The National Road Safety Strategy Review identified the need for better targeting of infrastructure safety funding to address the major crash types on our road network, including the growing problem of crashes involving vulnerable road users.
The following actions build on some of the ‘first steps’ work in the National Road Safety Strategy to:
- systematically assess and prioritise higher volume and higher risk roads for remedial treatment
- promote the application of Safe System infrastructure practices
- support the use of willingness-to-pay safety values in investment decisions.
Actions
1. Prioritise and treat high-risk rural and urban roads, focusing on the main crash types and vulnerable road users.
Responsibility
States and territories
Implementation:
Apply spatial analysis (e.g. severe injury rate/cost heat maps, Australian National Risk Assessment Model (ANRAM) analysis) to identify and prioritise sections of rural corridors and urban locations with high collective risk (fatal/serious injury crashes), focusing on:
- crashes at major intersections
- run-off-road crashes
- head-on crashes
- crashes involving vulnerable road users.
Treat identified locations with tailored Safe System measures, to minimise fatal/serious injury risks. This may include demonstration/evaluation projects of emerging Safe System solutions.
Progress to be tracked with measures including: lane-kilometres and numbers of intersections treated, estimated savings in targeted fatalities and serious injuries, and programme expenditure.
By end-2017:
Jurisdictions have identified, prioritised and commenced treating the top 10% of priority locations.
2. Assess road safety risk on state and territory controlled roads carrying the highest traffic volumes.
Responsibility
States and territories
Implementation:
Complete ANRAM model development, and establish a memorandum of understanding between road agencies and AusRAP on reporting and communication protocols for star ratings.
Individual jurisdictions to select roads to be assessed using ANRAM, based on collective risk potential (i.e. traffic volume/crash rates).
By 2016:
Fully functional ANRAM model, meeting specification and scope requirements set by Austroads.
By end-2017:
Reports on infrastructure-related road safety risk, including risk maps, for 50% of the key routes in each state and territory.
3. Review road infrastructure safety programmes to establish best practice processes for identifying, prioritising and developing projects based on fatal and serious casualty reduction criteria.
Responsibility
Commonwealth. States and territories
Implementation
Establish a national committee to examine the assessment methodologies used for Commonwealth and state infrastructure programmes, and to develop best practice recommendations that align with the Safe System approach, with a focus on reducing fatal and serious injuries crashes.
Jurisdictions to review their programmes, guided by the committee's recommendations.
By end-2017:
Establish and implement best practice programme procedures.
4. Establish an assessment framework and training package to help translate current Safe System infrastructure knowledge and research into practice.
Responsibility
States and territories. Austroads
Implementation:
States and territories, through Austroads, to develop an assessment framework and related package, including an accreditation process, summarising current Safe System infrastructure and speed management knowledge and research.
Promote these widely, including through a programme of workshops.
By 2015:
Assessment framework, training package, and supporting guides developed, and accreditation process established.
By 2016:
Workshops initiated and assessment framework established. Safe System Assessment framework in use in industry.
By end-2017:
Supporting materials feeding into updates to the Austroads Road Design Guides.
5. Apply national willingness-to-pay values for infrastructure investment and other road safety project appraisals.
Responsibility
Commonwealth. States and territories
Implementation:
Finalise Austroads scoping study on options for establishing Australian willingness-to-pay values.
Jurisdictions to consider and agree on implementation arrangements, which may include the longer term option of funding a comprehensive national study.
By end-2017:
Initial implementation of willingness-to-pay values based on available estimates and possible commencement of a comprehensive Australian study to produce updated values.