rural roads - a different environment - australasian college

Rural Roads - A Different Environment

Presentation to

ACT & Region Chapter

Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS)

7 May 2013

Greg Miller

Melissa Weller

Rural Roads – A Different Environment

Key messages

• The road environments that drivers

encounter on NSW rural roads are very different to ACT urban/rural roads

• They are different because

• Available funding

• Competing priorities

• Varied terrain & environments e.g. mountain escarpments

• Existing alignments. Unplanned.

• Traffic volumes & types of vehicles

• We need to reiterate the message of, “Drive to the Conditions and the Road

Environment”.


The Yass Valley LGA Perspective

• The township of Yass is located 45 minutes from

Canberra

• The Yass Valley LGA includes the villages of:

Sutton; Murrumbateman; Gundaroo; Binalong;

Wee Jasper; Bowning; Wallaroo and Bookham.

• Total Yass LGA population is 15,020 (2011 Census)

• The area is experiencing significant rural growth

with an average annual population growth rate

of 2.8% (2006 – 2011)


Key economic activity in the region includes

• Agriculture (notably wool and cattle)

• Increasingly - cold climate wineries

• Tourism also contributes generously to the economy.


The township of Yass and Villages in this LGA -

are located in the commuter belt

• 69.7% of residents travel to work by car

• Almost 50% (of labour force) commute from the

Yass Valley LGA to the ACT for work *using 2006

Census data only

• Only 1.7% travel on public transport


Our Road Network

• The Yass Valley Council maintains 1221 km of

road

• 89% of roads in the Yass Valley LGA are

unclassified

• 55% of these unclassified roads are unsealed or

gravel roads


What does all this equate to?

• Traffic peaks due to commuter activity

• Residents travelling longer distances to work,

school and services

• Tourists and visitors driving on unfamiliar rural

(unclassified roads and/or gravel roads)


What is different about rural or unclassified

roads? • The road environment is more varied including unsealed roads

(or gravel roads)

• Roads are narrow with poor alignment affecting the road speed environment (including short sight distances)

• Road conditions change rapidly due to prevailing weather conditions – corrugations, dust, potholes

• Traffic volume and vehicle mix is varied and includes heavy vehicles, agricultural equipment, livestock and wildlife

• People fail to SLOW DOWN and DRIVE TO CONDITIONS


For example…

• Take a drive along

Mulligans Flat Road o Identified by RMS as a

‘hotspot’ for black spot

funding

o Most crashes are ‘run off

road’

o 7 crashes (2006 – 2011)

five of these with injury


Entrance at ACT border


An Engineering perspective

•Road hierarchy

•Sight distance

•Horizontal and vertical alignments

•Road corridors including lanes,

cross falls and super elevation.

•Intersection geometry and

treatments

•Safety barriers, lines & signs

•Pavement surfacing and skid

resistance


Road hierarchy

NEW SOUTH WALES •State Highways

•Hume & Federal Highways – dual carriageway. 110km/h

•Barton Highway – some dual carriageway. Kings & Princes

Highways – single carriageway. Predominantly 100km/h with

some 70, 80 & 90 km/h

•State Roads (2000 – 5000 vpd)

•MR56 – Lachlan Valley Way

•MR84 – Burley Griffin Way

•Regional Roads (1000 – 2000 vpd)

•Murrumbateman Road

•Local Roads

ACT •Arterial - Tuggeranong P’way, Gungalin Drv, Belconnen Way

•Subarterial - Limestone Ave, Northbourne Ave, Barry Dve

•Collector – Barry Drv, Haydon Drv, Antill St.

•Local Roads – suburban streets


Road geometry – Sight distance

•A principle aim in road design is to

ensure that a driver has sufficient sight

distance to be able to perceive any

road hazards in sufficient time to take

action to avoid mishap.

•Stopping sight distance

•Overtaking sight distance

•Sight distance at night

•Sight distance at horizontal

curves

•Sight distance at combined

horizontal and vertical curves

•Sight distance at intersections


Road geometry – Horizontal & vertical alignments

•Horizontal alignment

The speed adopted on an open road is affected more by the

driver’s perception of the horizontal alignment of the road than by

any other single design feature. Generally, the adopted

alignment should be as direct as possible, with curve radii as large

as practicable.

•Vertical Alignment

The elevation of the control line of a roadway is referred to as its

vertical alignment or its grade. As with the horizontal alignment,

the grading of a road affects travelling speeds, road safety and

the appearance of the road.

•Coordination of Horizontal and vertical alignments

A more pleasing three-dimensional road design is achieved if the

horizontal and vertical curves are kept in phase. The design speed

of the road in both the horizontal and vertical planes should be of

the same order.


Road cross sections

•Lanes

These can include two lane, two way rural roads, multilane rural

roads, divided carriageways and urban roads made up of travel

lanes, auxiliary lanes, parking lanes, turning lanes, overtaking lanes

and cycleways. Also to consider are shoulders, medians and

vehicle stopping areas e.g. truck parking, rest facilities, driver

reviver, breakdown bays and bus bays.

•Cross fall

Cross fall on road pavements are designed for 3%. This will provide

for adequate drainage of the road pavement. Where this can not

be achieved or maintained, safety will be compromised.

•Superelevation

Horizontal curves are superelevated to balance the effects of

centrifugal force. The amount of superelevation will depend on

vehicle speed, curve radius and pavement surface

characteristics. The rate to be adopted is chosen for the aspects

of safety, comfort and appearance.


Intersections •Signalised

•Roundabouts

•Right turn treatments – urban

•Minimum treatment

•Right turn bays including painted and raised medians

•Seagull treatments

•‘S’ lanes

•Right turn treatments – rural

•‘BAR’ – basic right turn – minimum treatment

•‘AUR’ – auxiliary right turn

•‘CHR’ – channelised right turn

•Left turn treatments

•‘BAL’ – basic left turn – minimum treatment

•‘CHL’ – channelised left turn

•Median cross overs

•Urban property access

•Rural property access


Safety barriers, lines and signs

•Safety Barriers

•Briffen wire rope

•Guardrail or W-beam

•Thrie Beam

•Vertical concrete barriers

•Line marking

•Integral component of

controlling traffic

•Amount varies depending on

road hierarchy

•Ongoing maintenance vitally

important (every 1 to 2 years)

•Signage

• regulatory i.e. speed zones

•Advisory i.e. yellow & black signs

•Guide posts


Pavement surfacing and skid resistance

•Pavement surface types

•Bitumen seal

•Asphaltic concrete

•Concrete

•Unbound gravel

•Skid Resistance

•RMS use SCRIM testing to ascertain

pavement surface texture & degree of

polishing

•Consider surfacing such as ‘Griphalt”

which is a proprietary product of Thin

High Textured Asphalt Surface.


Crash data

ACT Drivers crashing in Eurobodalla, Palerang,

Queanbeyan, Cooma, Goulburn & Yass local

government areas

•2007 – 2010 total of 513 crashes

•19 fatalities – 316 injured

•99% involved cars

•30% speed – 10% fatigue – 3% alcohol as

contributing factors

•70% fine weather conditions

•75% dry road surface conditions

•67% in daylight

•32% in 100km/h speed zoning

•40% on classified roads (excl State hwy)


Crash data

Crash Types (2007-2010) - Crashes in Eurobodalla,

Palerang, Queanbeyan, Cooma, Goulburn and Yass

local government areas

•19% Off road on curve, hit object

•18% Rear-end

•10% Intersection, adjacent approaches

•8% Head-on, not overtaking

•5% Hit animal

•4% Off road, on curve

•3% Off road, on straight


Crash Data Snapshot: (RMS Data to 2010)

•50% of crashes occur on State highways, 30% on

unclassified roads, and 20% on classified roads.

•Speed is still the biggest contributing factor to road

crashes, followed by fatigue.

•Most crashes occur in daylight and fine weather.

•The number of crashes on roads in close proximity

to the ACT is increasing.


Where crashes occur

Where Accidents Occur in Yass Valley Council area

2005 - 2010

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Year

Pe

rce

nta

ge

of

Ac

cid

en

ts

State Highway

Classified Roads

Unclassified Roads

Crashes in the Eurobodalla per km per Road

1996-2011

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Kings Hwy

Princes Hwy

Other

Eurobodalla

Roads


Contributing factors

Casualties - Contributing Factors for Yass Valley Council area

2005-2010 (categories not exclusive)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Year

Number of casualties

Seatbelt Fitted But Not Worn

Fatigue

Alcohol

Speed


Crash Data Accidents by Posted Speed Limit that occured in Yass Valley Council Area

2005 - 2010

1%

8%6%

2% 3%

79%

0%

11%

1%4% 4%

81%

0%

7%

1%

9%

4%

79%

2%

7%4%

1%3%

82%

0%

10%

3%1%

4%

82%

0%

10%

2%5%

7%

76%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

Not more than

40km/h

50km/h 60km/h 70km/h 80km/h 90 km/h and over

Posted Speed Limit

Perc

en

tag

e o

f A

ccid

en

ts 2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010


Traffic types and volumes

•Peak holiday and weekend traffic

•Vehicles towing caravans, boats and horse floats •B-doubles

•Bus and coaches

•Motor homes

•Agricultural and farming equipment

•Light and heavy trucks •Motorcycles – group rides on weekends

•Provisional and inexperienced drivers

•Weather – fog & rain. Dry weather = dust on unsealed roads

•Yass Valley Council has the Hume, Barton and Federal highways crossing their LGA

•Eurobodalla has the Kings Highway and Princes Highway


The Kings Highway – peak traffic volumes


What is Local Government doing?

• Education and Enforcement – Safer People and Safer Speeds

• Kings Highway Road Safety Partnership – involving NSW and ACT

Police, NSW Councils, NSW and ACT road authorities, and NRMA-ACT

Road Safety Trust

• Press and radio media campaign in ACT and surrounding districts

• Enforcement strategies by Australian Federal Police and NSW Police

• Continued emphasis on Barton Highway, Kings Highway safety

• Lobby for elevation of the Barton & Kings Highways in State funding

priorities

• Investigation of further campaigns to target both surrounding local

government residents and ACT drivers

• Identify funding opportunities to address black spots on Council’s

road network (e.g. Mulligan’s Flat).


Past Campaigns


Past Campaigns

• Barton Blitz - Barton Highway Safety Campaign

– The project combined high visibility policing with an awareness campaign.

– Yass Valley Council and the NSW Police Local Highway Patrol teamed up to blitz speeding motorists on the Barton Highway.

– Speed has been identified as the biggest single contributing factor in crashes on the highway.

– Over a 6 year period there have been 159 crashes on the Barton Highway with 10 people killed and 107 injured.


Past Campaigns

Take Me Home Country Road

Gravel Roads Campaign 2005/06

• Partnership between Yass Valley and Upper Lachlan Councils, NRMA ACT Road Safety Trust, Motor Accidents Authority and the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW ($143,100 in funding in total)

• Designed media strategy to promote message of ‘Slow Down’ and ‘Drive to Conditions’ and increase awareness of hazards and the dangers of driving on rural and unsealed roads – particular emphasis on reaching ACT drivers.

• 36.96% reduction in gravel road crashes in the project area, 22% decrease in crashes involving ACT motorists, 58% reach of target audience, 42% recall of message


The key messages to take home

• The road environments that drivers encounter on NSW rural roads are very

different to ACT urban/rural roads

• They are different because

• Available funding

• Competing priorities

• Varied terrain & environments e.g.

mountain escarpments

• Traffic volumes & types of vehicles

• We need to reiterate the message of, “Drive to the Conditions and the Road Environment”.

Acknowledgements

• Simon Cassidy – Director Operations

Yass Valley Council

• Karen Sydenham – Road Safety Officer Eurobodalla Shire Council

• Melissa Weller – Operations Support & Road Safety Officer, Yass Valley Council

• Greg Miller – Divisional Manager Technical Services – Eurobodalla Shire Council

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