Episodes
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Guidelines for Incident Response Vehicles and Truck-Mounted Attenuators
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
This webinar presents the results of the Austroads project that developed guidelines for incident response vehicles and truck-mounted attenuators. The project was a collaboration between Austroads, iMOVE, Queensland University of Technology and Deakin University.
Two sets of guidelines have been developed as part of the project. The first set provides information on models/types and design specifications of incident response vehicles. The guidance focuses on three vehicle types: tow trucks, truck-mounted attenuators (TMAs) and utility vehicles. In general, the design considerations are separated into three stages: determining models and general specifications, determining additional features and equipment, and determining markings, signs and other identification measures to ensure visibility and identifiability of the incident response vehicles.
The second set provides guidance on when and how TMAs and other attenuator vehicles should be used in incident response scenarios. The use of TMAs for incident response often requires departures from the established guidelines for TMA use, which are generally developed around planned operations (i.e. roadworks and maintenance activities). These issues are addressed alongside related considerations around broader temporary traffic management pertaining to incident response specifically.
In the webinar, presenters Narelle Haworth, Ashim Debnath and Drew Gaynor, provide an overview of the project, including the findings of the literature review, results of the stakeholder consultations and guideline development.
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Is Zero Road Trauma Possible?
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
Thursday Feb 08, 2024
The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 has set the ambitious global target to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2030. Some jurisdictions have set even more ambitious targets by setting a date for achieving zero road trauma, such as by 2050.
While there is a growing body of evidence around what initiatives are effective in reducing road crashes and injuries, what is missing is how to prioritise these measures and a lack of tangible planning frameworks to assist countries to link near- and long-term targets with day-to-day operations.
This webinar explores how to use backcasting, a vision-based planning approach, to determine what the metrics of a safe road system should look like in order to achieve zero road trauma and how the current road system is tracking towards this desired state and how jurisdictions can utilise this approach to develop strategies to achieve their near- and long-term targets.
The webinar is presented by Jessica Truong, the winner of the Women in Road Safety Award presented by Austroads at the 2023 Australasian Road Safety Conference.
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Driver Licensing Directions
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Driver licensing legislation and regulation is the responsibility of each of Australia’s 8 states and territories. However, there is a commitment by all jurisdictional regulators to harmonised practices with minimum licensing standards. Under the Austroads registration and licensing taskforce, states and territories agree periodic programs of work to improve licensing practice which recognises emerging research and trends and supports movement towards increasing road safety.
To guide the development of licensing practice in Australia all states and territories have agreed to the five principles of aspirational intent to guide and inform their licensing policy and work programs. This webinar outlines these five principles and describes some of the work currently underway in support of these principles.
The webinar is presented by Judy Oswin who has worked on driver licensing policy as both a state regulator and consultant for over 20 years.
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Changes to the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Tuesday Jan 30, 2024
Australia’s Transport Ministers have agreed in-principle to an improved, nationally‑consistent approach to the training and licence progression of heavy vehicle drivers, that improves road safety and productivity.
The in-principle changes were approved by infrastructure and transport ministers in December 2023 through the agreement by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM) to endorse the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework Decision Regulation Impact Statement (Decision RIS).
The changes are designed to increase the safety and job‑readiness of heavy vehicle drivers.
Austroads will develop best-practice standards and training material to support consistent delivery of the enhanced heavy vehicle competencies and assessments.
Austroads will work with each state and territory government and the different industries to fully scope the implementation program, identify policy, service and stakeholder issues and options, and seek to collaboratively develop a coordinated plan to deliver the anticipated safety and productivity benefits of the reform.
In this webinar, Paul Davies, Austroads General Manager Programs, explains the changes in detail.
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Practical Approaches for Managing Regional Road Safety Priorities
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Wednesday Sep 13, 2023
Road users in regional and remote Australia are at a greater risk of road trauma than those living in major cities. Approximately one third of Australians live in regional or remote areas but two thirds of fatal crashes occur in these areas. The fatality rate in regional and remote areas is 12.2 deaths per 100,000 population and increases to 34.6 deaths per 100,000 in very remote areas. The former figure is almost five times greater than the rate for major cities which is 2.6 deaths per 100,000 population.
Austroads has completed a project to provide information on known effective road safety interventions for regional and remote areas.The information is presented in two reports. The first is the research report and the second report, which is based on the research report, is a shorter practitioner-focussed report which provides succinct and easy-to-access information via factsheets on evidence-based effective interventions, a prioritisation framework, and evaluation framework.
The evidence-based findings from this project provide practical guidance for practitioners to effectively select, prioritise, implement and evaluate interventions to prevent road fatalities and serious injuries in regional and remote areas.
This webinar provides a background to and overview of the project; highlights from the literature review; an overview of the factsheets and how they have been structured; a summary of the prioritisation framework and its application; and a summary of the evaluation framework and its application.
The webinar is presented by Dr Tana Tan, Dr Lisa Wundersitz and Dr Chris Stokes.
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
A National Approach to Measuring Non-fatal Crash Outcomes – Stage 2
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Information on injurious road crashes is required for prevention. National information on fatal cases has been available for many years, but information on serious non-fatal cases has been lacking. This webinar will take participants through the outcomes of Stage 2 of an Austroads project commissioned to establish a system to report serious injury cases due to road crashes in a consistent way throughout Australia and over time.
Stage 2 aimed to obtain ten years of data from all jurisdictions (2008 to 2017), report against equivalents to the NRSS fatality indicators and analyse characteristics of the data, including matched and unmatched cases, cross-border flows, and the impact of data linkage on estimates. Ethics and data custodian approvals enabled data to be collected from all jurisdictions except Western Australia.
Information on injurious road crashes is required for prevention. National information on fatal cases has been available for many years, but information on serious non-fatal cases has been lacking.
Webinar presenters Professor James Harrison and Associate Professor Angela Watson explain the method used in Stage 2 of the project and provide a detailed overview of the project findings.
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
Motorcycle Rider Perceptive Countermeasures
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
Wednesday Jun 14, 2023
In this episode, Dr Tana Tan and Dr Mario Mongiardini are joined by Jason MacPherson (who moderates the live Q+A) to provide a detailed overview of the findings of Austroads' recent research report, Motorcycle Rider Perceptive Countermeasures.
Listen, subscribe and head to the Austroads website to find out about how you can register to come to one of our webinars live. Registration is free.
Thursday May 25, 2023
Austroads Project Pipeline 2023-24
Thursday May 25, 2023
Thursday May 25, 2023
This webinar is beneficial to consultants who may be interested in tendering for Austroads projects. The session covers new Austroads projects lined up for the 2023-24 financial year, Austroads process around research data collection and what is required to become a successful tenderer.
To find information about Austroads' current tenders, visit the tenders webpage. On that page, you can also subscribe to our Tenders newsletter to receive alerts when a new project is advertised.
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Zebras and Wombats: Factchecking “False Sense of Security”
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Thursday Feb 16, 2023
Decisions on how transport agencies provide for people walking to safely cross the roads has been greatly influenced by historical research, that has in the past failed to examine the infrastructure design and lacked behavioural data.
This webinar, presented by Mark McDonald, Principal Technologist (Bicycles, Pedestrians and Motorcycles) at the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, looks at the different types of pedestrian crossing controls, behavioural responses of both drivers and people crossing and analyse the road safety implications. The presentation goes through the crash characteristics involved, including control of crash forces, analysis of crash braking patterns, the impact of uniform pavement marking on reaction times, speed and yield rates and crash reduction factors.
The webinar gives a review of safe system and evidence-based research relating to unsignalised crossings for people walking or riding bikes. It answers the questions: Who are we relying on? What is the safety evidence? Is “false sense of security” supported by evidence?
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Wednesday Dec 07, 2022
Road safety barriers are a critical component of a safe road transport system and are saving lives and preventing serious injuries every day across Australian and New Zealand roads. To ensure they deliver their intended safety outcomes and manage the extreme forces involved in high-speed crashes, barriers must be correctly installed and maintained.
This webinar with Michael Nieuwesteeg and Chris Koniditsiotis from Austroads, Robert Tabor and Stephanie Craig from Lantra, Jade Hogan from Transport for NSW and Evan Coulson from the Department of Transport Victoria presents the Austroads Safety Hardware Training and Accreditation Scheme (ASHTAS), which delivers a high standard and nationally consistent set of training outcomes for individuals installing and maintaining road safety barriers in Australia and New Zealand.
ASHTAS responds to Austroads members, along with the road safety barrier industry, who have been concerned about the quality of installation of road safety barriers which may put the safety of the public and road workers at risk.