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Cover of Safe System Roads for Local Government
Safe System Roads for Local Government
  • Publication no: AP-R518-16
  • ISBN: 978-1-925451-12-2
  • Published: 28 April 2016

Australian and New Zealand local governments manage extensive road networks. Previous reporting indicates local government-managed roads represent 82 and 88% of the length of all public roads in both countries, respectively. As local roads, they tend to carry significantly smaller traffic volumes than the state road networks; however, analysis shows they contribute to more than half of all casualties resulting from road crashes, and an estimated 40 and 46% of fatalities.

The lower exposure combined with the relatively high proportion of casualty crash severity means the risk to drivers on local government-managed roads is estimated to be up to twice that faced on state roads.

Several factors combine to make implementing best practice Safe System infrastructure improvements a concern for local government. However, local councils are in a unique position of being able to harness the commitment and resources from across their organisations, including the elected representatives and local community, to support changes in road user attitudes as well as road planning, design, construction and maintenance to achieve incremental improvements that can make an impact on road safety and contribute to achieving national road safety objectives.

The Safe System Hierarchy of Control seeks to provide local government with a tool that can be used by technical and non-technical practitioners and that can be used to help communicate road safety risk and risk countermeasures to council management, elected representatives and the community.

  • Summary
  • 1. Introduction
    • 1.1. Purpose
    • 1.2. A Safe System Approach
    • 1.3. Local Government-managed Roads and the Safe System
      • 1.3.1. Characteristics of the Local Road Network
      • 1.3.2. Local Government Contribution to the Safe System
    • 1.4. Context and Structure of this Report
    • 1.5. Approved Safety Barrier Products
  • 2. Cost-Effective Treatments for Local Government-Managed Roads
    • 2.1. Findings from the Literature Review
    • 2.2. Road Safety Treatments for Cyclists
      • 2.2.1. Off-road Dedicated Cycle Lanes
      • 2.2.2. Separated Cycle Lanes
      • 2.2.3. Narrow Separation Treatments
      • 2.2.4. Painted Cycle Lanes
      • 2.2.5. Advanced Stop Line
      • 2.2.6. Road Diets
      • 2.2.7. Summary
    • 2.3. Median Treatments
      • 2.3.1. Constructed or Raised Medians
      • 2.3.2. Flush Narrow Medians with Flexible Barriers
      • 2.3.3. Flush Medians with Rumble Strips
      • 2.3.4. Flush Medians with Channeliser Posts
      • 2.3.5. Summary
    • 2.4. Road Safety Treatments for Pedestrian Crossing Safety
      • 2.4.1. Puffin Crossings
      • 2.4.2. Pedestrian Countdown Timers (PCT)
      • 2.4.3. Pedestrian Refuge Islands
      • 2.4.4. Wombat Crossings
      • 2.4.5. Pedestrian Safety Treatments at Unsignalised Crossings
      • 2.4.6. Other Improvements at Unsignalised Crossings
    • 2.5. Delineation on Rural Roads
      • 2.5.1. Illuminated Pavement Markers
      • 2.5.2. Transverse Lane Markings
      • 2.5.3. Coloured Surface Treatments
      • 2.5.4. Pavement Marking Legends
      • 2.5.5. Raised Reflective Pavement Markers (RRPMs)
      • 2.5.6. Audio-tactile Line Markings
      • 2.5.7. Chevron Alignment Markers
    • 2.6. Roadside Barriers and Crash Cushions
      • 2.6.1. Flexible Barriers
      • 2.6.2. Semi-rigid Barriers
      • 2.6.3. Rigid Barriers
      • 2.6.4. Motorcyclist Barrier Solutions
      • 2.6.5. Crash Cushions and Impact Attenuators
      • 2.6.6. Frangible or Slip-base Poles
    • 2.7. Right-turning Treatments
      • 2.7.1. Median U-turn
      • 2.7.2. Guide Posts
      • 2.7.3. Offset Right-turn Lanes
      • 2.7.4. Bowtie Intersection
      • 2.7.5. Painted Turning Lanes
      • 2.7.6. Extended Right-turn Lanes
      • 2.7.7. Turn Restrictions
      • 2.7.8. Mini-roundabouts
    • 2.8. Rural Gateway Treatments
    • 2.9. Innovative Cost-effective Treatments
    • 2.10. Assessment of Cost-effective Measures on Local Government Roads
      • 2.10.1. Defining Cost-effective Treatments
      • 2.10.2. Treatment Options Summary Tables
    • 2.11. Conclusion
  • 3. The Road Safety Performance of Local Government-Managed Roads
    • 3.1. Purpose, Scope and Limitations of Crash Data and Analysis
    • 3.2. Crash Characteristics
      • 3.2.1. Severity
      • 3.2.2. Year
      • 3.2.3. Crash Type
      • 3.2.4. Road User Contributing Factors
      • 3.2.5. Mid-block/Intersection
      • 3.2.6. Speed Limit
      • 3.2.7. Horizontal and Vertical Alignment
      • 3.2.8. Surface Characteristics
      • 3.2.9. Light Condition
      • 3.2.10. Atmospheric Condition
      • 3.2.11. Number of Traffic Units
      • 3.2.12. Surface Type
    • 3.3. Discussion of Analysis Results
    • 3.4. Conclusions
  • Crash types
  • Mid-block/intersection
  • Speed limit
  • Road user contribution
  • Road geometry
  • Surface characteristics and surface type
  • Atmospheric and light conditions
  • Number of traffic units
  • 4. Safety Management System Development
    • 4.1. Developing the Concept
    • 4.2. The Safe System Hierarchy of Control Framework
      • 4.2.1. The Safe System Hierarchy of Control in Context
      • 4.2.2. Risk Management and the Hierarchy of Control
      • 4.2.3. The Safe System Approach
      • 4.2.4. Developing a Safe System Hierarchy of Control Framework
      • 4.2.5. Safe System Hierarchy of Control – Case Study Assessments
      • 4.2.6. Using the Outcomes of the Safe System Hierarchy of Control
  • 5. Road Safety Engineering Toolkit (RSET)
  • 6. Review of Austroads Guides
  • 7. Conclusions
  • References
  • Appendix A Treatment Summary Tables
  • A.1 Description of Treatment Summary Tables
  • A.2 Treatment Options Summary Table
  • Appendix B Case Study Examples of the Safe System Hierarchy of Control
  • B.1 Town Centre Pedestrian/Vehicle Safety
  • B.1.1 Site Description, Risk Factors and Safe System Pillar Analysis
  • B.1.2 Safe System Hierarchy of Control Assessment
  • B.2 Urban Roundabout Bicycle/Vehicle Safety
  • B.2.1 Site Description, Risk Factors and Safe System Pillar Analysis
  • B.2.2 Safe System Hierarchy of Control Assessment
  • B.3 Rural Road Safety
  • B.3.1 Site Description, Risk Factors and Safe System Pillar Analysis
  • B.3.2 Safe System Hierarchy of Control Assessment
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