Simple attention to safety engineering detail has resulted in extraordinary cuts in road deaths and serious injuries, according to the latest tracking survey by the Road Safety Foundation.

Engineering a Safer Future found that fatal and serious injury crashes on 10 stretches of treated road fell by nearly two thirds from 541 to 209 (2001-2005 and 2006-2010) – boosting the economy by £35m every year.

This year’s most improved road is a rural 20km (13 mile) single carriageway section of the A605. Over the two survey periods, fatal and serious crashes fell by 74% from 34 to 9, and its risk rating improved from medium in 2001-2005 to low-medium in 2006-2010. 

Engineering a Safer Future was produced with support from Ageas UK. The report measures safety levels across 27,000 miles of motorway and A roads where the majority of UK road deaths occur.

With the support of the Global Road Safety Facility and Bloomberg Philanthropies, Brazil and Egypt will soon Star Rate strategic road networks and prepare Safer Roads Investment Plans.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a combined 66,000 people are killed in road crashes in Brazil and Egypt each year.

The assessments, which are now in the preliminary planning stages, will help to identify the locations of high-risk sections of road and propose affordable engineering treatments, particularly for pedestrians, who feature prominently in road deaths statistics.

The efforts in Brazil and Egypt complement road assessments already underway in Russia, India and China that are also supported by GRSF and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

German auto-club, ADAC, has found that on extra-urban networks, almost 50% of traffic victims lose their lives on motorways and federal roads, which account for only 10% of the network length.

The findings are contained in the report, Road Test 2008-2010, which reviews crash statistics, presents EuroRAP Star Ratings and sets out actions required to save lives. 

The report also finds that the presence of roadside hazards (trees), high overtaking rates and high speeds on German federal highways mean they get poorer Star Ratings than both German motorways and extra-urban roads carrying similar volumes of traffic elsewhere in Europe.

The Road Test report complements other road infrastructure safety assessments conducted by ADAC, such as Pedestrian Crossings in Europe, which assessed safety at 285 crossings in 19 cities.

Safety on an 80km section of the Western Highway in Belize is set to become much safer, thanks to efforts of the Government and Caribbean Development Bank.

A recent iRAP assessment found that nearly the entire highway is rated 1- or 2-stars for vehicle occupants, who account for the majority of road deaths in Belize.

As part of the project, road infrastructure improvements will be complemented by efforts to raise awareness among road users; increased enforcement of road rules; better post-crash response; and training.

After infrastructure improvements are completed, further iRAP assessments will be used to measure reductions in risk. 

The first iRAP Innovation Workshop was held at TRL headquarters in the United Kingdom and brought together experts in road safety engineering from around the world.

Participants at the workshop discussed the fact that during the next 12 months iRAP assessments will be conducted on some 150,000km of roads in low- and middle-income countries – three times as many as in the past five years. 

Participants also considered ways in which innovation in methodology, technology, policy and processes will help support the massive growth in assessments and ensure the results translate into life-saving road improvements.

Notes from the workshop that summarise presentations made by participants are available for download.

The Road Safety Toolkit is designed to provide free information on the causes and prevention of road crashes that cause death and injury.

References recently added to the Toolkit include links to:

• NSW Transport’s Enhanced Delineation Devices guide
• Task Force 13’s guide on safer barrier end treatments
• The Department for Transport’s Local Transport Note on Cycle Infrastructure Design
• New Zealand Transport Agency’s High Risk Rural Roads Guide

If you have any suggestions or would like to submit a case study, please contact Greg Smith ([email protected]). 

Major safety improvements are in the pipeline for high-risk roads in Bangladesh.

A second round of iRAP assessments are focusing on some 1,300km of national and regional roads, many of which will be upgraded in coming years. 

The assessments are being led by the RHD and are part of the ADB’s Road Safety Improvement Program. The Program is one of the most significant road safety initiatives of the Bank in recent years and includes both capacity-building and downstream investments. 

iRAP is working with local consultants and stakeholders, including BUET, BRAC and CIPRB. The project has also benefited from the voluntary contribution of Gina Waibl, a leading contributor to  KiwiRAP. 

Hundreds of road-safety experts, practitioners, advocates and senior government officials gathered in Thailand for the GRSP Asia Seminar and iRAP Workshop.

The seminar and workshop provided an opportunity for local experts to share their experience in initiatives such as the Building ChinaRAP project, star rating designs in the Indian State of Karnataka and KiwiRAP assessments in New Zealand strategy.

At the event, the iRAP Asia Pacific Star Performer award was jointly received by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Automobile Association of the Philippines for their outstanding commitment to safety.  

Engineers from the Philippines department of highways are now conducting site visits on three demonstration corridors, taking them a step closer to implementing iRAP safety recommendations – and saving lives.

Presentations from the event are available on the iRAP website and the GRSP website.