Road Infrastructure and Road Safety George Mavroyeni – Executive Director, Major Projects (former Executive Director, Road Safety and Network Access) May 2011

World map

Victoria, Australia VICTORIA

Victoria Argentina  Population – Australia – 21.9 million – Victoria – 5.5 million  Population – Argentina – 40 million  Victoria has: – 4.8 million registered vehicles – 3.6 million licensed drivers  Argentina has: – 9.5 million registered vehicles  In 2009/10, VicRoads maintained: – 22,600 kilometres – 3,140 bridges – 3,500 traffic signals  Argentina’s road network: – 230,000 kilometres – 72,000 km paved – 158,000 km unpaved

Socceroos La Albiceleste

Road Safety in Victoria Victoria has made significant gains in road safety. In 2010:  Road toll of lowest on record.  5.17 deaths per 100,000 head of population, 6.24 for the rest of Australia.  Internationally, Victoria ranks in the top ten OECD countries

Victoria’s road toll Year Fatalities

Road types and crash risk in Victoria Road typeCrash risk ¹ Freeways0.23 Arterial A0.72 B0.89 C Comparison of risk (fatal crashes per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled), 2005 – 2009 data.

Fatalities – arterial roads vs local roads

Serious injuries – arterial vs local roads

Trend in fatalities – rolling total

Trend in serious injuries – rolling total

The Safe System approach  The Safe System recognises that crashes will occur  The road system must be designed to reduce the likelihood of a crash  So, when a crash happens, death and serious injury are minimised Australia’s Safe System approach

Session one  <30 km/h – vehicle occupants in side impact  <40 km/h - pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists  <50km/h - vehicle occupants in side impact crashes with other vehicles  <70-80 km/h - vehicle occupants in head on crashes Human tolerance to force and the safe system

Aim to achieve five star roads

iRAP / AusRAP

Fatalities / serious injury crash types  Fatalities in 2010 (percentage of total fatalities): – 40% run-off road crashes – 15% head-on (not overtaking) crashes – 10% side impact intersection crashes.  Serious injuries in 2010 (percentage of total serious injuries): – 26% run-off road crashes – 11% rear end crashes

Design guides for road design  VicRoads transitioned to the Austroads Guide to Road Design on 1 July  Topics in the guide include: – Geometrics – Intersections & crossings (unsignalised and signalised, roundabouts, interchanges) – Drainage design – Roadside design, safety and barriers – Pedestrian and cyclist paths – Roadside environment – Geotechnical investigation and design – Process and documentation  Continuous review of design, construction and maintenance standards

Guide for selecting the appropriate speed limit  Speed limits are the maximum speed for driving on the road.  Factors for setting limits: – type and amount of roadside development – prevailing traffic speeds – crash data – road geometry – number of type of road users.

Operation of the road – Intelligent Transport Systems  Installation of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) on the M1: – Since the implementation of the M1 Upgrade, casualty crashes have reduced by 35 per cent.

Operation of the road – roundabouts Before After  Roundabouts can reduce fatality and serious injury crashes by up to 85 per cent.

Operation of the road – signals at intersections

Operation of the road – pedestrian safety  Protecting pedestrians – Reduced speed limits in high pedestrian activity centres: 17% reduction in pedestrian crashes. – Infrastructure improvements (crossings, raised platforms, fencing).

Operation of the road – cyclists and motorcyclists  Cyclist safety – Bike lanes – Compulsory helmets  Motorcyclist safety – Consider motorcycles sharing bus lanes – Compulsory helmets

Thank you