Safe roads

A Safe System matrix helps to evaluate how well a project aligns with Safe System principles.  It helps to assess the risk of exposure to major crash types, as well as the likelihood of each type of crash occurring and their severity if they were to occur.

For instance, it helps to assess the likelihood and severity of crashes involving vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycle and motorcycle riders by considering such criteria as speed, road conditions and annual average daily traffic (AADT). See table below.

See AusRoads Safe System Assessment Framework report for more information and definitions.

Safe System assessment framework for infrastructure projects

	Run-Off-Road	Head-On	Intersection	Other	Pedestrian	Cyclist	Motorcyclist
Exposure	AADT; length of road segment	AADT; length of road segment	AADT for each approach; intersection size	AADT; length of road segment	AADT; pedestrian numbers; crossing width; length of road segment	AADT; cyclist numbers; pedestrians	AADT; motorcycle numbers; length of road segment
Likelihood	Speed; geometry; shoulders; barriers; hazard offset; guidance and delineation	Geometry, separation; geometry and delineation; speed	Type of control; speed; design; visibility; conflict points	Speed; sight distance; number of lanes; surface friction	Design of facilities; separation; number of conflicting directions; speed	Design of facilities; separation; speed	Design of facilities; separation; speed
Severity	Speed; roadside features and design (e.g. flexible barriers)	Speed	Impact angles; speed	Speed	Speed	Speed	Speed

Source: Safe System Assessment Framework, AP-R509-16, Austroads, 2016

 The Australian Road Assessment Program (AusRAP) adopts collective and individual risk measures to assess the risk of a crash occurring on a certain section of road in the form of a star rating.

Use the AusRAP demonstrator tool to assess how infrastructure and risk mitigation of the road network affect the star rating of the road. The tool provides proactive risk indicators that:

• focus on the quality of the road infrastructure from a safety perspective. It often evaluates crash statistics to identify high-risk locations and prioritise treatment.
• identify locations where safety risks haven’t yet materialised, often due to low traffic volumes or probability.

Our Safer Roads Risk Assessment (SRRA) tool is designed to help local councils with planning, concept development and detailed engineering of all road investments, encouraging evidence-based, strategic decision-making. It breaks down the complexity of risk assessment and encourages proactive and reactive methods.

• We are currently using the SRRA tool internally but are developing a lite version specifically for local government use. 

If you're looking to conduct a road safety audit for your projects, use the information available on the Transport road safety register. Use the search function to locate accredited auditors.

The Safe System treatment hierarchy helps you prioritise the most effective treatments.

Each treatment shows how to improve safety by reducing exposure (E), likelihood (L) and severity (S). For example, if the risk assessment indicates a high likelihood of a crash happening, the priority should be to use treatments that will decrease the likelihood.

Consider combining 2 or more treatments where risks are high for multiple crash types (as is often the case).

The table below shows the hierarchy of potential treatments to reduce the risks of a driver being run off the road by another driver, and the severity of the results if this does occur.

Run-off-road (to left or right) treatments

Hierarchy	Treatment	Influence E  = Exposure L = Likelihood S = Severity
Safe System options ('primary' or 'transformational' treatments	Flexible roadside and median barriers (or equally/better performing future equivalent) Very high quality compacted roadside surface, very gentle to flat side slopes and exceptionally wide run-off areas Very low speed environment/speed limit	S S   LS
Supporting treatments that move towards better Safe System alignment (compatible with future implementation  of Safe System options)	Wide run-off areas with well maintained shallow drainage and gentle side slopes Wide sealed shoulders with audio-tactile edgeline Lower speed limit	S   L L, S
Supporting treatments (does not affect future implementation of Safe System options)	Non-flexible safety barrier Consistent design along the route (i.e. not out-of-context curves) Consistent delineation for route Skid resistance improvement Improved superelevation Audio-tactile centreline Audio-tactile edgeline Vehicle activated signs	S L L L L L L L
Other considerations	Speed enforcement Rest area provision Lane marking compatible with in-vehicle lane-keeping technology	L, S L L

Source: Safe System Assessment Framework, AP-R509-16, Austroads, 2016

The Australian Government Black Spot Programme (AGBS) targets road locations where crashes are known to occur or are at risk of occurring.

It’s fully funded by the Australian Government with $35.9 million committed within the Australian Government Budget Paper No.3 annually until the 2026-27 financial year. We manage this program for the Australian Government, which provides all AGBS funding to Local Government NSW. The maximum AGBS contribution towards a project is $2 million.

The program is released during the 1st quarter of each financial year for funding within the following financial year. Nominations for this program will be automatically considered for the Towards Zero Safer Roads Program.

We’ll invest $2.17 billion over 9 years (to FY2031) in various programs aimed at reducing road trauma. This includes Round 1 investments of $61 million for initiatives such as Saving Lives on Country Roads and Safe and Liveable Urban Communities, which are already making a difference.

• Saving Lives on Country Roads
  • This initiative improves the safety of country roads by delivering route-based, mass-action road safety engineering treatments and targeted crash location treatments.
  • It aims to reduce crash types commonly related to lane departure and driver fatigue by installing flexible safety barriers, audio-tactile line marking, wide centrelines, improved curve signage, shoulder widening, sealed shoulders and vehicle-activated signs.
    
    
• Safe and Liveable Urban Communities
  • This initiative improves the safety of urban roads by delivering area-based, mass-action treatments and targeted crash location treatments to prevent serious injuries and deaths in areas with high pedestrian activity.
  • It aims to reduce crash types commonly related to intersections, vehicle turning, roundabouts and areas with many pedestrians and bicycle riders.
    
    
• Transforming the Safety of Intersections
  • This initiative aims to make intersections safer by restricting left-in/left-out access, controlling turns and implementing other treatments.

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Safer Roads Program Management System

• All project proposals for the Towards Zero Safer Roads Program are prepared and submitted through the Safer Roads Program Management System’s online portal. The portal manages all project nominations, variations and completion reports under the Safer Roads Program.
  • Submit a nomination (council users)

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Towards Zero Safer Roads Program map

 

Austroads is the association of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies, representing all levels of government. It provides free services, advice and information on a range of road safety topics.

Useful links:

• Safe System Roads for Local Government
  • This resource can help your council adopt best practice in road management and work towards achieving a Safe System.
  •  The report includes case studies on the Safe System treatment hierarchy. Staff can use this tool to help communicate road safety risks and adopt preventative measures.
• Austroads Glossary of Terms
• Austroads' Guide to Road Safety: Set
  • This series of publications provides an overview of road safety practices in Australia and New Zealand.
• Austroads Safe System Assessment Framework
  • This framework provides a structured approach for road agencies to consider Safe System objectives in road infrastructure projects.
• Integrating Safe System with Movement and Place for Vulnerable Road Users
• Practical Approaches for Managing Regional Road Safety Priorities
  • These approaches outline road safety interventions for regional and remote areas.
    • Fact sheets
• Safe System resource finder
  • This resource hosts publications, webinars and resources about infrastructure and planning.

What is it?
ROSIICAM is a road safety technology initiative that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the capabilities of a mobile safety incident investigation tool and to detect near-miss events.
Video footage of events is captured and displayed on a dashboard. The technology also identifies other features of the events, including road user–type, movements and speed.

What can it achieve?
Examining near-misses is a proactive approach to understanding crash risk. This technology can be used to develop and customise road safety treatments at specific locations to help reduce road deaths.

How are we using it?
ROSIICAM is currently in development and has been tested in a variety of use cases. It was deployed in road settings including a roundabout, high-speed highway and urban locations with vulnerable road users and light rail. The technology was tested to understand its capabilities and limitations at each location, including at night without street lighting.