; it offers considerable potential for developing countries. Measures being evaluated in PNG include small island roundabouts, lane dividers, chevron boards, low-cost footpaths alongside rural highways and speed reduction devices. The factors being investigated in the geometric design/accident rate study include horizontal and vertical curvature, road width, shoulder width, drainage ditch design, cross-sectional profile up to 15m from the edge of the shoulder and skid resistance. The PNG National Roads and Bridges Inventory is a valuable source of data for the study. (A)
Abstract