Tuesday, 22 August 2017
Austroads has published a report that identifies road design improvements to better cater for the safe passage of heavy vehicles through railway level crossings.
Crashes involving heavy vehicles have been identified as a major safety issue in Australia and New Zealand with the volume of heavy vehicles expected to significantly increase over the next five to 10 years.
In response to these issues, an investigation was undertaken into the design criteria for heavy vehicle entry to an intersection. This identified a need to investigate the road design requirements for heavy vehicles on the approaches to railway level crossings to identify how road design could be improved to more adequately cater for the safe passage of heavy vehicles through railway level crossings.
A literature review was undertaken to identify the safety performance and design parameters relating to heavy vehicles on the approaches to railway crossings. The review found that the types of control were very similar across Australia, New Zealand, the United State of America and the United Kingdom and determined principally by sight distance requirements and availability.
An analysis of heavy vehicle crashes at railway level crossings across Australia and New Zealand found that:
- many locations did not have warning signs installed to the standards at the time of the crash
- sight distances for approaching vehicle drivers were obstructed by development on abutting properties or vegetation, and
- delineation was poorly maintained.
Several opportunities for improvements were identified, principally to guidance on applying the sight lines and sight distances for a range of approaches, particularly on curved roads. Other improvements suggested include the addition of a short stacking warning sign and improving delineation by having all road approaches sealed to enable pavement markings, such as RAIL X and edgelines.
The report includes recommended amendments to the Guide to Road Design Part 4 and AS 1742.7:2016.
Report link: Improved Railway Road Design for Heavy Vehicles