TOPIC 4.

OVERVIEW OF TRAFFIC CRASHES-

MALAYSIA SCENARIO
Topic Outlines
4.1 Accidents – Introduction and Issues
4.2 Integrated Safety Intervention
Program
4.3 Accident Investigation and Treatment
4.4 Road Safety Audit
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the topic, students should be
able to:
 Highlight the issues and factors contributing
to traffic accidents(CO1-PO1)
 Perform accident investigation and suggest
corrective measures (CO3-PO3)
 Evaluate the safety of road through road
safety audit (CO3-PO3)
 TOPIC 4.1

ACCIDENTS – INTRODUCTION AND

ISSUES
 Accidents - Definition
 “a rare, random, multi-factor event always preceded by a situation in
which one ore more road users have failed to cope with their
environment, resulting in collision on the public highway which should
be recorded by the police”.
 It is a comparatively “rare event” at specific points in the road network, eg.
at a ‘high risk’ junction in Malaysia having 42,000 vehicles (16-hour
count) passing through it, 53 accidents occurred in one year with only 10
involving injury.These accidents occurred during about 18,300,00 vehicle
movements.This is about one damage-only accident every 425,000
movements and one injury accident every 1,830,000 movements.
 The increase in population and motorization in Malaysia led to a
consequent increase in the number of road traffic accidents.
 Road Accident Statistics in Malaysia 1997 - 2017
Index per Index per
Registered Road Serious Slight Index per
Year Population Road Deaths 10,000 100,000
Vehicles Crashes Injury Injury billion VKT
Vehicles Population
1997 8,550,469 21,769,300 215,632 6,302 14,105 36,167 7.37 28.95 33.57
1998 9,141,357 22,333,500 211,037 5,740 12,068 37,896 6.28 25.70 28.75
1999 9,929,951 22,909,500 223,166 5,794 10,366 36,777 5.83 25.29 26.79
2000 10,598,804 23,494,900 250,429 6,035 9,790 34,375 5.69 25.69 26.25
2001 11,302,545 24,030,500 265,175 5,849 8,680 35,944 5.17 24.34 23.93
2002 12,068,144 24,542,500 279,711 5,891 8,425 35,236 4.88 24.00 22.71
2003 12,819,248 25,038,100 298,653 6,286 9,040 37,415 4.90 25.11 22.77
2004 13,764,837 25,541,500 326,815 6,228 9,218 38,645 4.52 24.38 21.10
2005 14,733,585 26,045,500 328,264 6,200 9,395 31,417 4.21 23.80 19.58
2006 15,790,732 26,549,900 341,252 6,287 9,253 19,885 3.98 23.68 18.69
2007 16,813,943 27,058,400 363,319 6,282 9,273 18,444 3.74 23.22 17.60
2008 17,733,084 27,567,600 373,071 6,527 8,868 16,879 3.68 23.68 17.65
2009 18,933,237 28,081,500 397,330 6,745 8,849 15,823 3.56 24.02 17.27
2010 20,006,953 28,588,600 414,421 6,872 7,781 13,616 3.43 24.04 16.21
2011 21,311,630 29,062,000 449,040 6,877 6,328 12,365 3.23 23.66 14.68
2012 22,590,123 29,510,000 462,423 6,917 5,868 11,654 3.06 23.44 13.35
2013 23,434,640 30,213,700 477,204 6,915 4,597 8,388 2.95 22.89 12.19
2014 25,101,192 30,708,500 476,196 6,674 4,432 8,598 2.66 21.73 10.64
2015 26,301,952 31,186,100 489,606 6,706 4,120 7,432 2.55 21.50 9.60
2016 27,638,067 31,633,500 521,466 7,152 4,506 7,415 2.59 22.61 10.70
2017 28,738,194 32,049,700 TBA 6,740 TBA TBA 2.35 21.03 9.59
MAJOR ROAD ACCIDENTS IN MALAYSIA
SINCE 2010
 North-South Expressway KM223 (Simpang Ampat)
– 10 October 2010: 12 killed (Express bus crashed through the
guardrail and ploughed into five vehicles
 Cameron Highlands-Simpang Pulai Road KM15
– 20 December 2010: 28 killed (Bus hit a divider and overturned)
 Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway KM3.5
– 21 August 2013: 34 killed (Bus plunged 60 m into deep ravine)
 North-South Expressway KM137(Pagoh)
– 24 December 2016: 14 killed (Express Bus plunged into ravine and
hit concrete wingwall)
 North-South Expressway KM223
(10.10.10: Delima Express Bus Tragedy)
 Twelve people were killed when a north-bound express bus
crashed through the guardrail and ploughed into five vehicles
heading in the opposition direction at KM223.2 of the North
South Expressway near Simpang Ampat here.
 Forty-five others were also injured in the 7.45pm accident, which
occured near the Negri Sembilan-Malacca border.
 Witnesses said the express bus crashed into the rear of a car before
the driver lost control of his vehicle and rammed through the
guardrail and onto the path of an oncoming bus, two cars and a
motorcycle.
 The impact caused the express bus to flip onto its side. The bus
driver and motorcyclist were among the casualties. The oncoming
bus belonged to the Welfare Department.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS-SIMPANG PULAI ROAD
CRASH - 20 Dec 2010
 Twenty-seven people were killed when their bus hit a divider and
overturned on its way down from Cameron Highlands in what is
possibly the worst road accident in Malaysian history.
 The tragedy at KM15 of the Cameron Highland-Simpang Pulai road
claimed the lives of 25 Thai nationals who had been on a holiday at the
hill resort. The other two casualties were Malaysians , driver Omar
Shahidan, 48, and tour guide Soontorn Kian, 38.
 The driver was trying to negotiate a sharp bend but failed, causing the
bus to hit a divider before overturning. The bus landed on its roof in a
ditch about 51m away from the divider. The impact of the crash was so
severe that bodies were flung several metres away from the wreckage
while others were trapped deep in the mangled vehicle.
 Twenty-two of the victims were killed on the spot. Five others died after
being rushed to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.
 The cause of the accident could have been due to speeding or technical
failure of the brakes.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS-SIMPANG PULAI
ROAD CRASH - 20 Dec 2010
CAMERON HIGHLANDS-SIMPANG PULAI
ROAD CRASH -20 Dec 2010
CAMERON HIGHLANDS-SIMPANG PULAI
ROAD CRASH - 20 Dec 2010
Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway KM3.5 -
21 August 2013
 The 2013 Genting Highlands bus crash was the deadliest road
accident to occur in Malaysia. At least 37 passengers were killed
and 16 others were injured in the accident which took place near
Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands, Pahang.

 It occurred on 21 August 2013 at 2:15 pm, when the bus carrying

53 passengers lost control as it was going down an incline and it
plunged into a deep ravine at about 60 metres at the kilometre 3.5
of the Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway. The point of
crash was about 10m after an escape ramp directly in the path of
the bus.

 The independent review of the crash cited six contributing factors,

including excessive speed and poor bus maintenance.
Genting Sempah-Genting Highlands Highway
KM3.5 - 21 August 2013
North-South Expressway KM137(Pagoh) – 24
December 2016: 14 killed
 An express bus travelling north plunged into a 6m-deep ravine
at KM137.4 of the North-South Expressway at 3.45am, killing
14 people and injuring 16 others, according to the Johor Fire
and Rescue Service. The fire and rescue service was notified at
3.59am and rushed 27 personnel from the Muar, Yong Peng and
Bukit Gambir stations to the scene, he said.
 Muar police chief ACP Azman Ayob said the bus travelling from
Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur left Larkin Bus Station, Johor
Bahru at 2am. He believed the speeding bus plunged into a
ravine and then crashed into a concrete barrier of the tunnel at
Kampung Jayo.
North-South Expressway KM137(Pagoh)
– 24 December 2016: 14 killed
– 24 December 2016: 14 killed
 ACCIDENT –
Head-on Collisions
TERM 1 School Holidays 2019
Raub 28/03/19
Maran 31/03/19
FACTORY BUS CRASH, KLIA SEPANG
(12 Killed)
 ISSUES ON ACCIDENTS IN MALAYSIA
 High number of vehicles on the road
 High number of fatalities, particularly motorcyclists
 Lack of enforcement, particularly on speeding, heavy vehicles
overloading
 Limited budget to improve condition of roads
 Issues of Public Transportation such as Buses
 Political will to implement unpopular measures such as AES
 Factors Causing Accidents
 Traffic accidents are rarely the result of
a single cause or factor.
 They are generally the outcome of the
interaction of many factors in a "chain
of events" involving the driver, the
vehicle and the road environment, that
ultimately leads to the occurrence of an
accident.
 Contributory factors in traffic accidents
- Human Factors
- Road Environment Factors ;
intersections and interchanges, traffic
control, signs, markings,
street lighting and landscaping.
- Vehicle Factors.
 Factors Causing Accidents
 Human factors are involved in about 95% of accidents with road
environment about 25% and vehicles factors about 8%.
 About 25% of traffic accidents involve the interaction of “Human”
and “Road Environment” Factors. The interaction of these factors
occurs in a chain of events that lead to an accident.
 Studies in various developed countries reveal a good degree of
consistency in the interrelationship and relative proportions of these
contributory factors in overall traffic accident statistics.
 Engineering and Traffic Management actions can be used to
eliminate these factors, breaking the chain of events and avoiding the
occurrence of the accident or reducing the severity of its outcome.
 NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY TARGET
 One of the most effective initiatives to achieve the desired road safety goals
of reducing accidents and number of fatalities is to set realistic accident
reduction targets within a specific time frame.
 In Malaysia, the Government, in the early 1990s, has set a national target of
reducing the number of fatalities resulting from road accidents
by 30% by the year 2000.
 Using a fatality model developed by Radin, 9,127 deaths were predicted in
the year 2000 if no action is taken to improve the situation. However, if
safety, intervention programme were implemented, the deaths would
reduce by 30% to 6,389.
 Therefore, to achieve this target, an integrated safety intervention
programme was developed with a set of strategies to be implemented to
reduce the number of accidents.
 In the year 2000, following the implementation of the intervention
programme, 6,035 deaths were reported, 5% less than the predicted value.
Accident Death Trends and Projection (Radin Umar, 1997)
 NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY TARGET
 The road accident death rate dropped from 6.2 deaths per 10,000
vehicles in the year 1999 to 5.6 deaths per 10,000 vehicles in the year
2001.
 Following the success of earlier intervention strategies, a new
accident reduction target of 4 deaths per 10,000 vehicles by year
2010 was announced by the Malaysian Government in 2001, based on a
new model.
 However, due to the intervention programme which was in already in place,
by early 2006, the actual death rate per 10,000 vehicles reached 3.98.
 New revised and challenging targets was set in the National Road Safety
Plan 2006 -2010 as follows:
- To reduce 52.4% of deaths per 10,000 vehicles from 4.2 in year 2005 to 2.0 in
2010.
- To reduce deaths per 100,000 population from the existing 23 in year 2005 to 10
deaths.
- To reduce deaths per billion VKT from 18 in year 2005 to 10 deaths.
 TOPIC 4.2

INTEGRATED SAFETY
INTERVENTION PROGRAMME
 Background
 An integrated safety intervention programme is a structured approach
to prevent and reduce future traffic accidents as well as to reduce
injuries during and after accidents.
 The strategies introduced in the programme can be categorized into the
following:
- Accident Reduction
- Accident Prevention
- Injury Reduction (Injury and Post Injury Control)
 This is shown in the following Safety Intervention Programme Matrix.
Safety Intervention Programme Matrix in Malaysia (Radin Umar, 2003)
 Accident Reduction Strategies
 Accident Reduction Strategies involves the application of appropriate
road engineering or traffic management schemes at hazardous locations on the
existing road network.
 One of the strategies is the treatment of accident blackspot locations
(accident prone areas). These locations were identified by analyzing accident
records obtained from the Royal Malaysian Police. A location can be considered
hazardous when sufficient accidents (eg. 5 accidents within a 20m radius of a
junction occur).
 Engineering treatments include the improvement of junction layouts, provision of
street lightings where required, improvement of road layouts such as seagull
islands and improvement of drainage and surface texture where required.
 Accident reduction strategies also include the provision of facilities for vulnerable
road users (pedestrians and motorcyclists) such as:
- Segregation of motorcycles from the mainstream traffic by the provision of dedicated
motorcycle lanes and shared used of paved shoulders for motorcycles.
- Provision of separate walkways for pedestrians.
 Accident Prevention Strategies
 Accident prevention strategies involve the application of safety
principles by independent qualified personnel so that potential
safety hazards can be evaluated and mitigated before new roads are
constructed and accessed to traffic.

 This process is commonly referred to as “road safety audit”. This is

to ensure that new blackspots (hazardous locations where accidents
are often clustered) are not created.

 Road Safety Audit will be covered in-depth for this course.

 Injury Reduction Strategies
 Injury Reduction Strategies involve the application of appropriate
safety policies, vehicle and road engineering approaches and
medical and trauma management. These may be achieved by five
distinct strategies namely exposure control, crash prevention,
behavior modification, injury control and post-injury management.
 Behaviour modification strategies involved systematic and targeted
behavior modification programmes using media such as television
commercials directed at strategic road users (such as young, male,
Malay motorcycle riders).
 Injury Reduction Strategies identifies injuries that can be mitigated
through the use of protection gear such as the proper use of
motorcycle helmets, upgrading on the performance of motorcycle
helmets and the development of helmets for children.
 Post-Injury Management
 Pang and Radin (2001) found that death among motorcyclists occur as follows:
- Within minutes after crash, about 71.5% of motorcyclists die within this period
and little could be done through medical efforts;
- Within oe to two hours of injury, about 25.3% of deaths occur in this period and
increased survival rates are likely to result from early and appropriate medical efforts
- During 30 days following hospital admission, about 3.2% of deaths occur during late
stage and improved medical care is unlikely to reduce this proportion.
 As traffic accidents cannot be prevented completely, efficient treatment and
rehabilitation are needed to deal with those injured.
 The survival and the extent of recovery depend on the initial care given at
roadside rather than at later stages of acute care. An appropriate and efficient
management system is therefore vital for the survival of the critically injured
victims.
 The establishment of paramedic teams, trauma centres and after-care services
such as follow-up rehabilitation facilities are among the initiatives that could
further minimize deaths and injuries following a traffic crash.
 TOPIC 4.3

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
&
TREATMENT
(Accident Reduction Strategy)
 FRAMEWORK FOR ACCIDENT
INVESTIGATION & TREATMENT
The framework for accident investigation and treatment
involved the following:
 Collection and compilation of accident data
 Computerisation and processing of accident records
 Identification and prioritisation of accident blackspot locations
 Detailed analysis and modelling of factors involved
 Implementation of countermeasures
 Evaluation of their effectiveness
Importance for Accident/Crash Data Collection

1. To seek information and understand what may have

been the cause/s of the accident.

2. Useful in reconstructing the crash event that may

lead to the determination of possible solution.

3. Crash data assembled over time to determine trends

and to evaluate statistically how the elements of the
overall transportation system are performing.
 Collection and Compilation of Accident
Data in Malaysia
 All accident data originates with the recording of details by the police
either at the scene of the accident or as subsequently reported to them
at the local police station by those involved.
 The accident details are first recorded in the police officer’s notebook and a
simple record is made in the 24-hour incident book at the police station in
which a unique reference number is assigned to the accident.
 If human injury has occurred and/or a prosecution is likely, an accident
investigation file is opened, again having a reference number. This contains all
documents associated with the accident – eg. witness statements, photographs,
description and sketch diagram of the accident scene as found by the reporting
police officer.This file is required by law courts in the event of a prosecution.
 The traffic accident report form, POL 27, is a pre-printed standard form and
is the basis of all computerized data. It is completed by the police officer
reporting the accident. The form comprises of 15 pages, some to be
distributed to other parties.
 ACCIDENT
DATA
COLLECTION
FRAMEWORK
Collection and Compilation of Accident Data in
Malaysia
 When the local police station has completed a POL27 form according to
their coding instructions, the top copy is sent to the Police District Office,
where it is checked, and then sent on to Police Headquarters at Bukit
Aman, Kuala Lumpur. In practice, this tends to be done in batches,
normally each week. At the same time pages 4 and 15 of the form are sent
out to either the local JKR District Office or the Local Government
Office, as appropriate.
 The forms are further checked for completeness at Bukit Aman and then
processed (with other crime records) for entry onto the main computer.
At the end of each month, the accident file is downloaded to a
microcomputer and the data-file converted into the Transport Research
Laboratory's Microcomputer Accident Analysis Package2 (MAAP), which
has now been adopted as the standard accident analysis tool for Malaysia.
 Collection and Compilation of Accident Data in
Malaysia
 The responsibility for precise location coding for each accident now
lies with the various road authorities (JKR), as this is of primary
importance to them. This is why copies of pages 2 and 13 (ie. pages 4 &
15 containing road number, kilometre post and collision sketches) of
each accident are either delivered to or collected from the JKR District
Office or Local Government Offices (Pejabat Majlis Daerah) for
completion of the relevant sections.
 The appropriate officers at the JKR District Office are required to check
location details of each accident and complete the coding of:
 Route number
 Lowest Section number of km posts on either side of accident
 Nearest 100m from the above post
 Relevant map code and series
 X-coordinate (easting)
 Y-coordinate (northing)
 Direction in which vehicle at fault was travelling
Collection and Compilation of Accident Data in
Malaysia
 All completed forms should be sent to the Highway Planning
Unit (HPU) of the Ministry of Works in Kuala Lumpur every
month.
 On receipt of the completed parts of the forms (pages 4 and 15) the
location information is further checked by HPU and entered with
the accident identifying parameters onto computer.
 This will eventually be merged (once per month) with the
corresponding accident records received from the Police. In theory,
the database is now complete and can be sent out in the form of
relevant MAAP data files for use by the road authorities or analysis
by other interested groups.
 Data collected are:
• Location of the crash
• Date and time of occurrence
• Environmental conditions
• Type and number of vehicle involve
• Severity of injury
• Path trajectory
• Final resting location of each vehicle
• Short description of the crash
• The crash site may also be photographed or
videotaped
 COMPUTERISATION & PROCESSING OF
ACCIDENT RECORDS
The data input, processing and analysis framework adopted is
shown below:

Geographical maps can be spatially digitized using AutoCAD software.

Accident data can be keyed-in into MAAP software for in-depth analysis or
diagnosis of accident patterns such as: cross-tabulations (accident
information, injury information and vehicles involved), blackspot
identification and prioritization (ranking), stick diagram and accident
mapping.
 IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITISATION
OF ACCIDENT BLACKSPOT LOCATIONS
• There are a number of identification system currently used for
referencing the location of accidents. In Malaysia, a location
identification system was developed based on road maps that were
digitized. In this presentation, the distribution of accidents was
superimposed on a digitised map based on grid-coordinate of each
accident.
• In addition to this system, the link node cell and the kilometer post
system are also used on highway networks in Malaysia.
• To identify the most dangerous spots, software such as MAAP is used
to plot and list the accident blackspots according to the required
rankings. The list can be based on kilometer post, junctions, and links
between intersection or the grid co-ordinates.
 Accident Blackspot Prioritisation
Ranking of blackspots could either be carried out by:
 accident maps: employing the grid co-ordinate system,
 nodal analysis: showing accidents within 20 m from major junctions,
 link accidents analysis: occurs between two nodes or major junctions,
 cell accident analysis: occurs in areas bounded by a series of links and
nodes,
 accident points: based on weightage of accidents involving fatality (6
points), hospitalized (3 points), minor injury (0.8 point) and damage-
only (0.2 point),
 accident costs: based on cots assigned to fatal accident (RM145,000),
serious or slight injury (RM14,500) and damage-only accident (RM
1,450)
 kilometer post analysis: plotting of histogram of accidents in 100 m
length sectors along a selected route which have high accident
concentrations.
Accident maps
Accident maps
Link-node-
cell
System
used in
Seremban
for
Location
identificati
on
Kilometre Post Analysis
 Intervention Level for Blackspot Treatment
Intervention Level is a cut-off level or point whereby actions are
needed to treat the blackspot locations. The following intervention
levels are recommended:
i. Intervention level by frequency
 5 accidents per spot of 50 m radius, or
 3 accidents of similar type per spot of 50 m radius
ii. Intervention level by points
 40 weighted points per kilometer per two years
 Top 200 worst points in the list
iii. Intervention level by cost
 Estimated accident cost higher than treatment
 Estimated benfit to cost ratio greater than 1
Detailed diagnosis and
Implementation of
Countermeasures
ACCIDENT DETAILS
 Collision diagrams
 Collision diagrams are used to display and identify similar
accident patterns. They provide information on the type and
number of accidents; including conditions such as time of day,
day of week, climatic conditions, pavement conditions, and
other information critical to determining the causes of safety
problems.
 Accident patterns seen on the collision diagram can often
suggest possible accident problems. For example, a large
number of angle accidents would imply the potential of a sight
distance restriction.
SITE STUDIES

Photo 4: Right turner to Tmn Cheng Loong

Photo 3: Intersection at a bend
TREATMENT
 Evaluation of countermeasure effectiveness
In evaluating the effectiveness of countermeasures, a number of techniques
are available depending on the nature of the countermeasure, availability of
data and precision required. Among the techniques available as follows:
i. The cumulative plot technique - used to compare the cumulative number
of accidents over time with the cumulative mean of accidents based on
accident trend of before data. If the numbers occurring fluctuate about the
steady average, the plotted points lie close to the straight line of he
cumulative mean.
ii.Chi-square “before and after” - can be applied for an area wide safety
intervention strategy such as the effect of running headlight campaigns for
motorcyclist.
iii.When factors contributing to accidents are available in the form of a time
series, a log-linear multivariate model can be employed to predict the
impact of a safety intervention. Example of this is the estimation of deaths
using fatality model to predict the impact of safety interventions.
 TOPIC 4.4

ROAD SAFETY AUDIT

 Road Safety Audit
Definition and Goal
 Road Safety Audit (RSA) may be defined as the formal
examination of the planning, design and construction of a road
project, and of the characteristics and operation of an existing
road, by independent and qualified examiners, to identify any
potentially unsafe feature or operational arrangement that may
adversely effect the safety of any road user.

 The goal of the RSA process is to ensure that all road projects
and all existing roads are capable of providing the highest
practicable standard of traffic safety for all road users.
General Attributes of Safe Road
Standards of horizontal and vertical alignment which are appropriate to
the environment,
Road cross-section with appropriate lane and shoulder provisions,
catering for the various traffic volume,

Access control consistent with the function of the road in the overall
road network,
Clearly visible and uncomplicated intersection with appropriate traffic
control providing safe movement for all road user groups

Well thought out traffic signing with clear advice, positive warning,
unambiguous directional information,

Adequate and consistent delineation of the roadway,

High standard of skid resistance pavement with good drainage,

Appropriate street lighting

Overall traffic management which properly considers the needs of all

road users.
 Objectives of RSA
i. To identify potential safety hazards on new road projects, at the
appropriate stage, so that they can be eliminated or otherwise
treated to mitigate their adverse effects, at minimum cost;
ii. The identification of hazardous features of an existing road so that
they can be eliminated or otherwise treated before they become
accident prone locations;
iii. To ensure that the safety requirements of all road users are explicitly
considered in the planning, design, construction and operation of
road projects;
iv. To reduce the overall "through life" costs of a road project to the
community.
Road Safety Audit - Guidelines
 Road Safety Audit work started in
Malaysia in 1995 on selected existing
roads under the supervision of senior
road engineers and a road safety
expert from Australia (Mr. Edward V
Barton).

 The team put together Guidelines

for Road Safety Audit that were first
published in 1997.
GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR ROAD SAFETY
AUDIT
 Stages of RSA
There are Five (5) Stages in the development of highway / road projects at which it is
most appropriate to carry out RSA:
Stage 1: Feasibility & Planning Stage
– planning concept, network adequacy, road hierarchy etc.
Stage 2 : Draft (Preliminary) Design Stage
– functional design, access control, vulnerable road users, junction type, etc.
Stage 3: Detailed Design Stage
– geometric design, road markings, street furniture, landscape and clear zones,
etc.
Stage 4: Construction and pre-opening stage
– traffic management during construction, site inspection and construction
compliances, pre-opening day and night time inspection, etc.
Stage 5: Post opening stage
– safety performance during the defect liability period or auditing of an existing
road.
 Stage 1: Feasibility & Planning Stage
 The earliest recognised stage of RSA, may not always be applicable,
particularly on very simple projects or those involving only minor
improvements such as some road rehabilitation works.
 It is particularly desirable to audit all major transport infrastructure
projects at the Planning and Feasibility stage to avoid commitments
which, in later stages, have unfortunate safety consequences.
 Will identify safety problems associated with the overall concept for a
project, road network safety implications, route options, intersection
and interchange types and locations.
 Will also consider the safety implications of strategic issues such as
access control and provisions for various road user groups such as
pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, heavy trucks, etc. which may need
special emphasis generally or on a particular part of a project.
Land Use and Traffic Management
Motorcycle safety is enhanced by
segregating them from other
vehicular traffic
Stage 2: Draft (Preliminary) Design Stage
 At the preliminary design stage, many of the traffic engineering
features of a road project are established.
 Most of these, such as cross-section elements,
intersection/interchange layout, lane and carriageway layout,
traffic control options, vertical and horizontal alignment standards
(and any constraints thereon) etc, have a very marked effect on the
safety performance of a project.
 Furthermore it is generally at this stage that 'Right of Way'
requirements are finalised and if this is not adequate it may 'lock-
in' unsatisfactory design features.
Horizontal and Vertical Alignment
 Cross Section

Combination of Horizontal and

Vertical Alignment
 Stage 3: Detailed Design Stage
 In carrying out detailed design, designers are continually making
balances of judgement in the selection and application of standards and
guides to meet the specific site conditions relevant to each particular
project.
 RSA at this stage will 'test' the design decisions made against road safety
objectives and will identify aspects in which safety has not been given
high enough 'weighting' compared to other competing factors.
 It will also identify potential hazards resulting from adverse
combinations of vertical and horizontal alignment, or from choosing a
series of 'minimum' /'maximum' design criteria.
 Other undesirable features associated with the final grading, drainage
and landscaping design as well as those arising from the traffic signing,
traffic controls and street lighting which will be finalised in the detail
design stage, can also be identified at this stage of Audit.
Interchange and interchanges ramp
 Stage 4: The Pre-opening Stage
 Audit at this stage involves site inspections of a project, both by day and at
night, at, or just prior to, its practical completion or, just prior to opening a
new project to traffic. The auditors can now see the project in three
dimensions and including any changes/ modifications made during
construction.

 The actual placement of items such as guardrailing, traffic signing, street

lighting, landscaping etc. are looked at in detail and particular emphasis should
be given to checking that the respective needs of all road user groups meet
desirable safety standards. This will be the last chance to make sure that the
project opens to traffic in the best condition to provide safe and efficient
operation.

 The Stage 4 audit generally also includes the audit of traffic management in
and around the works area during the period of construction. Such auditing is
usually done as early as possible in the construction phase and periodically
during construction as may be necessary to cover changes to traffic
management as the work progresses.
Traffic Management Plan During Construction
 Roadside safety features

Roadside safety features

 Stage 5: RSA of An Existing Road
 Road safety audits are desirable also on existing roads regardless of them having
been audited during planning, design and construction. Stage 5 type audits of
existing roads may include sections under construction or undergoing
maintenance operations.
 The stage 5 audit attempts to identify and correct potential hazards before
accidents occur due to them (ie, it is pro-active rather than reactive).
 An audit at this stage will identify safety problems which develop due to normal
“wear and tear” from traffic operation. It will also identify hazards due to the way
the landscaping has matured, e.g. trees and foliage obstructing traffic signs or sight
distance impaired.
 Inspections by day and night are essential to check inadequacies in delineation and
visibility etc. Apart from any relevant plans, the auditor should have available data
on the accident history along the route and traffic flows etc. so that a proper
assessment can be made of the roads' safety performance. Again the stage 5 audit
will particularly look at the way each road user group 'sees‘ the road from their
particular safety viewpoint.
Intersection
Expressway interchanges and other grade separated intersection
Guide and direction signs