SAFE ROADS

of pedestrian travel is on

88%

1- or 2-star roads

of bicyclist travel is on

86%

1- or 2-star roads

of motorcyclist travel is on

67%

1- or 2-star roads

• When safety is taken into consideration during the planning, design and operation of roads, substantial c tri uti s c e de t reduci r d tr ﬁc de ths and injuries.

• For pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the lack of speciﬁc i r structure e tures th t c e sure the safe journey leaves them vulnerable to injury.

• Road safety inspections and the star rating of roads can provide mechanisms to identify failings in infrastructure which can affect a crash likelihood and severity.

• Upgrading high-risk roads and providing access to safe d rd e pu ic tr sp rt i reduce r d tr ﬁc death and injury.

Key messages

Road infrastructure is strongly linked to fatal and serious injury causation in road collisions, and research has shown that improvements to the road infrastructure are critical to improving overall road safety (69). The aim is to create a safe road environment, rather than placing the main responsibility for safety on users who fail to deal with the intrinsic dangers of the roads. Head-on crashes, for example, occur on undivided roads while the lack of a footpath or a safe crossing presents a major risk for death and injury to pedestrians (3) r c c ists d t rc c ists the c speciﬁc infrastructure features that ensure a safe journey like cycle lanes and motorcycle lanes leaves them vulnerable to impact and injury (69). The provision of affordable and safe public transport as well as facilities for safe walking and cycling are highly important.

Review of the use of standards and tools to improve the safety quality of roads

This report has continued to track the status of countries in setting design standards, undertaking audits and/or the star rating of new road infrastructure and inspection/star rating of existing roads.

Three new questions in this report involve:

the use of dedicated funding to upgrade high-risk roads. In most countries and cities, more than half of all road deaths and severe injuries happen on less than 10% of the road length (70). The return on investment for improving road infrastructure safety on these high-risk roads is substantial.

design standards that specifically meet the needs of vulnerable road users. Historic road design practice and standards have focussed on meeting the capacity and travel time needs of motorized

ehic es here s the speciﬁc eeds u er e r d users h e often been secondary considerations.

114 countries

currently

undertake

systematic

assessments

or star rating of

existing roads.

Chapter 4

GLOBAL STATUS REPORT ON ROAD SAFETY 2018

88% of pedestrian travel occurs on roads that are unsafe.

the provision of affordable and safe public transport. In urban areas, where an additional two billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2045, the provision of affordable and safe public transport is an essential investment for sustainable mobility.

While design standards exist in most countries, the way in which they are applied to a new road design is influenced by the complexity of the location (urban, rural, utility services, road users present), the priority on safety outcomes and the budgets allocated for the project. This review shows that 112 countries have national design standards for the management of speed. Ninety-two countries have national design standards for separating pedestrians and cyclists r d users r t ri ed tr ﬁc O e hu dred d thirt t countries have national design standards for the provision of safe crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.

Road safety inspections and the star rating of existing roads provide a mechanism to identify any existing road design and speed management features that can affect crash likelihood and severity.

Systematic risk rate mapping, performance tracking and safety rating

using objective data are carried out by international and national road assessment programmes. (71). Road protection scores assess the level of protection against the risk of death and serious injury in collisions for all main user groups afforded by the road environment.

Each road is given a star rating from one to five stars. Minimum star ratings for the infrastructure safety of major roads are increasingly being used in targeted programmes and are recommended, especially where high-quality crash injury data are not yet available or where capacity is still being built for safety engineering (69).

A sample of recent of International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) assessments from 54 countries, covering 358,000 kilometers of rural and urban roads with over 700 billion vehicle kilometres of travel a year has highlighted that 88% of pedestrian travel is on one- or two-star roads, 86% of bicycle travel is one- or two-star roads, 67% of motorcycle travel is on one- or two-star roads, and 44% of vehicle travel is one- or two-star roads (72). One hundred forty-seven countries reported carrying out road safety audits or star ratings for new roads while 114 countries reported doing safety assessments or star rating on existing roads.

The implementation of a dedicated funding stream and targeted programmes to upgrade high-risk roads and provide access to safe and affordable public transport will help to systematically eliminate the highest-risk roads in a country and reduce death and injury.

This review found that 116 countries have a systematic programme in place for targeting and upgrading high-risk locations on existing roads. Additionally, 77 countries reported investing in mass transit while 103 countries reported having formal policies for formal bus/

mini-bus systems.

Chapter 4

O O O O 2018

Table 3: Star rating of roads – what makes a road safe?

Star Rating

No sidewalk, No safe crossing,

/h tr ﬁc

No cyclepath, No safe crossings, poor road surface,

/h tr ﬁc

No motorcycle lane, undivided road, trees close to road, winding alignment,

/h tr ﬁc

Undivided road with narrow centerline, trees close to road, winding alignment,

/h tr ﬁc

Sidewalk present, pedestrian refuge, street lighting,

/h tr ﬁc

O r d c c e e good road surface, street lighting,

/h tr ﬁc

O r d t rc c e lane, undivided road, good road surface, >5m to any roadside hazards,

/h tr ﬁc

Wide centerline separating

oncoming vehicles,

>5m to any roadside hazards,

/h tr ﬁc

Sidewalk present, signalized crossing with refuge, street lighting, 40 km/h

O r d dedic ted cycle facility, raised platform crossing of major roads, street lighting

edic ted separated motorcycle lane, central hatching, no roadside hazards, straight alignment,

/h tr ﬁc

Safety barrier separating oncoming vehicles and protecting roadside hazards, straight alignment,

/h tr ﬁc

* For details on the full model for all road users and more urban and rural examples see https://www.irap.org//3-star-or-better/what-is-star-rating.

Box 8: 5-star school journey for Lusaka students

u h r ric h s the r ds hi hest r d tr ﬁc i ur r tes r stude ts usti e Primary School in Lusaka, Zambia, their journey to school is now much safer, with access roads r ised r e d t st r d er us t ﬁ e st r s et e ce e ce ssessed usi i s Star Rating for Schools app. Four children were injured on roads around the school before the school was upgraded. 4,700 vehicles pass the entrance, 200 people cross the road and over 900 people walk along the road past the school every peak hour. Crossing the road into school used to be very dangerous.

h s t pr ect c p eted i e er the pr ﬁt e d d supp rted FedEx, infrastructure enhancements have improved safety, assessed using the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) app powered by iRAP’s Pedestrian Star Rating. The improvements included the addition of a raised platform pedestrian crossing, footpaths, fencing and a school zone warning, removal of vehicle parking which blocked sight lines, and reduced operating speeds of passing vehicles.

ur c ti s ith hi h pedestri tr fic s ere st r r ted r s et usi the app before and after the infrastructure improvements. The before and after star rating results captured by SR4S reflected a major improvement in safety. The school’s main entrance i tersecti d e r c r er chie ed st r r ti i pr e e ts r e t fi e st rs d t t fi e st rs respecti e

88%

86%

67%

• When safety is taken into consideration during the planning, design and operation of roads, substantial c tri uti s c e de t reduci r d tr ﬁc de ths and injuries.

• For pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, the lack of speciﬁc i r structure e tures th t c e sure the safe journey leaves them vulnerable to injury.

• Road safety inspections and the star rating of roads can provide mechanisms to identify failings in infrastructure which can affect a crash likelihood and severity.

• Upgrading high-risk roads and providing access to safe d rd e pu ic tr sp rt i reduce r d tr ﬁc death and injury.

Key messages

Review of the use of standards and tools to improve the safety quality of roads

This report has continued to track the status of countries in setting design standards, undertaking audits and/or the star rating of new road infrastructure and inspection/star rating of existing roads.

Three new questions in this report involve:

the use of dedicated funding to upgrade high-risk roads. In most countries and cities, more than half of all road deaths and severe injuries happen on less than 10% of the road length (70). The return on investment for improving road infrastructure safety on these high-risk roads is substantial.

design standards that specifically meet the needs of vulnerable road users. Historic road design practice and standards have focussed on meeting the capacity and travel time needs of motorized

ehic es here s the speciﬁc eeds u er e r d users h e often been secondary considerations.

114 countries

currently

undertake

systematic

assessments

or star rating of

existing roads.

88% of pedestrian travel occurs on roads that are unsafe.

the provision of affordable and safe public transport. In urban areas, where an additional two billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2045, the provision of affordable and safe public transport is an essential investment for sustainable mobility.

Road safety inspections and the star rating of existing roads provide a mechanism to identify any existing road design and speed management features that can affect crash likelihood and severity.

Systematic risk rate mapping, performance tracking and safety rating

using objective data are carried out by international and national road assessment programmes. (71). Road protection scores assess the level of protection against the risk of death and serious injury in collisions for all main user groups afforded by the road environment.

The implementation of a dedicated funding stream and targeted programmes to upgrade high-risk roads and provide access to safe and affordable public transport will help to systematically eliminate the highest-risk roads in a country and reduce death and injury.

This review found that 116 countries have a systematic programme in place for targeting and upgrading high-risk locations on existing roads. Additionally, 77 countries reported investing in mass transit while 103 countries reported having formal policies for formal bus/

mini-bus systems.

Table 3: Star rating of roads – what makes a road safe?

Box 8: 5-star school journey for Lusaka students

CHAPTER 5