Safe System Solutions engineer Kenn Beer has applauded VicRoads and the TAC for continuing to investigate new safe systems to help Victoria regain its status as a world leader in road safety. 

“VicRoads and the TAC are actually world leaders in road safety infrastructure,” Mr Beer said.

“They are exploring new techniques and new approaches to providing forgiving roads and roadsides,” Mr Beer said. 

He said a high proportion of fatal or serious injury motorcycle crashes occurred in Mildura and Ballarat over the past five years while around 10 per cent of all fatal or serious injury crashes occurred in Western Victoria.

“There are some great examples of engineering the road environment to forgive human error,” Mr Beer said.

“When a driver falls asleep, a wire rope safety barrier can stop them hitting a tree and bring them to a gentle stop.”

He said exciting technology developments would mean technology could soon be integrated into infrastructure to reduce trauma. Some examples include putting radar sensors into electronic signs that display messages according to what the car approaching is doing. Mr Beer said reactive messages to poor driver behaviour could immediately prompt drivers to change the way they drive. 

A driver detected tailgating could be greeted with a ‘don’t tailgate’ message while a car speeding could be greeted with a ‘slow down message’. Similarly ‘turn on headlights’ and ‘take a break messages’ could be triggered by certain driver behaviour, Mr Beer said. 

Centreline barriers will be rolled out on undivided high speed, high volume, rural roads around the state where they will be most effective in preventing head-on and run-off-the-road to the right crashes. Meanwhile the intersection of Victoria and Fussell streets will undergo a $320,000 upgrade shortly. There have been eight crashes at the intersection over the past five years.  

The $840,000 upgrade to the Ballarat-Maryborough Road will include wire rope safety barriers between Golf Course Road and Fells Track on the Ballarat-Maryborough Road to the north of Clunes. There have been five crashes on the stretch over the past five years, resulting in six serious injuries. Works are expected to be completed this year.