The provision of an adequate clear zone width is an integral consideration of any road design. There are a number of references that are used to determine the appropriate clear zone width for a given set of circumstances in both Australia and overseas. This paper provides an overview and comparison between various key references on clear zones, as well as providing a background on some of the fundamental principles and theories behind clear zone provision. GHD undertook a study for VicRoads that reviewed over 30 road links across metropolitan Melbourne with varying functional classifications, speed limits and clear zone widths. The run-off-road crash rates were assessed for each road link and the results compared across several road categories. The variance from the VicRoads clear zone guidelines was compared to the actual clear zone provision and the road safety performance was critically assessed. This paper presents the key findings from this study. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217225.
Samenvatting