European Road Infrastructure Congress
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- 1. About EuroRAP
- 2. About iRAP
- 3. Background, development and methodology
1st European Road Infrastructure Congress | 18-20 October 2016 | Leeds, United Kingdom
The strategic focus of the International Road Assessment Programme Stephen Stacey1
The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) is a registered charity dedicated to preventing the more than 3.500 road deaths that occur every day worldwide. At the heart of iRAP is a spirit of cooperation. The organization provides tools and training to help road authorities, governments, funding agencies, research institutes, automobile associations, and other non-government organizations make roads safer. iRAP’s online road safety software platform, ViDA, provides open access to the way iRAP undertakes its assessments and to the actual outcomes. iRAP’s activities include: Inspecting high-risk roads and developing Star Ratings, Safer Roads Investment Plans, and Risk Maps Providing training, technology, and support to build and sustain national, regional, and local capability Tracking road safety performance to allow funding agencies to assess the benefit of their investments. The programme is the umbrella organization for AusRAP, ChinaRAP, EuroRAP, KiwiRAP and usRAP. Road Assessment Programmes (RAPs) have been applied in more than 70 countries throughout Africa, Asia Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. About 900,000 km of road assessments are available through ViDA. iRAP receives structural funding from the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society and the Road Safety Fund. Specific projects have been funded by the Global Road Safety Facility, automobile associations, regional development banks and donors. National governments, automobile clubs and associations, charities, the motor industry and institutions such as the European Commission also support RAPs in the developed world and encourage the transfer of research and technology to iRAP. In addition, many individuals donate their time and expertise. This paper outlines the methodology of the programme and EuroRAP’s place in it in delivering the RAP mission of maximizing travel on roads rated 3-star or better for all road users. 1. About EuroRAP The European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) is an international not-for-profit association first registered in Belgium in 2000.2 Its members are motoring organizations and national and regional road authorities and experts elected because of the special contribution they have made or can make to EuroRAP. EuroRAP is a sister programme to Euro NCAP, the independent crash test programme that star rates new cars sold in Europe for the crash protection they provide to passengers and pedestrians. Euro NCAP demonstrates that well-designed crash protection can make cars safer. Similarly EuroRAP shows how roads can be made safer allowing cars and roads to work together to protect life. The formal objectives of EuroRAP are to: Reduce death and serious injury on European roads rapidly through a programme of systematic testing of risk identifying the major safety shortcomings that can be addressed by practical road improvement measures Ensure assessment of risk lies at the heart of strategic decisions on route improvements, crash protection and standards of route management Forge partnerships between those responsible for a safe roads system, notably motoring organizations, vehicle manufacturers, and road authorities Provide independent and consistent safety ratings of roads across borders. During the last fifteen years, EuroRAP and its partners have assessed about 100,000 kilometres of European roads, 27,500 of these during the EU-funded South East Neighbourhood Safe Routes (SENSoR) project (2012-14).3 2. About iRAP The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) is a registered charity dedicated to preventing the more than 3,500 road deaths that occur every day worldwide.4 At the heart of iRAP is a spirit of cooperation. The organization provides tools and training to help automobile associations, governments, funding agencies, research institutes and other non-government organizations to make roads safe. Its activities include: Inspecting high-risk roads and developing Star Ratings, Safer Roads Investment Plans, and Risk Maps Providing training, technology and support to build and sustain national, regional and local capability Tracking road safety performance so that funding agencies can assess the benefits of their investments. The programme is the umbrella organisation for EuroRAP, AusRAP, usRAP, KiwiRAP and ChinaRAP. Road Assessment Programmes (RAP) are now active in more than 70 countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Africa. iRAP receives structural funding from the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society and the Road Safety Fund. Specific projects have been funded by the Global Road Safety Facility, automobile associations, regional development banks and donors. National governments, automobile clubs and associations, charities, the motor industry and institutions such as the European Commission also support RAPs in the developed world and encourage the transfer of research and technology to iRAP. In addition many individuals donate their time and expertise to support iRAP. 3. Background, development and methodology iRAP was established to help tackle the devastating social and economic cost of road crashes. It has been estimated that 265 million road users will be killed or seriously injured between 2015 and 2030.5 Nine out of ten of the world’s road deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries. Almost half of those killed will be vulnerable road users: motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Large as the problem is, making roads safe is not an insurmountable challenge. The requisite research, technology, and expertise to save lives already exists. Road safety engineering makes a direct contribution to the reduction of road death and injury. Well-designed intersections, safe roadsides and appropriate road cross-sections can significantly decrease the risk of a motorised vehicle crashes occurring and the severity of crashes that do occur. Footpaths, pedestrian crossings and bicycle paths can substantially cut the risk that pedestrians and bicyclists will be killed or injured by avoiding the need for them to mix with motorised vehicles. Motorcycle lanes can minimise the risk of death and injury for motorcyclists. By building on the work of Road Assessment Programmes (RAP) in high-income countries and with the expertise of leading road safety research organisations worldwide, including ARRB Group (Australia), TRL (United Kingdom), MRI Global (United States) and MIROS (Malaysia), iRAP has developed four globally-consistent protocols to assess and improve the safety of roads (see Figure 1 below). 
Fig. 1. The iRAP protocols Further information on RAP methodology may be accessed at http://www.irap.net/en/about-irap-3/methodology Figure 2 below illustrates the process used to undertake these protocols. Star Ratings and Safer Roads Investment Plans (SRIPs) can be used as part of a systematic, proactive approach to road infrastructure risk assessment and renewal based on research about where severe crashes are likely to occur and how they can be prevented. 
Fig. 2. The iRAP Star Rating and Safer Roads Investment Plan process Download 2.39 Mb. Share with your friends:
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