While road safety professionals have achieved significant reductions in crashes through various safety programs run-off-road (ROR) crashes still feature highly in rural crash statistics. Both fatal and serious injury crashes are generally over-represented in ROR crashes due to collisions with fixed objects and high speed limits. Although the prevalence of these crashes has been reduced somewhat through improved geometric road design, improved road delineation, improved hard shoulders, treatment of clear zones and use of barriers and crash cushions, continued efforts are required to reduce such crashes as they have a major impact on the level of injury and death of motorists. One of the major contributors to reducing run-off-road crashes over the past decade has been audio-tactile edge line treatments. Studies in the USA and Europe of using milled or grooved rumble treatments indicate major reductions in lane departures and ROR crashes (up to 87%). Similarly, in Australia, the use of raised tactile edge lines has reduced lane departures in the order of 49% in New South Wales. Another major contributor to reducing the road toll has been flexible barrier systems. The wire rope barrier has reduced ROR crashes by up to 92% in Victoria and it has been suggested that up to 90% of rural fatalities can also be avoided through the use of wire rope barriers. New treatments such as vehicle activated signs and perceptual countermeasures were also identified as potentially promising. These countermeasures and others are discussed in the report. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting