Cost-effective road safety diagnosis
Network safety management is an effective and essential instrument to help road authorities reduce the number of crashes and casualties, because design standards alone cannot guarantee road safety in all conditions. “Ultimately, network screening is about augmenting our ability to conduct safety analyses and allocate resources more efficiently”, noted Dr. Craig Milligan, one of the course instructors.
In 2015, the last year for which data is available, 82.5% of countries reported implementing one or more screening procedures , yet over 70% of roads surveyed by the International Road Assessment Program in emerging countries were rated under 2 stars across at least one user category. These figures suggest a startling disconnect between the theoretical merits of safe road infrastructure management and the driving experience felt by road users across the world.
Conceptualized and delivered by IRF, and hosted by the UAE’s Ministry of Infrastructure Development, the new course offered the theoretical background and applied practices to effectively identify and reduce exposure to traffic injury risk. Delegates from 10 countries were exposed to a thorough review of network screening practices, practical steps to conduct a safety audit & inspection as well as the role of crash and traffic data analytics. Course attendees were also provided with practical case studies from across the world, thanks to an overview delivered by market leader Abertis.
“Safer Roads by Design is IRF’s flagship program”, noted IRF Executive Vice President Mike Dreznes “but is also illustrates what IRF does best: identify a serious mobility issue, and bring different parties together to implement solutions”.