Methods to identify and manage runaway heavy vehicle issues on steep descents.

Mount Ousley Road and the Bulli Pass are two key freight routes entering the Southern Region of NSW from Sydney. Both roads are challenged geometrically with steep vertical grades and tight horizontal radius curves with a history of out of control crashes. Past attempts in managing the risk of runaway vehicles on steep descents have involved the construction of gravel arrester beds. The effectiveness of such treatments has been contested on recent projects. This paper presents case studies in analysing risk and the selection of appropriate treatments to manage these risks for runaway heavy vehicles on steep descents. It reviews the treatments available for each project and outlines the risk based methodologies applied to determine the most appropriate solution. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E218699.