Kiwirap star Ratings Q&As
KiwiRAP Star Ratings Q&As
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- Navigate this page:
- Why has KiwiRAP been established
- Which roads have been given Star Ratings
- Why is a 5-star road safer than a 1-star road
- Will we be aiming for 5-star roads
- Are roads that carry a lot of traffic more likely to get a poor Star Rating
KiwiRAP Star Ratings Q&AsWhat is KiwiRAP?KiwiRAP is part of an international family of Road Assessment Programmes (RAP), under the umbrella of the international Road Assessment Programme (iRAP). The RAP programme is a sister programme to the international New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP), known as ANCAP in New Zealand (the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme). KiwiRAP is a partnership of the Ministry of Transport, NZ Automobile Association (NZAA), ACC, NZ Police, and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that was formed in 2006. The first protocol, the Risk Maps which rated sections of state highways from low to high risk based upon crash history, were released in January 2008. The second protocol (performance monitoring) periodically updates the risk maps. The third protocol (which this document covers), is Star Ratings, which are derived by rating the level of risk associated with the physical attributes of rural state highways and how these influence the crash likelihood and severity for head-on, run-off road and intersection type crashes. KiwiRAP uses Star Ratings to classify rural state highways from 1 star (least safe) to 5 stars (safest) based on a road’s inherent safety features. Why has KiwiRAP been established?By giving roads across New Zealand a safety rating, KiwiRAP will make the risk of death and injury on different roads more meaningful and stimulate public discussion — and action. All roads are not equal. Motorists need to be aware that some roads are safer than others, so they can drive to the conditions and take care on higher risk roads. The Star Ratings will help road users understand how risk can vary according to changes in the road environment. Risk-aware road users will be more likely to adapt their driving to reduce their risk of a crash. The star ratings will also provide the NZTA (who operate the State highway network) with vital benchmarking information to show them how particular roads perform compared with others. This will be used to help with their decisions on road improvements based on risk and needs. Which roads have been given Star Ratings?KiwiRAP has focused on star-rating rural sections of the State Highway Network. These are sections with speed limits of 80 km/h and over, which is generally in line with RAP models in similar developed countries such as Australia and western Europe. KiwiRAP has assessed the safety performance of 10,187kms or 91% of New Zealand state highways. These are the sections with speed limits of 80km and above. KiwiRAP has provided star ratings for 10,002kms or 89% of these New Zealand state highways. How will people know if they’re driving on a 2, 3 or 4-star road? All the KiwiRAP Star Rating maps and information can be viewed and downloaded at www.kiwirap.org.nz. The KiwiRAP data analyses what sort of roadside conditions affect the Star Rating of a road. At this stage, we want to raise public awareness of the roadside environment so drivers understand and recognise what hazards can be eg, unprotected trees, embankments etc. They can then change their driving behaviour accordingly, as they do when they drive to the conditions. Most drivers are able to recognise that when driving in treacherous terrain (they can recognise cliffs and water features) they would be on a low starred road and when they are driving on motorways/expressways they would be driving on a high starred road. However, many drivers would treat all other rural roads as the same (they cannot recognise roadside hazards like trees, ditches poles, narrow shoulders and culverts). Over time it would be good for drivers to recognise the difference between a 2 star road with severe roadside hazards, 3 star and 4 star roads, and change their driving behaviour accordingly. The images in Appendix 1 give examples of what types of hazards drivers could possibly see on each level of starred road. How are Star Ratings determined? The Star Ratings are derived by rating the level of risk associated with the physical attributes of the road and roadsides and how these influence the crash rates and severity for head-on, run-off road and intersection type crashes. Specially equipped vehicles record digital video images of a road using an array of cameras, which log safety features when travelling along the road at almost highway speeds. Highly-trained analysts then conduct a virtual drive-through of the road network using specially developed software to make accurate measurements of road elements. These elements include lane widths, shoulder widths and distance between road edge and fixed hazards, such as trees or poles. The relative risks in the road design features are combined in mathematical formulas to create a Road Protection Score (RPS) for every 100m of highway which are then averaged over 5km lengths to generate a Star Rating from one to five. What sorts of things affect a road’s safety rating? There are many road design features that impact on the likelihood of a crash occurring and its severity – and therefore the road’s Star Rating. The main ones include: whether opposing traffic lanes are separated by a physical barrier or wide median (whether the road is divided or undivided) the safety of the roadside, including the presence of unprotected trees, poles and steep embankments lane width sealed shoulder width alignment (number and sharpness of curves) terrain (flat, rolling or mountainous) quality of line marking & signage overtaking provision intersection frequency & layouts. How well do New Zealand’s rural state highways fair in the KiwiRAP Star Rating report? The results reveal five percent of rural state highways rated 4 stars, 56 percent 3 stars and 39 per cent were 2 stars. We have no 1 star or 5-star roads. It is important to note that while only 5 percent of our roads are 4 star, 28 percent of New Zealand’s traffic occurs on our 4-star roads, 40 percent on our 3-star roads, and 33 percent on our 2-star roads. Distribution of Star Ratings
Proportion of vehicle kilometres travelled for each Star Rating by region
Key safety features
Why is a 5-star road safer than a 1-star road?4 or 5-star roads are ones that provide a more ‘forgiving’ safety environment than 1 or 2-star roads. 1 star – The least safe roads. These are most likely to feature severe roadside conditions such as trees, power poles and ditches. Likely to be undivided, have narrow lanes and shoulders, include a high frequency of major intersections, and have poor alignment and mountainous terrain. 2 star - These roads will again be typically undivided and will have major deficiencies in road features such as poor roadside conditions and/or many minor deficiencies such as insufficient overtaking provision, narrow lanes, and/or poorly designed intersections at regular intervals. Any divided 2-star road would have major deficiencies such as poor alignment, poor roadside conditions and poorly designed intersections at regular intervals. 3 star - Typically 3-star roads will be undivided and have deficiencies in some road features such as alignment and roadsides and/or poorly designed intersections at regular intervals. A divided 3-star road would have deficiencies in some road features such as poorly designed intersections at regular intervals. 4 star - These roads are typically divided but have minor deficiencies in some road features such as shoulder width or roadside hazards. Divided 4-star roads are very safe roads with a good safety performance. Undivided 4-star roads are straight with good overtaking provision, feature good delineation and safe roadsides. Typically an undivided 4-star road will not have high traffic volumes. 5 star - The safest of roads. 5-star roads must be divided, have grade separated intersections, good alignment, wide road shoulders, safe roadsides and excellent delineation. Roads with any at-grade intersections, or those that are undivided, cannot achieve a 5-star rating. Why don’t we have any 5-star roads in New Zealand? We presently don’t have any 5-star roads in New Zealand, but we have sections of 5-star roads. A 5-star road is the ultimate ideal. To achieve this, the road must have a higher degree of safety built-in. Due to New Zealand’s terrain it is often difficult to have straight roads and roadsides completely trafficable and free of obstacles. We typically use roadside barriers to protect roadside hazards, which although are much safer than nothing, the barriers are themselves sometimes a slight hazard and hence prevent a 5-star rating. Cut barriers and at-grade intersections have a similar effect on reducing the Star Rating. Australia also does not have any 5 kilometre sections of 5-star roads. Will we be aiming for 5-star roads?A 5-star road is straight with good line-marking, wide lanes and sealed shoulders, clear, trafficable roadsides and overpasses or underpasses at intersections. This is often difficult to achieve on many of our roads due to the terrain and in many cases would not be economic. Research has indicated that a very good 4-star road is nearly as safe as a 5-star road as it provides a good level of safety protection, and the extra cost to achieve a 5-star rating may not be cost effective, or a good use of money unless traffic volumes were very high. Typically moving a 2-star road to a 3 or a 3 to a 4-star will have the biggest road safety benefit and reduction in crash rates – dependent on the nature of traffic on the route and the vehicle kilometres travelled. You can view the estimated crash rates of each star rating in the next graph (based on traffic volumes). Expected Crash Rates Associated with Each Star Rating 
Are roads that carry a lot of traffic more likely to get a poor Star Rating?Not necessarily. Traffic volumes influence some aspects of the Star Ratings. For example, overtaking provision and head-on risk is broadly determined with the amount of traffic on a road — generally overtaking demand increases as traffic volumes increase. However, a road carrying lots of traffic without a median barrier is likely to only have a 2 or 3-star rating even if other safety features are of a good standard. Many other factors, like the influence of lane widths on crash risk, do not depend on traffic volumes. Directory: pdf pdf -> Tesol student Introduction pdf -> Introduction to the 10 step business plan pdf -> 20th November 2013 or 4 pdf -> The petition and case system pdf -> Sal men’s 12 Step Recovery Meeting for Sexual Addiction Introduction pdf -> What is ascaa? pdf -> Equitable Employment Oppurtunities: Emerging trends Ruchi Pickles ad pdf -> Alcott Local School Council (lcs) Meeting Minutes Download 313.36 Kb. Share with your friends:
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