New Approaches to Improving Safety Introductory Report.

In recent years, the importance of making well-supported, transparent decisions has grown, not only for traditional risk decisions but for all decisions. The field of risk management has consequently expanded from traditional safety, security, quality and efficiency into general management. As a management discipline, risk management provides a structured, iterative sequence of steps for risk identification, analysis, evaluation and treatment. The risk management process forms a loop to provide decision-making support that introduces continual systematic analysis and evaluation. At the same time, worldwide attention is required to reduce fatalities due to traffic crashes. Recent disasters-both natural and manmade-have emphasized the importance of roads and heightened our sense of vulnerability. Risks on the world's roadways are posed by traffic crashes, transport of dangerous goods, overloaded vehicles, tunnel fires, floods, earthquakes, landslides, windstorms, waves and surges, tsunamis, snow damage, volcanic eruptions, avalanches, fallen rocks, bushfires and forest fires, fog, ice and drought. Indirect events, such as crashes near roads that are not caused by traffic users, fire, industrial accidents, and acts of terrorism or war, can also affect roads. Reducing the risks posed by road crashes, as well as natural and manmade disasters that affect roads, is important for industrialized nations and developing nations alike. Determining which choices represent the most informed decisions on the appropriate allocation of resources forms the basis of risk management and introduces a scientific approach to what is often an intuitive process. The Technical Committee on Risk Management for Roads (TC 3.2) is one of 18 PIARC technical committees. TC 3.2places special emphasis on integrated risk management, with expanded research into risk assessment, decision-making processes and security issues. To accomplish its mission, TC 3.2 has been actively engaged in various activities, such as launching an international survey, collecting examples ofgood practice in risk management, developing a risk management toolbox and organizing international seminars to facilitate knowledge exchange. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.