Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd

Kenn Beer, Principal Engineer at Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd, will be a guest speaker at our 2024 National Local Roads, Transport & Infrastructure Congress, taking place from 3-4 December in Margaret River. As one of Australia’s leading Safe System practitioners and trainers, Mr Beer brings more than 20 years of expertise in #roadsafety engineering, design, planning, policy, and strategy development. His extensive portfolio includes developing safety strategies for #local and state governments, contributing to more than 30 significant Austroads projects, and advising government bodies in 11 countries on safe road design and engineering practices. At the Congress, Kenn will discuss what it takes to achieve Vision Zero - Australia’s ambitious goal of zero road deaths and serious injuries by 2050. Don’t miss the chance to gain valuable insights that will help eliminate road trauma in Australia. Early bird tickets close next Friday so register now https://lnkd.in/gEsftsU7    #RoadsCongress24 #roadsafety

*Content warning: Footage of a real crash Safe System Snippet: Complex Urban Environments: Prioritising Safety Many of our urban areas are built around large, traffic-carrying roads that cut through busy activity centres. These environments have significant challenges, especially when it comes to the safety of vulnerable road users like pedestrians (including skateboarders) and cyclists. The core of this issue is understanding Movement and Place – ensuring that we can move people and goods efficiently while protecting the spaces where people live, work, and play. It’s a complex challenge, made more difficult by the fact that we’ve inherited a network not designed with safety priorities in mind. While we work towards long-term, systemic solutions, we have to acknowledge that education, enforcement, and behaviour change efforts will continue to play a role. However, these are interim measures – they are not sustainable Safe System solutions. Relying solely on these approaches is not enough to achieve the safety outcomes we need. Our responsibility: we must continue to push for vehicle and infrastructure changes that prioritise the safety of our most vulnerable road users. We need to reimagine our urban spaces to reduce conflict between high-speed traffic and active transport. The road to change is complex, but it’s all about a safer, more sustainable future. #SafeSystemSnippet #roadsafety ———— Sign up to our mailing list for more snippets and news: https://lnkd.in/gXsAeAa9

Large, signalised intersections 𝙘𝙖𝙣 align highly with Safe System principles, but it requires a shift in thinking. This intersection in New Gisborne, Vic, is a great example of what's possible when Safe System Assessments are integrated right from the early design stages of a project. By taking this proactive approach, we can create spaces that not only reduce the likelihood of crashes but also manage impact energy, significantly lessening severity when incidents occur. Check out the video to see how Safe System design principles have transformed this intersection. #SafeSystem #TrafficSafety #RoadSafety #IntersectionDesign  -------------------- 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: Development/functional design: VicRoads/RRV Northern Region Detailed design: VicRoads Design Services Safe System Assessment: Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd Road Safety Audits: Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd (Lots of others involved at different stages).

Safe System Snippet: Utility providers Almost 40% of deaths and serious injuries in Australia involve a vehicle leaving the road and colliding with a roadside hazard. Of these collisions, the second most common hazards are utility poles (trees being the most common). Unfortunately, safety considerations for the travelling public are often not front of mind for utility providers when placing these poles. In many cases, the legal system even grants them powers that allow placement without considering the road safety impacts. When we talk about ‘shared responsibility’ under a Safe System approach, it’s often misunderstood. Some think it means individual road users need to take equal responsibility for safety. That’s not the case. Shared responsibility means that we, the system designers (including utility providers), must take responsibility for creating a safe road environment. Let’s ensure that road safety is embedded in every decision – including decisions around utility poles.  ———— Sign up to our mailing list for more snippets and news: https://lnkd.in/gXsAeAa9 #SafeSystemSnippet #roadsafety #trafficsafety

Our Principal Engineer Kenn Beer was inundated with so many questions during his recent webinar with Municipal Works Australia there wasn’t enough time to answer them on the day.   So we thought we’d share some here! There is a lot more to this topic about speed cushions vs speed humps – so if you’d like to know more, it’s covered in detail in Safe System Solutions’ Raised Crossing Principles and Raised Crossing Design courses. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gNJzhRjg

Queensland gets it. I'm excited to see Qld TMR take a forward-thinking step by releasing a supplement that rejects the need for Crossing Sight Distance (CSD) at pedestrian priority crossings. Although we're working with Austroads to update AGRD Part 4A, this move by TMR is an important interim measure for enhancing pedestrian safety. 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧? Sight distance is vital for safe crossings, but the requirements differ based on who has priority: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 (i.e., pedestrians must wait), Crossing Sight Distance (CSD) is used. CSD factors in (amongst other things) pedestrian speed and crossing distance. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 (such as at wombat crossings), Stopping Sight Distance (SSD) is used, which considers the vehicle’s speed, road surface, and slope. SSD allows drivers to safely stop when they see pedestrians about to cross. However, CSD is generally greater than SSD, often resulting in larger sight triangles that are challenging to achieve (lots of parking removal being the big one!). In many cases, this prevents pedestrian priority crossings from being implemented - negatively impacting safety, active transport options, and equitable access. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿: - A raised crossing is ideal to enhance visibility and slow vehicles down. #JustRaiseIt - Approach Sight Distance to a pedestrian priority crossing can be an acceptable alternative if signage and pavement markings are clearly visible. Raised crossings are again preferred here for added safety. I’m happy to sign off design exception reports for anyone that can’t get their wombat crossing in because of CSD requirements. [thanks for the many chats about this Prue Oswin]

Safe System Snippet: Barriers and kerbs Kerbs play an important role in road/street design, however their proximity to roadside barriers can create challenges. When kerbs are placed near barriers, they can alter the way vehicles interact with barriers, increasing the risk of underride, override, and vehicle instability. Additionally, kerbed roadsides with soil backfill can lead to increased stiffness in the system and higher rail loads, which may cause rail ruptures. Drainage features can also interfere with post placement, leading to the need for post omission. In 2021 Midwest Roadside Safety Facility evaluated the performance of the Midwest Guardrail System (MGS) when placed near a kerb and with an omitted post. The results from crash test, in which a 2270T pickup truck impacted the system at 100 km/h and at a 25-degree angle, were good. The vehicle was successfully contained and redirected without any rail tearing or instability. The system met all safety performance criteria as outlined in MASH test 3-11. (Barrier was 150mm behind kerb). 📽 Video credit: Midwest Roadside Safety Facility  ———— Sign up to our mailing list for more snippets and news: https://lnkd.in/gXsAeAa9 #roadsafety #trafficsafety #SafeSystemSnippet

We are thrilled to welcome our new Technical Lead – Safe People, Dr Amy Williamson, who brings two decades of behavioural science and regulatory practice research, policy and leadership experience to Safe System Solutions Pty Ltd. Having experienced the devastation of road trauma first-hand during high school and university, Amy was drawn to a career in road safety – beginning with her Masters thesis into the hazard perception skills of young drivers, a PhD in regulatory good practice and positive psychology, and continuing through to her most recent role as Principal Advisor, Road User Choices with NZ Transport Agency – Waka Kotahi. A genuine Safe System approach includes understanding the role of human behaviour – we are all human, and as humans we are fallible, vulnerable, and vary in our capacities, capabilities, and experiences. Amy will be taking the technical lead in applying behavioural science and human factors to the design and delivery of Safe System strategy and intervention. She'll be working across NZ and Australia and focusing on taking a systems approach to both encouraging safe behaviour and designing for human error. “Behaviour is a very central concept to the Safe System approach because we ultimately need to design for people and how we behave in a complex and dynamic transport system,” Amy said. “We can make mistakes at any time, and a lot of what we think and do is at an unconscious level. It’s about encouraging safe behaviours to prevent crashes while preventing harm when crashes do still inevitably occur." We look forward to sharing more of Amy’s work soon!

The Young ITE-ANZ Committee is excited to deliver our next short webinar session, catering to providing a bite-sized presentation and insights into different transportation-related topics. Our next speaker will be Kenn Beer who will present on The Safe System on Tuesday 19 November 2024 at 12:30pm. Please use the link below to register your interest and to attend the session online:  https://lnkd.in/gPCYPxkj #YITE #ITEANZ #ITE #Webinar #Presentation #Transportation