Road Safety
Friday, October 13, 2006 at 12:53 Road Safety - strategies and solutions
by Dr Robin T Underwood
Road Safety - strategies and solutions aims to provide some understanding of the road safety problem and how it might be tackled, and to set out practical strategies and solutions. It is a comprehensive look at all issues relating to road safety, including comparison of statistics from various countries; legislation and enforcement; road safety management; driver characteristics and behaviour; vehicle safety; road types; road safety investigation; road user aids; provisions for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and public transport; and land development considerations.
Each of the major issues regarding road safety is considered in great detail. Each chapter contains a listing of factors to consider and of recommendations. The author was involved, for many years, in road traffic and road safety engineering with the Victoria State Road Authority. He has served in national and international committees dealing with road safety matters. He was also with Monash and Deakin Universities. He has written four books titled A history of traffic engineering in Australia, Traffic management — an introduction, The geometric design of roads, and Road engineering practice.
In the introduction to Road safety he maintains that most road crashes are the result of a combination of road user, road environment, or vehicle factors. He says: “Significant road user factors that contribute to road crashes include excessive speed, alcohol, drugs and fatigue. If all road users always operated responsibly within the law, and in accordance with the prevailing conditions, many road crashes would be avoided. Accordingly, road users should be continually encouraged to operate responsibly, by the use of appropriate education and training, publicity and enforcement programs.
Road safety - strategies and solutions, published by Engineers Media, is available from EA Books, http://www.engineersmedia.com.au/bookshop
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