European Road Infrastructure Congress
Download 2.39 Mb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- 10. Action – now!
- Acknowledgements
|
With star rating policies and targets in place, it is also important to track performance over time and celebrate success when new roads are upgraded. With appropriate quality reviews undertaken, the public dissemination of improved star ratings can provide a positive message to the public on the investment in safer roads. Design teams can immediately measure and celebrate the expected new star rating. Project teams, road funders and local elected officials can cut the ribbon on new 4- and 5-star roads as replacements for 1- and 2-star roads. Improvements to a network of roads over time can be shared with funding agencies and the public. An example of a recently upgraded road in Queensland is provided below. This was accompanied by positive media coverage and strong community engagement. 
Fig. 7. Celebrating success – upgrading the Bruce Highway 10. Action – now! As the FIA Foundation has noted, “every six seconds someone is killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads. Road traffic injuries are now the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-29. For men of working age they inflict a mortality burden equal to HIV/AIDS. More than 90% of casualties are in middle- and low-income countries.”6 In 2015 the United Nations confirmed a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with targets for 2030. SDG 3.6 requires signatories to halve global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. At a conference to confirm actions, Zolekha Mandela challenged participants: “at least 3-star safety on the highest risk roads by 2020 – no excuses!”7 We know the effective countermeasures that improve the built-in safety of our road infrastructure. We need to find ways to implement them – and to do so quickly! Acknowledgements This paper draws on material produced by iRAP colleagues Rob McInerney, Greg Smith, and Steve Lawson. Martin Juck of EuroRAP SK provided the case study from Slovakia. 1 stephen.stacey@eurorap.org, +32 474 502403. 2 http://www.eurorap.org/ 3 http://www.sensorproject.eu/ 4 http://www.irap.net 5 iRAP ‘Vaccines for Roads,’ 3rd edition, 2015 accessed at http://www.irap.net/phocadownload/Vaccines_for_Roads_3.pdf 6 ‘Safe, Clean, Fair and Green: Mobility for All’ accessed at http://www.fiafoundation.org/connect/publications/safe-clean-fair-green Download 2.39 Mb. Share with your friends:
|