Safer road program improvements
Below are examples of the kind of improvements that will be incorporated into road projects within the Safer Roads Program in Victoria.
Rural and outer metropolitan roads
Safety barriers
A combination of steel guardrail and wire rope safety barriers will be installed at locations where there is a high risk of cars running off the road and hitting trees and other objects on the roadside.
Steel guardrail and wire rope safety barriers are highly effective in absorbing the impact of vehicles travelling at high speeds. Wire rope barriers can reduce fatality and serious injury crashes by up to 90 per cent and provide the most effective barrier protection to reduce the probability of serious injury or death from run off the road crashes.
Sealing of road shoulders
Shoulder sealing provides a smoother, more stable surface at the road’s outer edge and improves safety by minimising the chances of a motorist losing control of their vehicle and running off the road.
Removal of hazards from the roadside
Deaths and serious injuries in run off the road crashes are strongly related to collisions with trees and other objects on the roadside.
In some locations, a limited number of trees and other objects close to the roadside will be removed to improve safety and give motorists a greater chance of survival in a run off the road incident.
Correcting the road’s camber
The camber or tilt of a road can greatly influence a car’s ability to travel safely through a curve. A poor road camber increases the risks of vehicles running off the road. The road’s camber will be improved at locations where it is associated with a high number of fatality or serious injury crashes.
Audio tactile edge lines
Audio tactile edge lines are those noisy little white ‘bumps’ you often see lining the edge of freeways and highways in country areas. These bumps help prevent run off the road crashes by alerting drivers when they stray onto the road’s edge.
Improved signage and road guidance
Lack of awareness of the road’s conditions can be a factor in run off the road crashes. Improvements that help drivers become more aware of the road environment will include line marking, the installation of “cats eyes” (reflective road markers) as well as warning and advisory speed signs at locations with high crash risks.
Intersection improvements
Roundabouts
Roundabouts can reduce fatality and serious injury crashes by up to 85 per cent and provide the most effective way to reduce serious injury crashes at intersections because they require motorists to significantly reduce their speed when approaching and travelling through an intersection.
Traffic lights
Traffic lights will be installed at intersections that have a high crash risk to safely control the heavy volumes of traffic and complex traffic movements.
In some cases, the sequence of existing traffic lights will be altered to ease congestion and allow more time for dangerous or difficult turns.
Other intersection improvements
Other improvements will focus on improved safety at notoriously dangerous intersections by creating a better separation between traffic turning and travelling through the intersection. This will be achieved through better lane marking and traffic islands that more safely separate vehicles travelling on opposite sides of the road. Separate lanes for left and right turning vehicles will be also be used to improve safety for turning traffic.
