EAL 338: Transportation and Road

Safety

Road Safety

Dr. Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan

 Content
• Current Road Safety Performance
• Accident Trend
• Traffic Safety Programs
 Current Road Safety Performance
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has
identified road safety as a public health high
priority issue
– More than 3000 fatalities each year and nearly 1.3
million people annually
• Number of new drivers and vehicle growing,
increase the risk factors on the road
• Increasing trend for both number of road crashes
and fatalities
• Intervention steps should be taken
 Road safety data: National
Data 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Road crashes 328,264 341,252 363,319 373,071 397,330 414,421 449,040 462,426

Fatalities 6,188 6,287 6,282 6,527 6,745 6,872 6,877 6,917

Vehicle 14,816 15,791 16814 17972 19017 20189 21401 22702

Registration/
10k Vehicle
Fatality/ 10k 4.18 3.98 3.74 3.63 3.55 3.40 3.21 3.05
vehicle
Road crash/ 221.55 216.11 216.08 207.59 208.94 205.28 209.82 203.69
10k vehicle
New driver 427,991 423,094 416499 457613 475618 538948 527198 540391
 Road safety data: Penang
Data 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Road crashes 30934 32573 33881 34049 33719 34306 37158 37851

Fatalities 370 381 376 354 395 370 392 400

Vehicle 1585 1687 1787 1898 1995 2107 2217 2327

Registration/
10k Vehicle
Fatality/ 10k 2.33 2.26 2.10 1.87 1.98 1.76 1.77 1.72
vehicle
Road crash/ 195.19 193.11 189.42 179.41 169.05 162.80 167.85 162.65
10k vehicle
New driver 32408 33059 29781 30977 30365 31833 31345 31839
 Alarming Accident Trends
• Especially during festive season
• Motorcyclist have been identified as the most
vulnerable, contributing to about 50% of
deaths
 Statistic
7,000

6,800
6%

6,600
21%
38%
Death

6,400

6,200

6,000

5,800 35%
2005 2006
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Year
Federal State Municipal Toll Highway

No of Death due to Road

Accidents Road Accidents by Road Categories (2010)
“Motorcyclists account for a
large percentage of road
fatalities” (JKR, Roads in Malaysia)
 Statistic

8%
12%
2% 6%
1%
9% 32%
36%

3%
1%

47%
43%

Car Motorcycle Bus Van Lorry Others Car Motorcycle Bus Van Lorry Others

Total Road Accidents (2010) Fatal Road Accidents (2010)

Attitude!!
Political cartoon: After Transport Minister Gadkari ignores road safety
 Road Safety Programmes
• Ministry of Work (MoW) strives to play its part
to by stressing further on engineering aspects
with proactive and reactive actions at the
design, construction and maintenance stages.
• Can be divided into two:
– Accident reduction
– Accident prevention
 Major Road Safety
Programmes

Accident Reduction Accident Prevention

Accident blackspots treatments

Providing pedestrian facilities
Overtaking lanes
Paving shoulders
Motorcycle lanes
Road safety audits
Junction improvements
Geometric improvement Lane Markings
 Blackspots
• The basic definition for accident blackspots in
Malaysia

or more accidents of various or more accidents of a single

collision types that occur
within a radius of 50m @ collision type that occur within
a radius of 50m during a
during a period of 3 years period of 3 years
 Road Accident Management System
(RAMS)
• GPS is used for the identification of blackspot
locations
• The RAMS is a web-based integrated system
with a Geographical Information System (GIS)
which enables accident visualization, thus
identifying treatment, countermeasures, or
enforcement that can be implemented
 Examples of Black spot Treatment
• Provision of protested lane
• Junction improvement
Road Safety Awareness Campaigns
 Awareness Campaigns
• To encourage safer driving behavior
• Ministry of Works normally conducts
campaigns for road used, BEFORE and DURING
festive seasons
• Study has shown, majority of road crashes are
caused by human factors (67% of fatal and
injury road crashes)
The London
Road Safety
Council*
(LRSC) has
unveiled a new
campaign
which uses
humor to
convey road
safety
reminders.
 Human
Factor

Causes
of
Collisions

Road
Vehicle
Environment
 Human Factor
• Speeding
Bad driving habits • Texting
• Not properly indicating direction
• Following too closely
Tailgating • Flashing headlights to get vehicles in front
out of their way

• Simply change lane

Poor lane discipline • Not remain within designated lines

• Act before thinking

Impatience • Always rushing

Lack of travel planning • Drivers who are under pressure to get to a

destination quickly
Spot the mistakes and possible risks!!
 “ Bad tailgating, poor lane
discipline and not indicating
direction are just a few of the
bad habits that frequently
caused accidents” [JKR, 2010]
Road Environment Factors
• Design to enable a driver to stop safely of regain

Clear zone control of a vehicle that has accidentally left the

roadway
• For prevention and mitigation of crashes

• Can limit visibility

Roadside vegetation • Can obscure traffic signs and signals, other vehicles,
pedestrians, cyclists and animals

• Should only be placed to reduce the risk of injury

Road safety barrier systems resulting from a crash

• Design to ensure that the severity of foreseeable crash
reduces human injury

• Maintaining lines and warning signs in good

Delineation • Help drivers keep their vehicles on the road

• Potholes and rutting must be repaired promptly

Pavement Surface • Greater hazard to motorcycles than larger vehicles
• Uneven road surface must be milled and resurfaced
(source : Road Facility Maintenance Branch, PWD, 2010)
(source : Road Facility Maintenance Branch, PWD, 2010)
Source : UTUSAN MALAYSIA
 Vehicles Factors
• Vehicle speed
• Vehicle condition
• Vehicle safety equipment (set belts, air bags)
• Require regular inspections
 Safe System Approach
• Road system must be more forgiving of human
error and attempt to ensure survival in cases of
accidents, while reduces unsafe road behavior
• Shared responsibility of the road system with
vehicles designers, providers and users
• Key elements of the road safety:
– Road users
– Roads / roadsides
– Travel speeds
 Designing and maintaining roads
and roadsides to reduce risk

Safe
Advising, educating and system Setting speed limits
encouraging road users according the safety of
approach
to comply with rules road and roadside
includes

Encouraging road users to

purchase safer vehicles with
primary safety features
“The success of the Safety
System approach depends
on road users acting within
the limits of the system’s
design” [JKR, 2010]
 • pedestrian bridge Pedestrian bridge

Motorcycle
lane

(source : Road Facility Maintenance Branch, PWD, 2010)

See you again!!