Contents
New rural road base test kit 1
Unsealed Roads Manual
update released 2
Launch of ARRB’s 2009-2015
strategic plan 2
New publications 2
Incident investigations & reviews 4
New Regional Manager for ARRB in
Middle East 4
Structural effects of reinforcement
corrosion in concrete elements 5
Development of the VicRoads new drive
test and test routes 6
Hawkeye sucess continues with
the RACC & iRAP 8
ARRB Systems attends 69th Indian
Roads Congress 8
ARRB deploys Hawkeye systems in
Indonesia 9
Along the road to a Safe System 9
Improving safety best practice -
Target zero rollovers 10
Austroads Guides 11
Borderless information access
workshop 14
New staff 14
Conferences 14
Knowledge Transfer at ARRB - 2009 15
Published by ARRB Group Ltd
ISSN 1328-7206
www.arrb.com.au
New rural road base test kit
ARRB has developed a road base test kit to assist soil and water properties. The user enters the
local road practitioners, particularly, in rural areas, results obtained into a spreadsheet, accessed
to make better use of local materials for road via the ARRB website, to derive various
pavements. material properties, to assess against given
specifications.
This project has been possible because of
funding support provided by the Department of Where local materials do not meet target
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development specifications, the spreadsheet has the
and Local Government. capability to undertake a mix design enabling
up to three marginal materials to be blended.
The Kit provides a practical, easy to use, low
The software determines the
cost method for assessing the
proportion of each required
suitability of natural gravels often
to satisfy specifications as well
of marginal quality, for various
as the estimated properties
pavement uses. Details on the
of the mix design, as listed
equipment contained in the Kit
below.
and computer spreadsheet to
calculate various properties will The test results must be used
be available in May 2009 on with caution because they
http://arrb.org.au/soilkit/. rely on statistical correlations
and do not follow standard
The Kit requires the conduct of
protocol.
six separate tests to measure
The estimated cost of the
Kit components, which are
readily available from soil
testing suppliers, is about
$7,000.
There is no cost for the use
of the spreadsheet on the
ARRB website.
The kit details and
spreadsheet are planned to
be available in May 2009
by accessing the ARRB
website listed above.
George Giummarra
+61 3 9881 1563
george.giummarra@arrb.
com.au
The kit in use (left) and the kit
equipment in its case
Tests conducted Estimated properties
Test 1 - particle size distribution (PSD) PSD in comparison with set specifications
Test 2 – liquid limit Liquid Limit, Plastic Limit, Plasticity Index
Test 3 – linear shrinkage Material classification
Test 4 – stone hardness Maximum dry density
Test 5 – Emerson (dispersive properties) CBR range
Test 6 – water salinity Optimum moisture content, Stone quality, Emerson value
Issue 121 March 2009
Unsealed Roads Manual
update released
ARRB will release an updated and
expanded Unsealed Roads Manual in
April. The new edition includes the
latest research and new developments
worldwide to address issues identified by
practitioners.
The Manual is recommended reading
for those in local government, state
road authorities and other agencies
responsible for the care, maintenance and
management of unsealed roads.
New features include:
• details on the latest research findings,
new developments and applications of
world best practice
• increased content to respond to New Zealand and the scope and purpose
comments made by delegates of the Manual.
attending workshops held across
Australasia
• New Zealand procedures and practices
• equipment developments that crashes on unsealed roads in Australia
provide objective data on unsealed Chapter 3 Pavement design and
road performance
2 Briefing
• a new chapter covering ways to
improve safety on unsealed roads
• case studies highlighting how the
application of good practice has
resulted in significant cost savings or
improved operating conditions
• greater emphasis on asset
management requirements.
The eleven chapters cover the main topics
associated with unsealed roads be they
primary rural roads, logging routes or dirt
tracks.
Chapter 1 Unsealed road networks
- provides an overview of the type and
extent of unsealed roads in Australia and
Chapter 10 Environmental
considerations - considers the impact of
unsealed roads on the environment and
Chapter 2 Road maintenance - provides proposes ways to minimise these effects.
information on the influences that
Chapter 11 Managing road safety
cause a road to deteriorate and looks at
- considers the nature and causes of
maintenance practices.
and New Zealand, typical safety hazards
materials - covers pavement design and encountered and practical low-cost
selection of materials. measures that can be applied to assist a
motorist to drive to conditions.
Chapter 4 Geometric design - is a guide
to the geometric aspects of road design. ARRB plans to conduct regional
workshops across Australia and New
Chapter 5 Road construction - provides Zealand over the next twelve months.
good practice procedures for construction The first workshops are planned in May
of new roads, reconstruction of damaged 2009 in Western Australia. For further
roads, and road improvements. information on workshops in your area
Chapter 6 Asset management - refer to training@arrb.com.au to register
provides information about asset your interest.
management and collecting road The cost of the new Manual will be $275
condition data in order to manage and including GST, plus delivery. Copies of the
maintain the road network in a cost- Manual can be ordered from booksales@
effective way. arrb.com.au
Chapter 7 Economic evaluation of George Giummarra
road improvements - looks at the +61 3 9881 1563
economics of unsealed roads and provides george.giummarra@arrb.com.au
assistance in decisions about cost-
effective improvements to an unsealed
road network and when to seal a road.
Chapter 8 Unsealed shoulders -
provides construction and maintenance
information about unsealed shoulders on
sealed roads.
Chapter 9 Maintenance specifications
- provides generic specifications to
assist in the preparation of contracts
when employing contractors for road
maintenance.
Launch of ARRB’s 2009-2015 strategic plan
ARRB has developed a new strategic plan
which lays out the path to becoming
a national centre of excellence in road
research, knowledge and technology.
To do this, we will focus on building
a modern, accessible knowledge
organisation that maximises value to our Board of Directors
stakeholders.
Key strategies include:
• driving programs of research on Managing Director
Gerard Waldron
national priorities in a multi-
disciplinary way, making use of the
best researchers, research Finance & Corporate Research & Consulting Systems Program Development
organisations and tertiary institutions Services Peter Damen Garry Warren Richard Yeo/Mike Shackleton
Sue Rolland
• creating a hub for road industry
knowledge and wisdom, enabling
meaningful exchange
Concentrating on quality, innovation Behavioural science – Dr Peter Cairney
• expanding knowledge sharing and
and rigour
transfer activities to meet industry Concrete – Dr Ahmad Shayan
needs Essential to our efforts will be:
Pavement structures – Geoff Jameson
• further developing and Scientific rigour: imparted through
Transport operations – Dr James Luk
commercialising our innovative ARRB’s own research method and national
systems. technical leaders in key areas of expertise Economic evaluation – Dr Dimitris Tsolakis
Refocussing on national priorities People development: including Management systems – Tyrone Toole
mentoring of technical staff towards
ARRB has the expertise needed to examine Performance modelling – Dr Tim Martin
their aspirations and chosen career goals,
issues of national importance. To best
ensuring we attract and retain the best Road safety – Michael Tziotis
focus our efforts, we have formed groups
minds
of experts around: Skid resistance/incident investigation –
Research program development: in Paul Hillier
Sustainable infrastructure: both the
which concerns and priorities of member
science and the asset management Regional managers
authorities and other stakeholders are
aspects of providing and maintaining
recognised and understood, knowledge Operations in ARRB are managed and co-
infrastructure for the long term benefit of
gaps identified, future needs assessed and ordinated through our regional managers:
industry stakeholders
programs of work undertaken to meet
Safe systems: systems comprising safe those needs. Gulf – John Hughes
road infrastructure, safe drivers and safe NSW & ACT – Arjan Rensen
National technical leaders
vehicles
Supporting our highly talented teams of Queensland & NT – Carlos Rial
Congestion freight and productivity:
researchers, are ARRB’s national technical Vic./Tas. & NZ – Dave Jones
ensuring that operations on the road
leaders, who have extensive experience
network deliver maximum economic, W.A. & S.A. – Jon Bilson.
and knowledge:
social and environmental benefits.
Bituminous materials – Dr John Oliver

New publications
New Austroads publications
AP-T128/09: Comparison of the US
and Australian Long Term Pavement
Performance (LTPP) Data on Asphalt
Pavements
AP-T127/09: Ball Penetration Test - Stage
2: Field Validation
AP-T125/09: Component Costs in
Transport Projects to Ensure the New ARRB publication
Appropriate Valuing of Safety Effects
Unsealed Roads Manual: guidelines to
Guide to Road Design Part 5: Drainage good practice, 2009 edition. See page 2
Design for details.
More Austroads publications are For other ARRB publications visit
described on pages 11 - 13. www.arrb.com.au
To order Austroads publications visit
www.austroads.com.au

Briefing 3

Incident investigations
& reviews
An integral part of the Safe Systems
approach is to investigate incidents and
learn from them, such that strategies,
policies and in-the-field operations can
be optimised to achieve the maximum
possible safety return and prevent similar
occurrences in the future.
ARRB is able to conduct incident
investigations by calling upon a number
of experts with experience of working
around the world, either at-scene (as a
rapid response or where the scene has
been preserved) or after-the-event, as an
office or desk study. The challenge is to
use physical, witness and documentary
evidence to help determine incident
chronology and causation.
New Regional Manager for ARRB in the Middle East
John Hughes has
joined ARRB’s Dubai
office as Regional
Manager – Middle
East.
John brings to
ARRB strong skills
in diverse aspects of
highway engineering,
institutional strengthening and expertise in
international consulting. He is a qualified
Senior Road Safety Auditor. John holds a
Master of Engineering degree.
When asked about his priorities for the
Dubai office, John advised ‘ARRB in
Dubai has strong expertise in specialist
areas like pavement engineering, asset
management, road safety and road safety
auditing, besides being able to draw upon
ARRB’s skills from Australia.
In this way, ARRB is unique because it
is independent of the major firms that
have been involved in the design and
construction of the region’s infrastructure
projects, and therefore we can offer truly
independent advice to Government and
private sector clients.
4 Briefing
There are always unknowns or
uncertainties and this is where ARRB’s
pool of experts come to the fore. Their
knowledge, skills and experience across
a wide range of engineering, materials
and human related fields enable the
organisation to offer a true ‘one stop
shop’.
ARRB’s experts bring to the table
thoroughness and independence. They
are familiar with reporting requirements
and the demands of investigations for
public bodies (such as the Coroner),
legal clients and also where commercial
confidentiality is paramount.
ARRB is able to collate the conclusions
ARRB can provide technical specialists
to independently investigate and advise
about issues, and provide technical training
to increase skill levels within organisations.
These seem to be regional priorities.’
John has extensive Middle East experience,
most recently working as Principal
Highways and Transportation Engineer for
SMEC in Qatar and Kuwait. His diverse
career has seen many international
assignments, including Samoa, Canada,
Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea, Eritrea,
Yemen, Bangladesh, Singapore, Indonesia,
South Africa and United Kingdom.
John commenced his career in
Christchurch, New Zealand, with a
pavements engineering firm. He also
spent eight years with Transit NZ,
Auckland until 2001, in roles such as
Regional Transportation Manager, Leader
of the Transportation Planning Group in
Auckland, and Project Manager/Director
for numerous infrastructure projects.
John has also worked for two consulting
engineering firms in Australia, in addition
to SMEC.
From late April, ARRB’s former Regional
from its investigations to provide
structured feedback through technical
papers and presentations, as well as to
development of standards.
This combined knowledge can also be
used in a positive and proactive way in
trying to prevent incidents from occurring
in the first place, with ARRB experts
being able to undertake reviews of a
client’s documented strategies, policies
and procedures with a view to identifying
potential areas of risk (and in some cases,
potential areas of liability).
A key part of this work is talking to
staff at all levels of the organisation
being reviewed to assess whether
documentation is translated in a
consistent manner into practice.
To discuss any incident investigation and/
or review requirements, please contact:
Paul Hillier
National Technical Leader
Incident Investigation and Reviews
+61 02 9282 4400
paul.hillier@arrb.com.au
investigate@arrb.com.au
Manager for the Middle East, Dave Jones,
will be Regional Manager for Research and
Consulting in Victoria, Tasmania and New
Zealand.
New office for Dubai
ARRB’s Dubai office has relocated to larger
premises on Sheikh Zayed Road, not far
from our former office.
New Regional Manager, John Hughes,
said ‘The new office gives ARRB its own
identity, and is in a central location in
Dubai’s main business district. It is located
adjacent to the Emirates Towers station on
Dubai’s forthcoming Red Metro Line. This
will make it easier for staff and clients to
travel to and from the office without being
concerned about parking.’ The Red Line
will connect the office to Dubai Airport
and the Dubai RTA, and is scheduled to
open in six months time.
The telephone number for the new office
is +971 4 332 8532 and more about our
local services is available online at www.
arrb-me.com
Structural effects of reinforcement
corrosion in concrete elements
Corrosion of steel in reinforced concrete
structures is one of the major deterioration
mechanisms for coastal structures
subjected to chloride salt attack. This
problem leads to loss of steel section
in concrete and induces major cracking
and spalling of concrete. Not only does
the corrosion involve major repair and
maintenance costs, but could also
compromise the structural integrity of the
affected elements.
An important aspect of the corrosion
mechanism is the steel section loss and
the adverse influence of rust development
at the bar surface on the concrete-steel
interfacial bond.
Bond strength deteriorates due to the
accumulation of the softer corrosion
products at the steel surface and micro-
cracking that develops in this region.
Consequently, the load bearing capacity
could be significantly reduced when rust
forms at the steel surface.
It is important to predict the effects of
corrosion on bond strength, so that
remedial actions can be implemented
before the extent of corrosion reaches a
point where the integrity of the element is
at risk.
View of uncorroded steel bar in sound concrete
(top) and corroded bar in concrete contaminated
with chloride. Note rust products formed at the
interface of the corroded steel bar
ARRB is examining the prediction of
bond deterioration due to chloride-
induced corrosion in reinforced
concrete structures.
ARRB had previously conducted a
research project on chloride-induced
corrosion of reinforcement, which
involved concrete slab specimens
designed to develop varying extents
of steel corrosion.
As a result, 14 concrete slabs,
each incorporating steel bars of
12 mm and 25 mm diameter are
available, in which the bars have
developed different thicknesses
of interfacial corrosion products,
and are ideal for the evaluation of
the effects of corrosion on bond
strength. The amount of corrosion
product developed on the bars is
also available from past data. Two
specimens without any corrosion are
used as reference slabs.
The steel bars in the slabs are being Significant cracking radiating from corroding steel
tested for bond strength in which bar in the experimental concrete slab
stress-strain relationships are being
generated, leading to analysis of
experimental results will be selected by
stress-bond slip relationships.
comparing:
A predictive model is to be developed for
• ultimate load predicted by the analysis
corrosion-bond strength. This could be
extended to assessment of load capacity in • bond slip versus bond stress of the
elements with corroded steel bars. applied force
Due to the short length of the protruding • predicted crack patterns against
bars, instead of a pull out test, an experimentally observed cracks.
alternative, more feasible test method has
A parametric study will be conducted of
been selected (push-in test).
influential parameters of the model at
A crack model which best matches the both constitutive and structural levels, and
adjusted to satisfy compatibility between
numerical modeling and
test results on actual
structures.
This work is expected to
lead to a predictive model
for field concrete to relate
the level of corrosion
around the bars to loss in
structural capacity of the
element concerned.
Ahmad Shayan
+61 3 9881 1658
Experimental concrete slab showing chloride-induced corrosion of ahmad.shayan@arrb.com.au
steel bar and cracking of the cover concrete
Briefing 5
 Development of the VicRoads

Photo courtesy VicRoads

new drive test and test routes
Despite continued reductions in the road only able to carry one passenger aged 16 test focuses on assessing skills required
toll, young drivers continue to have more to 21 years). to drive safely and applies to all licence
casualty crashes than any other group applicants since 1 July 2008.
All existing probationary licence provisions
of drivers on the road. Young driver
continue to apply. The new test aims to screen out drivers
crashes are caused by many factors, such
who have not yet reached a standard
as inexperience; drink driving; driving in VicRoads, together with several Australian
acceptable for unsupervised driving, and
high-risk situations, including late at night and international experts in novice driver
to discriminate between learners who
or with multiple passengers; and unsafe safety, including researchers from ARRB,
have at least 120 hours practice and
behaviours like speeding, risk-taking and developed a new on-road driving test to
those with a low level of driving practice.
distractions such as mobile phones. help identify those learners who are ready
Compared with the previous test, it is
to drive safely on their own. The new
The Victorian government has made
changes to the driver licensing
system to make younger drivers,
safer drivers. Over 2007 and 2008,
VicRoads introduced a number of
new Graduated Licensing System
(GLS) measures which:
• require learner drivers under
the age of 21 to obtain
120 hours of supervised
driving experience, recorded
in the VicRoads Learner Log
Book, before they can attempt
their probationary licence test
• introduce a two stage/four year
probationary licence system:
- P1 (red P plates) for one year
Photo courtesy VicRoads

- P2 (green P plates) for three

years
• introduce peer passenger
restrictions for P1 licence
holders (P1 licence holders are

6 Briefing
 longer, and includes more challenging
and realistic driving tasks that are better
suited to the higher level of driving skill
expected of today’s more experienced
licence applicants.
The GLS encourages learners to practise
driving in a range of different conditions
and in a staged progression, from basic
skills in quiet areas to more complex
driving situations as they approach their
licence test. Gaining this experience will
help learners acquire safer driving habits
and increase their chance of passing the
new test.
The new test is based on:
• Australian and overseas research
• causes of young driver crashes
• input from experts in young driver
safety and licence testing
• results of trials with 1300 learners
with a range of experience
• feedback from licence testers and the introduction of its new test via a
driving instructors.
ARRB worked with VicRoads to introduce
some of the new GLS measures, such
as the development of The Learner Kit,
a handbook designed to assist learners
and their supervising drivers in learning
to drive. In addition, ARRB was involved
in the development of the new test and
its associated new test routes throughout
Victoria. As VicRoads chose to implement
the test across the whole of Victoria on
a single day, the organisation required
external assistance with test route
development. This was different to the
method employed by the NSW Roads and
Photo courtesy VicRoads
Photo courtesy VicRoads
Traffic Authority in 2008, which involved management of, the three trials of
learner drivers, including the
staged rollout across NSW. development of trial processes and
paperwork
ARRB provided the following services:
• preparation of the licence testing
• a review of Australian and overseas
officers’ manual and the test
research on the crash involvement of
route development manual
very inexperienced drivers
• training of VicRoads staff in the
• analysis of Victorian novice driver
preparation of test route
casualty crash patterns
documentation
• representation on the expert group
• selection of test routes at 18 locations
that oversaw the development and
from Burwood and Mooroolbark in
trial of all aspects of the new test,
the metropolitan area to Horsham and
and that provided advice on novice
Healesville in rural Victoria
driver safety and licence testing
• reviews of test routes developed
• preparation for, and day-to-day
by VicRoads staff and other
contractors for other rural
testing offices
• development of processes
for interpretation of collected
drive test scores.
Kelly Imberger
+61 3 9881 1628
kelly.imberger@arrb.com.au
John Catchpole
+61 3 9881 1626
john.catchpole@arrb.com.au
Briefing 7
Hawkeye’s success continues with the RACC & iRAP
Hawkeye is continuing to prove its success
internationally with its involvement
with the International Road Assessment
Program (iRAP) and through our
association with the RACC Fundación (the
automobile club) in Barcelona, Spain.
RACC has used their ARRB Hawkeye
2000 System (which includes a digital
imaging system) to survey over
11,000 km of single and dual
RACC vehicle on show in Serbia
ARRB Systems attends 69th
Indian Roads Congress
ARRB Systems participated at the 69th
Indian Roads Congress (IRC) in Kolkata
India in December. The Congress was
hosted by the Government of West
Bengal and the Public Works Department
and approximately 2000 people attended.
The annual IRC event incorporates an
extensive technical exhibition, in which
ARRB Systems participated with our local
8 Briefing
carriageways in a number of countries Mr. Jose Alejandro Tirone, a road safety
throughout the world. They have become technician from the RACC Fundación, has
heavily involved in many of the iRAP described the HPT software as ‘the perfect
projects by providing their data collection tool to develop ratings that we use to
services and technical expertise. assess road safety attributes according to
the iRAP program protocols.’
iRAP was developed to help improve road
infrastructure safety in order to minimise ARRB, through its extensive and ongoing
the global death toll. The initiative targets research and development program,
high risk roads where large numbers is continually updating the Hawkeye
of people are killed or seriously injured systems and associated software to
and then inspects and assesses ensure that the equipment can fully meet
the routes to identify where the growing needs of both the users and
affordable safety engineering the project stakeholders.
programs could reduce the
number of deaths and injuries.
RACC has been involved in iRAP Barry Jan
projects in Serbia, Peru and +61 3 9881 1625
Argentina, each consisting of barry.jan@arrb.com.au
a 3,000 km network survey of
both urban and rural roads, with
assistance from many different
local road agencies including the
World Bank Global Road Safety
Facility.
The ARRB Hawkeye Processing
Toolkit (HPT) software, supplied
with all Hawkeye 2000 systems,
was seen to be invaluable to
the success of the projects. The
HPT software was used to rate
the images collected from each
survey according to 36 attributes
known to influence the safety
of car occupants, motorcyclists,
bicyclists and pedestrians,
and was also used to produce
reports for the in-country and
global stakeholders. RACC vehicle in Peru
Indian distributor Taisei International
and our European associate, Grontmij |
CarlBro.
Alana Cox
+61 3 9881 1560
alana.cox@arrb.com.au
Garry Warren, General Manager ARRB Systems
with Taisei International staff at the Congress
 ARRB deploys Hawkeye systems in Indonesia
ARRB Systems has recently installed and
commissioned two new Hawkeye 2000
systems in Indonesia with the assistance
of their local distributor P.T Mitra Adisila
Tekinika.
A Hawkeye 2000 Digital Imaging System
(DIS) was added to the existing ARRB
Gipsi-Trac system for the Institute for
Road Engineering in Bandung (now the
Research and Development Centre for
Roads and Bridges). RDCRB will utilise
the system for asset inventory and route
management applications throughout the
Indonesian network.
The second system, a Hawkeye 2000 DIS
and a Digital Laser profiler was delivered
to the Directorate General for Civil
Aviation who will use their equipment for
airport runway, tarmac and general road
Along the road to a Safe System
Under the National Road Safety Strategy
and Action Plan, improving road safety
in Australia will continue to be guided by
‘Safe System’ principles. The Safe System
takes human errors and frailty into account
with the aim of avoiding death and serious
injury - an approach referred to as ‘harm
minimisation’.
The Safe System approach aims to provide a
safer road and traffic environment in which
alert and responsible road users should not
be killed or seriously injured as a result of
a crash. This means managing the physical
environment to minimise harm to those
involved.
There are four key elements in a safe
system: safer road user behaviour, safer
Safer
travel
Alert & compliant
road users
Safer
speed
Admittance
to the system
Human
tolerance to
physical
force
Safer Safer roads
Education & vehicles & roadsides
information
supporting
road users
The completed Hawkeye 2000 system vehicle at
IRE Bandung
monitoring within the airport precincts.
ARRB also provided two Prima 100 Light
Weight Deflectometers (LWDs) to DGCA.
Both organisations were trained by
ARRB’s specialist technical engineers in
roads and roadsides, safer vehicles, and
safer speeds. Speeds need to be contained
so that in a crash the impact forces remain
below human injury tolerance, and where
these speeds are exceeded the road and the
forgiving roadside environment will prevent
death or serious injury from occurring.
In practice, this approach must guide
features such as intersection design, and
treatments such as protecting roadside
hazards with barriers, or physically
separating vulnerable road users.
The Safe System approach has been
formally adopted by Austroads. It forms
the basis of the Austroads Guide to Road
Safety, and is reflected in the Guides to
Traffic Management and Road Design.
ARRB has an important role in
managing the development of
these Guides, and in ensuring
the Safe System principles
are properly addressed and
promoted. ARRB is also taking
Understanding
an active leadership role in
crashes carrying these principles forward,
& risk
to increase awareness and
uptake of them. The philosophy
is being widely disseminated
in ARRB’s knowledge transfer
workshops which deliver the
Legislation &
enforcement Austroads Guides to practitioners
of road rules in road authorities.
operation, maintenance and processing
of collected data in relation to their
respective systems.
Barry Jan
+61 3 9881 1625
barry.jan@arrb.com.au
ARRB Engineers with employees from the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation
The separate state and territory road agencies
have endorsed the Safe System approach.
They are picking this concept up in their road
safety programs and integrating it in their road
development and traffic management activities.
ARRB is also pursuing this in its research
program, in which there are many projects
seeking to develop further the practical
implementation of Safe Systems.
These include:
• Seeking to determine how we may best
provide road infrastructure that meets
the objectives of a safe system from the
short to the long term
• Investigating the relationship between
speed limits and road infrastructure,
leading to a set of revised guiding
principles for speed limit setting
• Quantifying the effect of lower speed
limits (for arterial and local roads) on
network operations
• Examining techniques to reduce
speeds and speed related crashes in
rural areas
• Reviewing effectiveness of roadside
hazard management initiatives
• Improving intersection safety by
treating intersection approaches to
achieve safer vehicle speeds through
intersections.
Peter Croft
+61 2 9282 4402
peter.croft@arrb.com.au
Briefing 9
ARRB recently participated in a pioneering were selected for detailed
transport safety research project engineering analysis.
commissioned by Murray Goulburn
The vehicles were assessed and the
Co-operative Co Limited (MGC). Murray
performance of each vehicle was
Goulburn is the largest dairy processor
benchmarked against recognised
and operates the largest private milk
industry standards. Computer
transport fleet in Australia. The project
simulations were used to test
was headed by Professor Arnold Dix.
performance for:
The study focused on the factors
• tracking ability on a straight
which cause road tankers to rollover
path
as such incidents, although infrequent,
can potentially have the most serious • static rollover threshold
consequences to drivers and other road
• rearward amplification
users.
• high speed transient off-
ARRB was commissioned to investigate
tracking Following the benchmarking study, ARRB
the physical stability of MGC’s truck fleet.
Five representative vehicle combinations • yaw damping coefficient. assessed the on-road stability through
computer simulation. Each vehicle was
assessed traveling at typical operating
speeds on everyday travel routes. From
this study MGC was able to understand

Improving safety
the margin for safety provided by each
driver i.e. the proximity to rollover whilst
cornering.

best practice - Target Other aspects involved examination of:

• the effects of a load of milk that could

zero rollovers
move or ‘slosh’
• rollover speeds for different truck
combinations, loads and curve radii
• a ‘difficult’ route in Gippsland to
measure safe speed and rollover
potential
• the sensitivity of the stability results to
driver performance
• the relative difficulty of milk haul
operations compared to long distance
line haul and urban delivery
operations
• the value of equipment modifications
• the case for wearing seatbelts
• effectiveness of rollover warning
devices
• the use of EBS and ESC braking
systems
• systems for alerting the driver to the
speed appropriate to the road section
• automatic lane departure systems
• fatigue warning systems.
The findings are released in the report
Farm to Factory Transport Safety Review –
Target Zero Rollovers.
Anthony Germanchev
+ 61 3 9881 1620
anthony.germanchev@arrb.com.au

10 Briefing
 need to control pollution and erosion
from road use, road construction and
road maintenance activities. Treatments
Photo courtesy VicRoads/Gollings Photography

designed to prevent pollutants from

entering natural water courses and water
flows from causing damage are described.

Part 6: Roadside Design, Safety and

Barriers

Austroads Guides Provides guidance on roadside safety

(e.g. hazard identification, mitigation
and treatment) and the use and design
of safety barriers. Treatment options
and countermeasures that are available
for keeping vehicles on the road and
Austroads is developing a comprehensive Part 3: Geometric Design for minimising the possibility of collision
library of Guides which covers road with roadside hazards are addressed.
This Part provides guidance on
safety and the design, construction,
appropriate cross-section standards. It
maintenance and operation of road Part 6A: Pedestrian and Cyclist Paths
enables designers to develop safe and
networks. The following focuses on
coordinated road alignments which cater Covers geometric design of pedestrian
the Guides to Road Design, Pavement
for the traffic demand at the chosen and cycling paths and associated
Technology and Bridge Technology.
speed. facilities such as types of path and their
Many of the Parts are available on the location within the road reservation,
Part 4: Intersections and Crossings –
Austroads publications website (www. alignment, geometric requirements,
General
onlinepublications.austroads.com.au), and design of treatments such as path
with the remaining Parts due to be Covers intersection design topics such intersections and terminals.
released later this year. as road design considerations, design
process, choice of design vehicle, Part 6B: Roadside Environment
Guide to Road Design provision for public transport and Focuses on the design of roadsides to
This Guide provides guidance on safe, property access. It also provides guidance preserve and/or enhance environmental
economical and efficient design across on design of pedestrian and cyclist values and roadside amenity. It
the range of road categories, from major crossing treatments. discusses design of roadside facilities
roads to local roads. Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised to manage water quality, control noise,
Intersections manage fauna movement across roads
Part 1: Introduction to Road Design and basic landscaping information.
Outlines design topics of at-grade Other topics include roadside furniture,
Introduces the Guide, defines its status, intersections such as the layout design emergency (help) telephones and utility
purpose and areas of application and process, sight distance, the types and location.
describes the functions and content selection of intersections, auxiliary lanes,
of each of its Parts. The context of the traffic islands and medians, right-turn Part 7: Geotechnical Investigation
road design process within each of the and left-turn treatments and signalised and Design
different methods of delivery of road intersections.
projects is discussed, as are road design Describes the importance of
philosophy and principles. Part 4B: Roundabouts geotechnical investigations and how
road design outcomes and other
Part 2: Design Considerations Provides guidance on roundabout
design activities are influenced by site
design, including pedestrian and cyclist
conditions, associated ground response,
Discusses key aspects of design: treatments, pavement markings, signs
geological hazards and locally available
and landscaping.
• objectives of a road design project materials.
(including appropriate recognition Part 4C: Interchanges
of transport demands, safe and Part 8: Process and Documentation
efficient traffic operations and Covers geometric design of interchanges
on freeways/motorways and arterial roads Describes requirements for quality
provides for all road users) of documentation and presentation.
including alignment and cross-section
• context sensitive design, the of the freeway in the vicinity of the It describes key factors which might
associated concepts of design domain interchange, the intersecting road and the influence design choices for road
and functional classification of roads ramps, merge and diverge ramp terminals projects and provides a checklist for
and the vehicular, human and road at the freeway, and ramp terminals at the design considerations, summarising the
factors influencing design intersecting road. type and nature of information, why it
is needed, likely sources and references
• the broad range of considerations Part 5: Drainage Design for further guidance.
affecting road design.
Provides guidance on good road drainage
design process and practice and on the (continued next page)

Briefing 11
 Austroads Guides
Guide to Pavement Technology
This Guide provides a reference on
knowledge of pavement technologies,
techniques and considerations.
Part 1: Introduction to Pavement
Technology
Outlines the purpose and function of
pavements, pavement types and their
components, pavement materials, the
types of pavements commonly in use and
introduces the fundamentals of pavement
behaviour.
Part 2: Pavement Structural Design
Covers the assessment of input
parameters needed for design, design
methods for flexible and rigid pavements
and gives guidance on economic
comparisons of alternative pavement
designs. It encompasses the wide range
of materials and conditions found in
Australia and New Zealand.
Part 3: Pavement Surfacings
Advises on selection of the most
appropriate pavement surfacings
including significant factors to be
considered, their inter-relationships and
the rationale for assessing the surfacing
options available. User requirements will
vary with traffic loading, road geometry
and environment, while materials
requirements will be affected by traffic
and environmental factors, the availability
of suitable materials, and cost.
Part 4: Pavement Materials
Provides an overview of the criteria by
which pavement materials should be
assessed in order to meet the needs of
contemporary road pavements.
Part 4A: Granular Base and Subbase
Materials
Contains advice on the selection, testing
and specification of crushed rock and
naturally occurring granular materials
for use in pavement base and subbase
construction.
Part 4B: Asphalt
Describes the nature of asphalt as a
material and its application in road
12 Briefing
pavements. It overviews the principal Part 4H: Test Methods
types of asphalt, selection of asphalt mix
Provides a listing of Austroads test
type, selection of component materials,
methods, and details the technical bodies
asphalt mix design, performance
that oversee the content of the test
characterisation, and manufacture and
methods.
placing.
Part 4I: Earthworks Materials
Part 4C: Materials for Concrete Road
Pavements Outlines requirements for earthworks
materials and the characteristics of material
Summarises Australian and New Zealand
types used in a range of applications. It
practice including base concrete and lean
also discusses desirable properties, test
mix concrete subbase, concrete curing
methods, stabilisation of earthworks
compounds, steel reinforcement such as
materials and provides direction on borrow
tie bars and dowel bars, and joint sealants
pit selection and design.
and fillers.
Part 4J: Aggregate and Source Rock
Part 4D: Stabilised Materials
Provides guidance on classification and
Discusses the types of stabilisation
description of source rocks, properties
undertaken to improve pavement materials
of source rock materials that need to
and subgrades, the types of binders
be specified to ensure a durable end
used in stabilisation, the materials suited
product, aggregate properties requiring
to particular binders, the laboratory
specification, and quality assurance testing.
determination of the type and quantity of
binder required to achieve a particular mix Part 4K: Seals
design.
Guides selection and design of thin
Part 4E: Recycled Materials bituminous surfacings such as seals and
reseals, slurry surfacings, primes and
Deals with the specification, manufacture
primerseals and geotextile seals. The
and application of recycled products from
binders include conventional bitumens,
the building industry, reclaimed asphalt
polymer modified binders and emulsions.
pavement (RAP) from maintenance and
rehabilitation activities, and reclaimed glass Part 4L: Stabilising Binders
from the glass disposal industry. A process
Describes binders most commonly used
is presented by which other sources of
in manufacture of stabilised pavement
wastes may be assessed for suitability for
materials either by in situ construction
use in pavements, e.g. industrial slags from
practices or plant-mixed operations. The
the ore extraction industry.
types of binders described are; lime,
Part 4F: Bituminous Binders cement, cementitious pozzolans, bitumen,
chemical and synthetic polymers.
Advises on selection of a bituminous
binder type for a particular application as Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and
well as covering some of the properties Treatment Design
and composition of bituminous materials.
Provides advice on investigation of sealed
The principal tests used for the assessment
road pavements, selection and design of
of bituminous materials are also covered.
pavement strategies/treatments, pavement
Part 4G: Geotextiles and Geogrids investigation, testing and evaluation,
identification of causes and modes of
Advises on selection of geotextiles
distress and treatment options.
and geogrids for use in construction
and maintenance of roads including Part 6: Unsealed Pavements
embankments and sub-soil drainage. It
Discusses operational demands of unsealed
provides information on the properties and
road surfaces, pavement configurations,
functions of geotextiles, applications and
floodways, cuts, fills and mine haul
testing.
roads, identification of suitable pavement
materials, improvement of unsealed
road pavement materials, pavement
design, drainage and erosion protection,
and environmental considerations,
performance expectation, maintenance
and rehabilitation and life cycle operating
cost evaluations.
 Austroads Guides
Part 7: Pavement Maintenance
Overviews routine maintenance practices
for sealed pavements. It describes
maintenance of drainage elements,
flexible pavements, rigid pavements,
shoulders and other maintenance
activities.
Part 8: Pavement Construction
Advises on requirements for management
of quality assurance, construction
planning, earthworks, subsurface
drainage, unbound pavements, stabilised
pavements, sprayed bituminous
surfacings, asphalt pavements and
surfacings and concrete pavements.
Part 9: Pavement Work Practices
A quick reference to technical notes
produced by Australian and New
Zealand road authorities and industry
organisations on topics such as road
making materials, provision of drainage,
design of rigid and flexible pavements
and notes on proprietary materials and
processes.
Part 10: Subsurface Drainage
Describes types of pavement subsurface
drainage systems and procedures to
design these systems, materials used
for pavement subsurface drainage
and construction, and maintenance
considerations for pavement subsurface
drainage systems.
Guide to Bridge Technology
Provides guidance on technology related
issues relevant to bridge ownership,
design procurement, vehicle and
pedestrian accessibility and bridge
maintenance and management practices.
Part 1: Introduction and Bridge
Performance
Discusses factors affecting bridge
performance, the evolution of bridges
and bridge loadings, durability of
structures and specifications and quality
of requirements, the design and
assurance.
delivery management process, design
Part 2: Materials checking and review concepts, use of
standardised components, aesthetics/
Covers the range of materials used to
architectural requirements, designing
construct bridges including concrete,
for constructability and maintenance,
timber, steel and aluminium, their
service life of structure and components,
characteristics including design and
geotechnical and environmental
construction considerations and stress
considerations.
mechanisms.
Part 5: Structural Drafting
Part 3: Typical Bridge Superstructures,
Substructures and Components Discusses principles used within bridge
Provides an appreciation of the bridge structural drafting practice including
types and components that have been line work, text and dimensions,
scales, definitions, drawing order and
developed over time including timber,
steel, wrought iron, pre-stressed concrete, numbering, abbreviations and symbols,
cable stayed and suspension, arched and concrete and reinforcement detailing.
bridges, as well as pedestrian bridges and
Part 6: Bridge Construction
bridge foundations.
Discusses construction of small to
Part 4: Design Procurement and
medium road and pedestrian bridges
Concept Design
including bridge geometry, management
Outlines bridge design process of road traffic, foundations and piling,
procurement models, specification substructure elements, walls, ground
anchors and rock bolts, concrete and steel
construction, bearings, deck joints and
drainage, barriers, railings, culverts and
arches, demolition and removal.
Part 7: Maintenance and Management
of Existing Bridges
Provides guidance on the structural
management of bridges and includes
bridge inspection, deterioration of
materials and damage to structures, repair
and strengthening treatments, control of
heavy loads and bridge preservation.
Briefing 13
ARRB contributes to international workshop
on borderless information access
Andrew Meier, Library Manager at ARRB
Group recently presented at a workshop
at the Transportation Research Board
Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
The workshop featured presenters from
the Transportation Research Board and
the Federal Highway Administration in
the United States, the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD) in France, the International
Association of Public Transport (UITP) in
New staff
Luke Callaway has
recently been appointed
to the position of
Graduate Engineer in
the Heavy Vehicles area.
Luke recently completed
his BMechEng with
honours at Monash
University.
Andrew Dixon has
joined the Systems
Division as a Technical
Officer. He previously
worked in the electronics
and forestry industries.
Dr Khar Yean Khoo
has a BCE and a PhD
from the University of
Adelaide. After working
in the oil and gas and
wine industries, Khar
Khoo has joined ARRB as
a Research Engineer in
the Bituminous Surfacings area.
Conferences
2009 Australian Trucking Convention:
The Peak National Forum on Road Freight
Transport Issues
Australian Trucking Association (ATA)
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
21-24 April 2009
http://www.ataevents.net.au/atc2009/
7th Austroads Bridge Conference
2009: Bridges Linking Communities
14 Briefing
Belgium, the Swedish National Road and News that research project data from
Transport Research Institute (VTI) and Australia was now readily available
ARRB representing Australia. online was especially well received
by the international audience. ARRB
The ARRB presentation showcased
developed the Register with funding
both the Australian Transport Index, the
from Austroads, and it currently contains
catalogue of land transport publications
over 300 research project records from
produced by the ARRB Library, and
Australian federal, state and territory
the Road Research Register, an online
road authorities. You can access the Road
resource of road-related research projects
Research Register at www.roadresearch.
from Australia.
com.au
Katherine McCray international efforts to foster best practice
has joined the Sydney in evaluating ITS projects.
team as a Traffic and
Tariro Makwasha has
Road Safety Engineer.
joined the Melbourne
Katherine recently
office as a transport
returned from the UK
economist. Tariro has a
where she held the
BEc(Hons) from Murdoch
position of Consultant
University. She worked in
with a large transport
the private sector for a
engineering consultancy in London. Prior
year before relocating to
to moving to London, Katherine worked as
Melbourne.
a Development Engineer with the Sydney
Council. Fiona Tan joined ARRB
Group in January and
Michael Levasseur is
is working in economic
working in the Sydney
analysis. She has held
office. He has a degree
a number of senior
in civil engineering and
positions in Singapore’s
more than ten years
Ministry of Trade and
working in government
Industry and Singapore’s
and consulting in both
Population Census 2000. Fiona has also
the United States and
worked with the United Nations and
United Kingdom. He has experience in
International Monetary Fund. She has just
intelligent transport systems, urban traffic
completed a PhD in Economics from the
management and control traffic signal
University of Western Australia.
systems, congestion charging schemes and
projects supporting European and
Austroads http://www.sae.org/events/training/
Auckland, New Zealand symposia/truckhdc/cfp.htm
26-29 May 2009
12th TRB National Transportation
http://www.austroads2009.co.nz/
Planning Applications Conference
SAE 2009 Heavy Truck Handling, 2009
Dynamics and Control Symposium Transportation Research Board (TRB)
SAE International Houston, Texas, USA
Clemson, South Carolina, USA 17-21 May 2009
5-7 May 2009 http://trb-appcon.org/
 Knowledge Transfer at ARRB - 2009 Program
The Knowledge Transfer team in
conjunction with our workshop
presenters, will be offering a broad range
of workshop topics in 2009, both in
Australia and internationally.
Look out for the following workshops
scheduled this year:
Traffic theory, studies and analysis:
A three-day workshop based on the
Guide to Traffic Management Part 2 –
Traffic Theory and Part 3 – Traffic Studies
and Analysis.
Investigation and treatment of crash
locations: A two-day workshop based
on the Guide to Road Safety Part 8 –
Treatment of Crash Locations.
Traffic control and communication
devices: A two-day workshop based on
the Guide to Traffic Management Part
10 – Traffic Control and Communication
Devices.
Local Area Traffic Management: A two
day workshop based on the background
material supporting the new edition of the
Austroads Guide to Traffic Management
Part 8. It covers material relating to best
practice techniques, available resources,
design principles, device selection, special
needs of different road users, legal issues
and a case study syndicate exercise.
Parking: A two day workshop based
on the new Austroads Guide to Traffic
Management Part 11. It discusses parking
demand and supply and provides a parking
policy framework, including implementation
of on-street and off-street parking, parking
controls in urban centres, parking on rural
roads, park-and-ride facilities, and electronic
parking guidance systems.
Basic geometric road design: A three
day hands-on workshop to provide new
graduates, draftpersons and technicians
with a practical understanding of basic
geometric road design.
Managing road pavement assets: This
workshop was previously known as Road
Network Management. It is based on the
extensive research and consulting work
undertaken by ARRB and the various studies
and guides issued by Austroads.
Parking – technology, audit & shopping
centres: This one-day course is designed
to concentrate on four areas of parking
operations: audit, technology, shopping
centres and wayfinding. These topics are
of relevance to all parking facility owners
and operators, especially those looking
to upgrade or evaluate their services and
profitability.
Speed limits and speed management: A
one day workshop based on the Austroads
Guide to Road Safety Part 3 – Speed
Limits and Speed Management and Guide
to Traffic Management Part 5 – Road
Management.
Unsealed local roads: A two day
workshop on the latest practices in the
management of unsealed roads based on
the new edition of the ARRB Unsealed
Roads Manual.
See below for the workshop calendar for
2009.
Event Coordinator
+61 3 9881 155
training@arrb.com.au

Calendar of scheduled workshops 2009

New South Wales 09, Ararat Western Australia
• Managing road pavement assets • Unsealed local roads 21-22 September • Unsealed local roads 4-5 May 09,
21-22 July 09, Albury-Wodonga 09, Swan Hill Broome
• Unsealed local roads 26-27 October • Unsealed local roads 24-25 September • Unsealed local roads 11-12 May 09,
09, Wagga Wagga 09, Benalla Bunbury
• Unsealed local roads 29-30 October Queensland • Unsealed local roads 14-15 May 09,
09, Dubbo Albany
• Speed limits & speed management
• Unsealed local roads 2-3 November 12 May 09, Brisbane • Speed limits & speed management
09, Tamworth 21 July 09, Perth
• Speed limits & speed management
• Unsealed local roads 5-6 November 14 May 09, Cairns • Speed limits & speed management
09, Coffs Harbour 23 July 09, Albany
• Managing road pavement assets
• Unsealed local roads 9-10 November 19-20 May 09, Brisbane • Managing road pavement assets
09, Grafton 18-19 August 09, Bunbury
• Unsealed local roads 10-11 August
• Local area traffic management Sydney 09, Cairns South Australia
• Investigation & treatment of crash • Unsealed local roads 13-14 August • Managing road pavement assets
locations Sydney 09, Townsville 21-22 April 09, Adelaide
• Traffic control and communication • Unsealed local roads 17-18 August • Unsealed local roads 22-23 June 09,
devices Sydney 09, Cloncurry Murray Bridge
Victoria • Unsealed local roads 20-21 August • Unsealed local roads 25-26 June 09,
09, Rockhampton Port Augusta
• Unsealed local roads 14-15 September
09, Traralgon • Unsealed local roads 24-25 August • Speed limits & speed management
09, Toowoomba 28 July 09, Adelaide
• Unsealed local roads 17-18 September

(continued next page)

Briefing 15
 Austroads Guides the Way

www.arrb.com.au Issue 122 June 2009


Contents
Issue 122 June 2009
Austroads Guides the Way 1
Victorian truck rollover crashes 10
Achieving Safe System outcomes 11
ARRB Academy 11
Introducing the Road Research Register 12
ARRB benchmarks international heavy
vehicles 12
ARRB to exhibit at IPWC 13
Another Hawkeye for Malaysia 13
I’ve been to Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore,
Mooloolaba 14
Visit from Roads Authority of Namibia 14
Changing roles for key staff 15
The iRAP Road Safety Toolkit 15
Developing unsealed road testing
protocols 16
Heather Ward - visiting international
expert 17
Visitors to ARRB 17
iRAP in Vietnam 18
New staff 18
Knowledge Transfer at ARRB -
2009 Program 19
New publication from ARRB 20
Published by ARRB Group Ltd
ISSN 1328-7206
2  Briefing
Austroads Guides
Austroads Guides the Way
On 1 July Austroads will formally launch
a comprehensive set of technical guides
comprising 96 separate parts. The guides
are the culmination of several years of
collaborative effort between Austroads,
ARRB and industry. The guides cover
issues that are at the centre of Austroads
member responsibilities – the design,
construction, maintenance, operation
and safety of Australian and New Zealand
road networks. They consist of the
following subject areas:
• Asset Management
• Bridge Technology
• Pavement Technology
• Project Delivery
• Project Evaluation
• Road Design
• Road Safety
• Road Transport Planning
• Traffic Management
• Road Tunnels.
Most of the development and preparation
of the guides was carried out by ARRB
staff. Over 90 primary and contributing
authors were involved in the project over
a period of five years; it represents one of
ARRB’s major achievements during that
time.
‘The importance
of these guides for
the management
of road authority
networks cannot be
overestimated. Not
only is the content of
the guides based on
the latest research, a
valuable outcome in itself, the guides
represent another important step in the
standardisation of common processes
across road agencies. This will contribute
directly to the greater efficiency and
effectiveness of road agency work
practices. As a result, the Australian and
New Zealand motoring public will get
greater value for the money spent on
road infrastructure and its management.’
Alan Tesch, Austroads Chairman
‘Austroads purpose is to
contribute to improved
Australian and New
Zealand transport.
It does this through
strategic research and
communicating the
outcomes, promoting
improved practices that
avoid duplication, and the production of
publications which assist road agencies
in the planning, design, construction,
maintenance, operation and stewardship
of roads. The 96 guides support each
of these objectives. They provide
practitioners in government agencies
and industry with the knowledge and
techniques to maintain the highest
standards in the development and
maintenance of the road transport
system.’
Murray Kidnie, Executive Director
Austroads
‘The translation of
research into practice is
a core ARRB objective.
The communication of
the most effective and
up-to-date methods
and procedures to road
agencies through these
guides is a vital part of
the knowledge dissemination process.
The benefits for ARRB in developing the
guides are also significant. It was essential
for ARRB personnel to review the world’s
best research across numerous disciplines
and subject fields and this has contributed
to fostering and sustaining our expertise.
The result is a win-win situation for all
stakeholders – the knowledge gained will
be used in future research programs and
the development of on-road applications
by Australian and New Zealand road and
traffic agencies.’
Gerard Waldron, Managing Director
ARRB Group
The guides are available on the
Austroads publications website. www.
onlinepublications.austroads.com.au
 Austroads Guides
Structure of Austroads Guides
The structure of the Austroads Guides is
outlined below:
Guide to Asset Management
Part 1: Introduction to Asset Management
Part 2: Community and Stakeholder Part 4L: Stabilising Binders
Requirements
Part 3: Asset Strategies
Part 4: Program Development and Part 6: Unsealed Pavements
Implementation
Part 5: Pavement Performance
Part 5A: Inventory
Part 5B: Roughness
Part 5C: Rutting
Part 5D: Strength
Part 5E: Cracking
Part 5F: Skid Resistance
Part 5G: Texture
Part 5H: Performance Modelling
Part 6: Bridge Performance
Part 7: Road Related Assets Performance
Part 8: Asset Valuation and Audit
Guide to Bridge Technology
Part 1: Introduction and Bridge Part 3: Models and Procedures
Performance
Part 2: Materials
Part 3: Typical Bridge Superstructures, Economies
Substructures and Components
Part 4: Design Procurement and Concept Part 7: Post-completion Evaluation
Design
Part 5: Structural Drafting
Part 6: Bridge Construction
Part 7: Maintenance and Management of Part 1: Introduction to Road Design
Existing Bridges
Guide to Pavement Technology
Part 1: Introduction to Pavement (to be completed in 2010)
Technology
Part 2: Pavement Structural Design
Part 3: Pavement Surfacings
Part 4: Pavement Materials
Part 4A: Granular Base and Subbase
Materials
Part 4B: Asphalt
Part 4C: Materials for Concrete Road
Pavements
Part 4D: Stabilised Materials
Part 4E: Recycled Materials
Part 4F: Bituminous Binders
Part 4G: Geotextiles and Geogrids
Part 4H: Test Methods
Part 4I: Earthworks Materials
Part 4J: Aggregate and Source Rock
Part 4K: Seals
Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and
Treatment Design
Part 7: Pavement Maintenance
Part 8: Pavement Construction
Part 9: Pavement Work Practices
Part 10: Subsurface Drainage
Guide to Project Delivery
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Project Delivery Planning and Guide to Road Transport Planning
Control
Part 3: Contract Management
Part 4: Direct Management of Part 1: Introduction to Traffic Management
Construction
Guide to Project Evaluation
Part 1: Introduction to Project Evaluation
Part 2: Project Evaluation Methodology
Part 4: Project Evaluation Data
Part 5: Impact on National and Regional Part 7: Traffic Management in Activity
Part 6: Distributional (Equity) Effects
Part 8: Examples
Guide to Road Design
Part 2: Design Considerations
Part 3: Geometric Design
Part 4: Intersections and Crossings –
General
Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised Part 1: Planning
Intersections
Part 4B: Roundabouts
Part 4C: Interchanges
Part 5: Drainage Design
Part 6: Roadside Design, Safety and
Barriers
Part 6A: Pedestrian and Cyclist Paths
Part 6B: Roadside Environment
Part 7: Geotechnical Investigation and
Design
Part 8: Process and Documentation
Guide to Road Safety
Part 1: Road Safety Overview
Part 2: Road Safety Strategy and
Evaluation
Part 3: Speed Limits and Speed
Management
Part 4: Local Government and Community
Road Safety
Part 5: Road Safety for Rural and Remote
Areas
Part 6: Road Safety Audit
Part 7: Road Network Crash Risk
Assessment and Management
Part 8: Treatment of Crash Locations
Part 9: Roadside Hazard Management
Guide to Traffic Management
Part 2: Traffic Theory
Part 3: Traffic Studies and Analysis
Part 4: Network Management
Part 5: Road Management
Part 6: Intersections, Interchanges and
Crossings
Centres
Part 8: Local Area Traffic Management
Part 9: Traffic Operations
Part 10: Traffic Control and
Communication Devices
Part 11: Parking
Part 12: Traffic Impacts of Developments
Part 13: Road Environment Safety
Guide to Road Tunnels
Part 2: Design
Part 3: Operation and Maintenance
Glossary of Austroads Terms
A brief description of each of the Guide
Parts is provided on the following pages.
Briefing  3
 Austroads Guides
Guide to Asset Management
The Guide to Asset Management (GAM)
provides comprehensive coverage of
asset management issues for practitioners
involved in managing physical road
infrastructure.
Part 1: Introduction to Asset
Management
Outlines the GAM and provides an
overview of key asset management
principles and practices.
Part 2: Community and Stakeholder
Requirements
With an emphasis on current Australian
and New Zealand practice, this Part
provides:
• an understanding of why it is
important to have community and
stakeholder input
• an overview of issues and approaches
to obtaining and considering this input
• advice on how to link community
and stakeholder requirements to road
agency outcomes.
Part 3: Asset Strategies
Assists road agencies to develop
performance-driven strategies which
achieve community-driven outcomes.
The Part presents an integrated
strategy framework comprising: an
overarching road system management
strategy, a road investment strategy, an
infrastructure preservation strategy and
road use management strategies.
Part 4: Program Development and
Implementation
Gives practitioners guidance on:
• program development – identifying
asset requirements, setting levels of
service for maintenance intervention,
developing a total needs program and
its evaluation, selecting maintenance
treatment and capital works options
and prioritisation and optimisation to
ensure best value for money
• program implementation – developing
delivery arrangements for the works
program and public reporting and
information dissemination about the
program.
Part 5: Pavement Performance
Provides an introduction to collection,
storage, analysis and reporting of
pavement performance related road
condition data. The Part also discusses
4  Briefing
the pavement (network) asset, policy,
standards and budgeting, data types
and condition data and their role in the
management process.
Part 5A: Inventory
Provides guidance on the assembly,
processing and application of information
on inventory data. The concepts
of location referencing and data
management are presented and the key
pavement asset classes are listed.
Part 5B: Roughness
Covers the conduct of response type and
profile-based roughness measurement.
The Part discusses the frequency and
extent of network roughness surveys, and
is intended as a basis for the preparation
of survey specifications. Verification
procedures for inertial profilometers,
testing frequencies and limits on
repeatability and bias for roughness
reports are included.
Part 5C: Rutting
Covers measurement and reporting of
rutting or transverse profiles and the
frequency and extent of network rutting
surveys. The Part is intended as a basis for
the preparation of survey specifications.
Validation procedures for profilometers,
and limits on repeatability and bias for
rutting reports are included. The uses of
rutting data and analysis techniques are
discussed.
Part 5D: Strength
Addresses network level measurement
and reporting of deflection data. The
Part discusses the frequency and scope
of network deflection surveys, including
selection of longitudinal sampling
intervals or sampling proportions for
deflection surveys.
Part 5E: Cracking
Covers network level measurement and
reporting of pavement cracking data.
The Part discusses the types and causes
of cracking, the frequency and scope
of network cracking surveys and survey
method options. Verification procedures
for cracking measurement methods and
repeatability and bias are also discussed.
Part 5F: Skid Resistance
Provides guidance on the collection of
skid resistance data for site investigative
and road network management
purposes. The different equipment used
to measure skid resistance is described,
and the need to view the results
alongside surface texture measurements
is explained.
Part 5G: Texture
Focuses on macrotexture, due to its
important contribution to the level of
friction at the interface between tyre
and road surface and especially at high
vehicle speeds and/or in wet conditions.
The Part describes the methods used to
measure texture and explains the need to
view the results alongside skid resistance
measurements.
Part 5H: Performance Modelling
Provides guidance on the selection,
formulation and calibration of pavement
performance models for application in
the management of road networks. The
Part aims to provide an understanding
of pavement modelling concepts, their
applicability, and the appropriateness of
models for particular applications.
Part 6: Bridge Performance
Provides guidance on how to best
manage bridge assets, (including
establishment and maintenance of asset
inventories), and on the monitoring
of asset performance. It discusses the
need for agencies to measure asset
performance against objectives, and is
primarily concerned with condition data
collection and performance modelling at
a network level.
Part 7: Road Related Assets
Performance
Provides guidance on the application
of asset management concepts and
principles for the management of a broad
range of diverse road related assets. The
strategy framework is applicable to all
road system assets.
Part 8: Asset Valuation and Audit
Provides guidance on how to undertake
an asset valuation, how to implement an
audit process to ensure work activities
reflect the work program and how
to present information to external
stakeholders and other customers by use
of public reports and other media.
 Austroads Guides
Guide to Bridge Technology
The Guide to Bridge Technology (GBT)
provides guidance on technology related
issues relevant to bridge ownership,
design procurement, vehicle and
pedestrian accessibility and bridge
maintenance and management practices.
Part 1: Introduction and Bridge
Performance
Discusses factors affecting bridge
performance, the evolution of bridges
and bridge loadings, durability of
structures and specifications and quality
assurance.
Part 2: Materials
Covers the range of materials used to
construct bridges including concrete,
timber, steel and aluminium, their
characteristics including design and
construction considerations and stress
mechanisms.
Part 3: Typical Bridge Superstructures,
Substructures and Components
Provides an appreciation of the bridge
types and components that have been
developed over time including timber,
steel, wrought iron, pre-stressed
concrete, cable stayed and suspension,
arched bridges, as well as pedestrian
bridges and bridge foundations.
Part 4: Design Procurement and
Concept Design
Outlines bridge design process
procurement models, specification
of requirements, the design and
delivery management process, design
checking and review concepts, use of
standardised components, aesthetics/
architectural requirements, designing
for constructability and maintenance,
service life of structure and components,
geotechnical and environmental
considerations.
Part 5: Structural Drafting
Discusses principles used within bridge
structural drafting practice including
line work, text and dimensions,
scales, definitions, drawing order and
numbering, abbreviations and symbols,
and concrete and reinforcement detailing.
Part 6: Bridge Construction
Discusses construction of small to
medium road and pedestrian bridges
including bridge geometry, management
of road traffic, foundations and piling,
substructure elements, walls, ground
anchors and rock bolts, concrete and
steel construction, bearings, deck joints
and drainage, barriers, railings, culverts
and arches, demolition and removal.
Part 7: Maintenance and Management
of Existing Bridges
Provides guidance on the structural
management of bridges and includes
bridge inspection, deterioration of
materials and damage to structures,
repair and strengthening treatments,
control of heavy loads and bridge
preservation.
Guide to Pavement Technology
The Guide to Pavement Technology
(GPT) provides a reference on pavement
technologies and techniques.
Part 1: Introduction to Pavement
Technology
Outlines the purpose and function of
pavements, pavement types and their
components, pavement materials, the
types of pavements commonly in use and
introduces the fundamentals of pavement
behaviour.
Part 2: Pavement Structural Design
Covers the assessment of input
parameters needed for design, design
methods for flexible and rigid pavements
and gives guidance on economic
comparisons of alternative pavement
designs. It encompasses the wide range
of materials and conditions found in
Australia and New Zealand.
Part 3: Pavement Surfacings
Advises on selection of the most
appropriate pavement surfacings
including significant factors to be
considered, their inter-relationships and
the rationale for assessing the surfacing
options available. User requirements will
vary with traffic loading, road geometry
and environment, while materials
requirements will be affected by traffic
and environmental factors, the availability
of suitable materials and cost.
Part 4: Pavement Materials
Provides an overview of the criteria by
which pavement materials should be
assessed in order to meet the needs of
contemporary road pavements.
Part 4A: Granular Base and Subbase
Materials
Contains advice on the selection, testing
and specification of crushed rock and
naturally occurring granular materials
for use in pavement base and subbase
construction.
Part 4B: Asphalt
Describes the nature of asphalt as a
material and its application in road
pavements. It overviews the principal
types of asphalt, selection of asphalt mix
type, selection of component materials,
asphalt mix design, performance
characterisation, and manufacture and
placement.
Part 4C: Materials for Concrete Road
Pavements
Summarises Australian and New Zealand
practice including base concrete and lean
mix concrete subbase, concrete curing
compounds, steel reinforcement such
as tie bars and dowel bars, and joint
sealants and fillers.
Part 4D: Stabilised Materials
Discusses the types of stabilisation
undertaken to improve pavement
materials and subgrades, the types
of binders used in stabilisation, the
materials suited to particular binders, the
laboratory determination of the type and
quantity of binder required to achieve a
particular mix design.
Part 4E: Recycled Materials
Deals with the specification, manufacture
and application of recycled products from
the building industry, reclaimed asphalt
pavement from maintenance and
Briefing  5
 Austroads Guides
rehabilitation activities, and reclaimed
glass from the glass disposal industry.
A process is presented by which other
sources of wastes may be assessed for
suitability for use in pavements, e.g.
industrial slags from the ore extraction
industry.
Part 4F: Bituminous Binders
Advises on selection of a bituminous
binder type for a particular application as
well as covering some of the properties
and composition of bituminous
materials. The principal tests used for the
assessment of bituminous materials are
also covered.
Part 4G: Geotextiles and Geogrids
Advises on selection of geotextiles
and geogrids for use in construction
and maintenance of roads including
embankments and subsoil drainage. It
provides information on the properties
and functions of geotextiles, applications
and testing.
Part 4H: Test Methods
Provides a listing of Austroads test
methods and details the technical bodies
that oversee the content of the test
methods.
Part 4I: Earthworks Materials
Outlines requirements for earthworks
materials and the characteristics of
material types used in a range of
applications. It also discusses desirable
properties, test methods, stabilisation
of earthworks materials and provides
direction on borrow pit selection and
design.
Photo courtesy VicRoads
6  Briefing
Part 4J: Aggregate and Source Rock
Provides guidance on classification and
description of source rocks, properties
of source rock materials that need to
be specified to ensure a durable end
product, aggregate properties requiring
specification, and quality assurance
testing.
Part 4K: Seals
Guides selection and design of thin
bituminous surfacings such as seals and
reseals, slurry surfacings, primes and
primerseals and geotextile seals. The
binders include conventional bitumens,
polymer modified binders and emulsions.
Part 4L: Stabilising Binders
Describes binders most commonly used
in manufacture of stabilised pavement
materials either by in situ construction
practices or plant-mixed operations.
The types of binders described are
lime, cement, cementitious pozzolans,
bitumen, chemical and synthetic
polymers.
Part 5: Pavement Evaluation and
Treatment Design
Provides advice on investigation of sealed
road pavements, selection and design
of pavement strategies/treatments,
pavement investigation, testing and
evaluation, identification of causes and
modes of distress and treatment options.
Part 6: Unsealed Pavements
Discusses operational demands of
unsealed road surfaces, pavement
configurations, floodways, cuts, fills and
mine haul roads, identification of suitable
pavement materials, improvement of
unsealed road pavement materials,
pavement design, drainage and
erosion protection, and environmental
considerations, performance expectation,
maintenance and rehabilitation and life
cycle operating cost evaluations.
Part 7: Pavement Maintenance
Overviews routine maintenance practices
for sealed pavements. It describes
maintenance of drainage elements,
flexible pavements, rigid pavements,
shoulders and other maintenance
activities.
Part 8: Pavement Construction
Advises on requirements for management
of quality assurance, construction
planning, earthworks, subsurface
drainage, unbound pavements, stabilised
pavements, sprayed bituminous
Photo: Vick Jaeger
surfacings, asphalt pavements and
surfacings and concrete pavements.
Part 9: Pavement Work Practices
Provides a quick reference to technical
notes produced by Australian and New
Zealand road authorities and industry
organisations on topics such as road
making materials, provision of drainage,
design of rigid and flexible pavements
and notes on proprietary materials and
processes.
Part 10: Subsurface Drainage
Describes types of pavement subsurface
drainage systems and procedures to
design these systems, materials used
for pavement subsurface drainage
and construction, and maintenance
considerations for pavement subsurface
drainage systems.
Guide to Project Delivery
The Guide to Project Delivery (GPD)
covers project delivery issues, including
planning and control, contract
management and construction
management.
Part 1: Overview
Explains the context and stages of project
delivery. It also provides some guidance
on the principles to be considered in
developing a project brief, in establishing
good project governance, in selecting a
project delivery strategy and defining a
project delivery plan.
Part 2: Project Delivery Planning and
Control
Provides guidance on planning and
control of the delivery phase including
issues such as risk, procurement strategy,
change control, performance monitoring
and community engagement.
Part 3: Contract Management
Provides guidance on the use of
contracts and covers appropriate
standards of practice and procedures
for the management of contracts.
The Part discusses tendering, contract
administration, payments and completing
the contract.

Austroads Guides
Part 4: Direct Management of
Construction
Outlines appropriate standards of
practice and procedures for delivery of
works by direct management. It covers
why and when to use direct management
as a method for delivery.
Guide to Project Evaluation
The Guide to Project Evaluation (GPE)
covers methodology, models and
procedures, unit values and evaluation.
Part 1: Introduction to Project
Evaluation
Recommends a three-stage evaluation
process for evaluation of transport
projects. An outline (roadmap) of
evaluation tools and methodologies
presented in subsequent Parts of the
Guide is provided.
Part 2: Project Evaluation Methodology
Provides guidelines for conducting
benefit–cost analysis and multi-criteria
analysis on public transport infrastructure
projects, for incorporating risk into
the analysis and for presenting results.
This Part also provides guidance on
risk assessment and analysis in project
evaluation. A Risk Explorer software
tool is included to help the practitioner
perform a risk assessment and analysis.
Part 3: Models and Procedures
Summarises the wide range of tools used
in project evaluation.
Part 4: Project Evaluation Data
Provides input unit values and related
input data and data sources used in
project evaluation, including road user
costs, average crash costs and speed
model parameter values.
Part 5: Impact on National and
Regional Economies
Provides a guide to the conditions under
which the use of macro-economic models
in project evaluation is appropriate and
how they can be applied.
Part 6: Distributional (Equity) Effects
Assists the practitioner to evaluate
the distributional (equity) impacts of
transport projects, i.e. the winners and
losers of projects, and how these impacts
can be traded with efficiency gains. An
Photo: Vick Jaeger
Equity Explorer software tool is provided
to demonstrate principles of equity
analysis and their application.
Photo: Vick Jaeger
Part 7: Post-completion Evaluation
Provides guidelines for evaluating
completed transport projects to assess
performance against stated objectives.
Part 8: Examples
Presents worked examples demonstrating
appropriate use of project evaluation
techniques applied to a selection of
infrastructure upgrading projects. All
of the examples are linked to an Excel
spreadsheet showing all relevant benefit-
cost analysis calculations.
Guide to Road Design
The Guide to Road Design (GRD) provides
guidance on safe, economical and
efficient design across the range of road
categories, from major roads to local
roads.
Part 1: Introduction to Road Design
Introduces the GRD, defines its status,
purpose and areas of application and
describes the functions and content
of each of its Parts. The context of the
road design process within each of the
different methods of delivery of road
projects is discussed, as are road design
philosophy and principles.
Part 2: Design Considerations
Discusses key aspects of design:
• objectives of a road design project
including appropriate recognition of
transport demands, safe and efficient
traffic operations and provides for all
road users
• context sensitive design, the
associated concepts of design domain
and functional classification of roads
and the vehicular, human and road
factors influencing design
• the broad range of considerations
affecting road design.
Part 3: Geometric Design
Provides guidance on appropriate cross-
section standards. It enables designers
to develop safe and coordinated road
alignments which cater for the traffic
demand at the chosen speed.
Part 4: Intersections and Crossings –
General
Covers intersection design topics such
as road design considerations, design
process, choice of design vehicle,
provision for public transport and
property access. It also provides guidance
on design of pedestrian and cyclist
crossing treatments.
Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised
Intersections
Outlines design topics of at-grade
intersections such as the layout design
process, sight distance, the types and
selection of intersections, auxiliary lanes,
traffic islands and medians, right-turn
and left-turn treatments and signalised
intersections.
Part 4B: Roundabouts
Provides guidance on roundabout
design, including pedestrian and cyclist
treatments, pavement markings, signs
and landscaping.
Part 4C: Interchanges
Covers geometric design of interchanges
on freeways/motorways and arterial
roads including alignment and cross-
section of the freeway in the vicinity of
the interchange, the intersecting road
and the ramps, merge and diverge ramp
terminals at the freeway, and ramp
terminals at the intersecting road.
Part 5: Drainage Design
Provides guidance on good road drainage
design process and practice and on the
need to control pollution and erosion
from road use, road construction and
road maintenance activities. Treatments
designed to prevent pollutants from
entering natural water courses and
water flows from causing damage are
described.
Briefing  7
 Austroads Guides
Part 6: Roadside Design, Safety and
Barriers
Provides guidance on roadside safety
(e.g. hazard identification, mitigation
and treatment) and the use and design
of safety barriers. Treatment options and
countermeasures that are available for
keeping vehicles on the road and for
minimising the possibility of collision with
roadside hazards are addressed.
Part 6A: Pedestrian and Cyclist Paths
Covers geometric design of pedestrian
and cycling paths and associated facilities
such as types of path and their location
within the road reservation, alignment,
geometric requirements, and design of
treatments such as path intersections and
terminals.
Part 6B: Roadside Environment
Focuses on the design of roadsides to
preserve and/or enhance environmental
values and roadside amenity. It discusses
design of roadside facilities to manage
water quality, control noise, manage
fauna movement across roads and basic
landscaping information. Other topics
include roadside furniture, emergency
(help) telephones and utility location.
Part 7: Geotechnical Investigation and
Design
Describes the importance of geotechnical
investigations and how road design
outcomes and other design activities are
influenced by site conditions, associated
ground response, geological hazards and
locally available materials.
Part 8: Process and Documentation
Describes requirements for quality
of documentation and presentation.
It describes key factors which might
influence design choices for road projects
and provides a checklist for design
considerations, summarising the type and
nature of information, why it is needed,
likely sources and references for further
guidance.
Guide to Road Safety
The Guide to Road Safety (GRS) provides
comprehensive coverage of road safety
issues for practitioners involved in traffic
engineering, road design and road safety.
8  Briefing
Part 1: Road Safety Overview New Zealand, identifies the people most
at risk of being involved, factors that
Discusses road crash costs and road
contribute to these crashes, possible
authorities’ duty of care to provide
countermeasures and monitoring and
safe travel, different approaches to
evaluation options.
measuring road safety, the Safe System
approach as a conceptual framework Part 6: Road Safety Audit
for road safety management and the
Details the road safety audit process and
merits of an evidence-based approach to
discusses legal liability, costs and benefits,
countermeasures.
safety principles and technical issues
Part 2: Road Safety Strategy and which need to be considered in road
Evaluation safety engineering. Includes updated
checklists for use in assessing road
Provides an overview of road safety
designs and inspecting sites at different
planning and essential processes. It
stages of a project.
discusses an evidence-based approach to
road safety, strategic partnerships, setting Part 7: Road Network Crash Risk
realistic goals, safer roads, vehicles and Assessment and Management
road users, monitoring and review,
Covers communication and consultation,
and outlines the process of strategy
identifying risks, analysing, evaluating
development.
and treating risks, monitoring and review.
Part 3: Speed Limits and Speed Examples of risk are provided, including
Management road trauma, legal risk, and risk from
adverse public opinion. Case studies
Discusses appropriate speed limits to
are provided to assist in assessment and
improve road safety, while maintaining
management of risks.
the efficiency of the road network. Speed
limits need to reflect the varying types of Part 8: Treatment of Crash Locations
road users, the road environment, types
Explains how to identify crash locations,
of vehicles driven and the safety, amenity
diagnose the crash problem and its
and economic needs of the community.
causes, select a countermeasure which
Part 4: Local Government and
Community Road Safety
Covers strategic partnerships and
capacity building, developing a road
safety strategy, funding a plan and
mobilising resources, implementation,
recent case studies of road safety
strategies and individual activities, and
monitoring, evaluation and review.
Part 5: Road Safety for Rural and
Remote Areas
Quantifies the road safety problem on
rural and remote roads in Australia and

Austroads Guides
targets the problem, design a safe
remedial treatment and establish its cost-
effectiveness. It also provides information
on sources of road crash data and how
engineering improvements fit into a road
safety strategy.
Part 9: Roadside Hazard Management
Provides guidance in reducing the
incidence and severity of run-off-road
crashes. Discusses the need to provide
a road environment that minimises
potential for loss of vehicle control. Also
discusses safety barriers and the need to
provide a roadside free of hazards or one
which is forgiving, and to take a strategic
approach to treating and managing
roadside hazards.
Guide to Road Transport Planning
The Guide to Road Transport Planning
(GRTP) provides an introduction to
transport planning, and identifies the
critical elements necessary for good
transport planning. It also examines
current road transport planning processes
and guidelines within jurisdictions,
existing challenges and trends. The Guide
sets out the concepts of road route and
link planning (with their site specific
initiatives) and focuses on the planning
principles and practices used in planning
for road routes and links.
Guide to Traffic Management
The Guide to Traffic Management (GTM)
provides a comprehensive coverage of
traffic management for practitioners
involved in traffic engineering, road
design and road safety.
Part 1: Introduction to Traffic
Management
Introduces the discipline of traffic
management and overviews the structure
Photo: Vick Jaeger
and content of the GTM. It outlines the
breadth of the subject, distribution of
content among the various parts of the
Guide, and the relationship with other
Guides such as Road Design, Road Safety
and Road Transport Planning.
Part 2: Traffic Theory
Provides an introduction to the
characteristics of traffic flow and
the theories, models and statistical
distributions used to describe many traffic
phenomena.
Part 3: Traffic Studies and Analysis
Discusses traffic performance of roads
and intersections, including mid-block
situations, signalised and unsignalised
intersections, roundabouts, and road
capacity.
Part 4: Network Management
Reviews broad strategies and objectives
for managing road networks to provide
effective traffic management, including
network management and operational
objectives, network performance
measures, and network management
plans.
Part 5: Road Management
Discusses traffic management issues
that apply to a single length of a road,
including road space allocation, access
management, lane management and
application of speed limits.
Part 6: Intersections, Interchanges and
Crossings
Focuses on traffic management issues
related to intersections, interchanges and
crossings and reviews factors that need to
be considered in selection and design of
intersections. It considers the needs of all
road users including pedestrians, cyclists,
motorcyclists, heavy vehicles and public
transport.
Part 7: Traffic Management in Activity
Centres
Discusses principles for the planning and
traffic management of activity centres
and associated transport nodes, including
commercial and civic precincts, freight
transfer centres, and intermodal transport
interchanges.
Part 8: Local Area Traffic Management
Provides a systematic approach to
traffic management in local areas,
with guidance on the application and
effectiveness of traffic control measures
on an area-wide basis.
Photo: Vick Jaeger
Part 9: Traffic Operations
Discusses traffic operational matters
relating to traffic management on
road networks, including traffic signal
systems, congestion management,
incident management, management of
transport information and operational
management of road space.
Part 10: Traffic Control and
Communication Devices
Reviews design and use of traffic control
and communication devices, including
traffic signs, pavement markings and
traffic signals.
Part 11: Parking
Discusses parking demand and supply
and provides a parking policy framework,
including implementation of on-street
and off-street parking, parking controls
in urban centres, parking on rural roads,
park-and-ride facilities, and electronic
parking guidance systems.
Part 12: Traffic Impacts of
Developments
Discusses processes for assessing the
traffic and transport impacts of land
use developments, including policy and
planning considerations, development
profiles, traffic impact assessments, and
access management.
Part 13: Road Environment Safety
Reviews approaches to ensuring a
safe road environment within a traffic
management context, including road user
behaviour, and the role of road design
and traffic management in providing road
and roadside safety.
Guide to Road Tunnels
The Guide to Road Tunnels (GRT) will
provide guidance on the planning,
design, implementation, operation and
maintenance of road tunnels (including
tunnels for bus ways). The Guide is due
for completion in 2010.
Part 1: Planning
Provides guidance on the planning
process to ensure that all factors affecting
design, construction, maintenance and
operation of road tunnels are adequately
considered.
Briefing  9
 Austroads Guides

Part 2: Design Glossary of Austroads Terms

Provides guidance on design
requirements, including structural
design, geometric requirements,
pavement design, drainage, fire and life
safety, ventilation, lighting, ITS (CCTV,
emergency telephones, variable message
signs, mobile phone coverage, broadcast
equipment), electrical supply, service
access and visual amenity.
Part 3: Operation and Maintenance
Discusses overall management,
including protocols required, interaction
between organisations and authority
levels. Guidance is provided on traffic
monitoring and control systems, plant
monitoring and control systems (including
ventilation equipment, environmental
monitoring systems, emergency/escape
lighting, fire detection and protection
systems, drainage systems), building and
tunnel services, maintenance methods,
incident response and post - incident
recovery.
The Glossary includes terms and
definitions relevant to Austroads
members and others involved in
the road and transport industry. It
covers terms and definitions found
in publications about pavement and
materials technology, bridge technology,
asset management, heavy vehicle
operation (as it applies to road and
bridge infrastructure), road safety, traffic
management, traffic engineering, and
transport planning and economics.
The terms, and their definitions, will be
regularly updated with new terms or
definitions.

Victorian truck rollover crashes

VicRoads engaged ARRB to undertake
an analysis of truck rollover crashes using
data from the Victorian crash database
and National Transport Insurance (NTI),
which insures up to 40% of trucks in
Australia. Recommendations for reducing
the frequency and severity of truck
rollover crashes were made based on the
analyses and relevant literature.
The VicRoads crash data indicated that
10% of all truck crashes in Victoria were
rollovers. During the study period, these
crashes decreased from 110 in 2003 to
83 in 2007, a 25% reduction. Two-thirds
of rollovers involved semi-trailers and
77% occurred in rural environments.
Just under half occurred on a bend and
78% of these occurred in a 100 km/h
zone, compared to 65% for all crashes.
Therefore, higher speeds appear to
increase truck rollovers. Of these rollover occurred on the outbound leg of the Sixteen recommendations were made
crashes that occurred on a bend, 59% journey (85%). including standards for rollover stability;
occurred when the truck left the road on in-vehicle technologies for trucks; road
a right bend. Other VicRoads data results Other NTI data results included:
safety audits; truck driver education;
included: • 60% of rollovers involved semi-trailers intelligent rollover warning systems on
• East Gippsland had the most casualty and 23% involved B-doubles problematic curves; speed enforcement,
rollovers of all municipalities • dry loads on pallets in flat bed trailers including the encouragement of freight
or non-chilled tautliner vans were the companies to adopt driver payment
• 86% of the rollovers were single
most common type of load involved in policies that do not encourage speeding;
vehicle crashes
rollovers (36%) and coding and collection of truck crash
• 25% were fatigue related data.
• nearly 60% of truck drivers killed did • 41% of rollovers involved
inappropriate speed (inappropriate Kelly Imberger
not wear a seatbelt.
speed refers to that at roundabouts, +61 3 9881 1628
The NTI dataset included a total of 108 on corners, in wet conditions etc., kelly.imberger@arrb.com.au
rollovers over the study period, and there rather than deliberately exceeding the
was a 117% increase from 17 in 2003 speed limit) and 30% involved fatigue.
to 37 in 2007. The majority of crashes

10  Briefing

Safe System infrastructure
outcomes from a
national roundtable
The Safe System approach to road safety
has been adopted by each Australian
jurisdiction. This approach recognises that
humans, as road users are fallible and
will continue to make mistakes. There are
also limits to the kinetic energy exchange
which humans can tolerate (e.g. during
the rapid deceleration associated with
a crash) before serious injury or death
occurs.
The Safe System approach requires
that infrastructure be designed to take
account of these errors and vulnerabilities
so that road users are able to avoid
serious injury or death.
ARRB recently held a national roundtable
ARRB Academy
A key development
in ARRB’s history
and the recent
strategic refocus
has been the
establishment of
the ARRB Academy.
Its function is to
be the focal point for activities aimed
at maintaining excellence in research,
knowledge and collaboration. It does
this by putting in place and managing
systems for ensuring quality in three key
dimensions:
• Quality people – attracting and
retaining the best scientific and
to examine infrastructure options
that might help achieve Safe System
outcomes. The event was held on 27
March, with 40 senior managers from
Australia and New Zealand participating.
Discussion included current progress
towards implementing Safe System
principles and options for future
implementation.
A full report based on this event
is available from www.arrb.com.
au (see page 20). Some of the key
recommendations emerging included:
• There is a need for further
development and greater use of
primary road safety treatments. Primary
engineering minds available, and
building a sustainable national
capability in areas of expertise critical
to Australasian road authorities
• Quality processes – ensuring that
ARRB’s research and consulting
projects are executed with appropriate
scientific rigour
• Quality products – ensuring that
outputs from ARRB’s project work
meet both the expectations of our
clients as well as our own standards.
The Academy is headed by Mike
Shackleton, General Manager: Academy
and Development. Current initiatives in
treatments are those that directly
provide a Safe System outcome, for
example by reducing impact forces to
safe levels or by separating different
road users.
• Road safety targets and performance
indicators need to relate to casualties,
and particularly those with fatal or
serious injury consequences.
• Better coordination between all players
in state agencies and local government
is needed to effectively deliver a Safe
System.
• ITS (intelligent transport systems)
is likely to play a major part in the
delivery of a Safe System in the future.
Good progress is being made towards
Safe System implementation, but there is
a need to share good practice between
jurisdictions more effectively. The report
discusses options for future provision of
infrastructure that meets Safe System
objectives in the short, medium and
long term. The report is expected to
form the basis for further discussions
on the implementation of Safe System
infrastructure, and to inform delivery
strategies at local, state and national
level.
A special Briefing which provides
an overview of the Safe System, its
significance for road authorities and
progress towards its realisation is planned
for the near future.
Blair Turner
+61 3 9881 1661
blair.turner@arrb.com.au
the Academy include
the establishment of an
international Transport
Researchers’ Exchange
(TREx) to promote global
research collaboration
and implementation of
a ‘Rigour in Research’
program on key research
projects.
Mike Shackleton
+61 3 9881 1572
mike.shackleton@arrb.com.au
Briefing  11
Introducing the Road Research Register
An online information source for current
and recently completed Australian and
New Zealand road-related research
projects is now available online at:
www.roadresearch.com.au
ARRB began developing the Register in
late 2007 as an Austroads funded project.
The planning process was assisted by
members of the Austroads Research
Coordination Group and after testing, the
Register went live in early 2009.
Designed to promote awareness of
road-related research activities, the
Register covers research in progress
and also offers an archive of completed
projects. Presently there are over 500
projects listed in the Register, sourced
from contributors including federal, state
and territory government organisations
within Australia. The aim is to add
project information from other bodies
commissioning research within Australia,
and also on road-related post-graduate
research, in the near future.
ARRB benchmarks international heavy vehicles
The Joint OECD/ITF Transport Research
Centre (JTRC) has been conducting
an investigation into the safety,
environmental and productivity impacts
of current and future heavy vehicle
operations, in the context of increasing
road transport freight volumes.
The investigation included a study to
benchmark the safety performance of
heavy vehicle combinations from OECD
member countries. The benchmarking
study was performed by ARRB and
quantified the safety performance of 40
vehicle configurations across 10 member
countries, using a set of recognised
vehicle performance measures.
The study allowed the performance
of each heavy vehicle combination to
be compared, highlighting examples
of good practice in vehicle design and
operation, and also identifying areas for
improvement. Some key observations
included:
• Vehicle performance tended to suit the
12  Briefing
There are two levels of access
to the Register. The majority of
project information can be viewed
without a password; however,
data contributors can login to
access all the details for each
project in the Register.
Simple and advanced search
options are available as well as
the ability to browse (including
subject area, organisation, project
leader). Subject areas covered
include:
• Bridges
• Environment
• Heavy vehicles
• Intelligent Transport Systems Ongoing maintenance of the Register is
(ITS) managed by ARRB with financial support
• Pavement structures from the National Interest Services (NIS)
program. Austroads continues to provide
• Registration and licensing
non-financial assistance.
• Road design and maintenance
• Road safety Andrew Meier
• Skills and education +61 3 9881 1603
• Traffic management. andrew.meier@arrb.com.au
needs of the freight task for the region
in which the vehicles were designed
to operate. For example, European
vehicles tended to demonstrate
improved swept path performance
while Australian, South African and
North American vehicles tended to
demonstrate improved high-speed
dynamic performance.
• High productivity vehicles demonstrate
similar performance levels as traditional
vehicles, despite often being longer,
heavier, and consisting of more trailer
units. The study is representative of the type of
investigation that ARRB has the capability
• Vehicles with ‘A’-type couplings (non- to undertake using the extensive practical
roll coupled connections between experience and technical knowledge base
vehicle units such as drawbars) of the Heavy Vehicle team.
generally performed well in low-
speed turning manoeuvres. However,
Anthony Germanchev
these vehicles performed poorly in
+61 3 9881 1620
high-speed dynamic manoeuvres in
anthony.germanchev@arrb.com.au
comparison to vehicles with ‘B’-type
couplings (roll coupled connections
between vehicle units such as fifth-
wheel connections).
ARRB to exhibit at IPWC
ARRB Group will be exhibiting at the
upcoming International Public Works
Conference (IPWC), which runs from 6-10
September 2009.
Organised by the Institute of Public Works
Engineering Australia, the bi-annual
event is being held at the Melbourne
Convention & Exhibition Centre in
Victoria, Australia, with the theme ‘Global
Challenges, Local Solutions – Delivering
for the Next Generation.’
Along with exhibiting at the event, ARRB
also has papers being presented during
the conference on topics including ‘Road
crashes on Local Government Roads –
Causes and Solutions’ and ‘Maintaining
Safe Road Networks – Integrating Safety
into Asset Management.’
Another Hawkeye for Malaysia
Left to right – Alana Cox (ARRB), Aaron Chin (Gammerlite), Steven Chin (Gammerlite), Barry Jan
(ARRB) and Harold Wong (Gammerlite) in front of a Hawkeye 2000 training vehicle in Melbourne.
ARRB has delivered a Hawkeye 2000
system to Gammerlite Sdn Bhd in Kota
Kinabalu, Malaysia.
Gammerlite is one of the road concession
holders for the Malaysian Government
and is responsible for the maintenance
and rehabilitation activities in East
Malaysia. It will initially use its new
equipment to undertake mapping and
visual data surveys for the KKR (Ministry
of Works) on 1500 km of Federal roads in
Sabah.
Attended by public
works managers,
consultants and
engineers from all
over the world,
the IPWC is the
largest public works
conference held
in Australia. For
further information
visit the website at
www.ipwea.org.au/
melb2009 or contact:
Photo: David Best
Alana Cox
+61 3 9881 1560
alana.cox@arrb.com.au
Both Gammerlite and ARRB are confident
that the Hawkeye equipment will handle
the varying geographical and climatic
conditions experienced throughout this
region, ranging from tropical rainforests
to rugged mountainous terrain.
Three other ARRB Network Survey
Vehicles have operated in Malaysia for
several years, mainly in the Peninsula
Malaysia areas, but there is little doubt
that this system will face some of the
harshest field conditions.
Representatives from Gammerlite visited
ARRB in April 2009, for training with
the Hawkeye systems and associated
processing software. Aaron Chin
(Managing Director), Steven Chin
(Group CEO) and Harold Wong (General
Manager) spent five days with ARRB’s
engineering and software development
staff, leaving with considerable
The Hawkeye 2000 equipment knowledge of the operation, capabilities
incorporates a 4-camera Digital Imaging and benefits of the Hawkeye 2000
System, a Gipsi-Trac geometry unit and systems.
DGPS positioning module. The equipment
Barry Jan
will be installed onto a vehicle provided
+61 3 9881 1625
by Gammerlite in Kota Kinabalu.
barry.jan@arrb.com.au
S C A L E A B L E S U R V E Y S O LU T I O NS
Briefing  13
I’ve been to Tullamore, Seymour,
Lismore, Mooloolaba…
The state and territory road authorities
(RAs) continue to utilise a large part of
ARRB’s data collection services within
Australia, with ARRB securing major
contracts with all RAs for the first time in
10 years. This has meant the ARRB data
collection fleet has covered a vast portion
of the Australian network in the last 12
months.
At a local level, projects have been
completed up and down the east
coast with many councils and
municipalities in southern
Queensland, regional New South
Wales, along the Murray River
and in Victoria.
Our Network Survey Vehicles have also
been involved in projects such as the
Waterloo Windfarm in South Australia
and the Sugarloaf north-south pipeline in
Victoria. This is when we’re not overseas
being part of the International Road
Assessment Program (iRAP)
in Vietnam (which you can
read about on page 18).
We have also had great
success with the newest
vehicle in our fleet, the
All-Terrain Survey Vehicle
(ATSV). The ATSV is a
compact 4x4 survey vehicle
that is designed to collect
data in those places which
have previously been
difficult to access by the
larger Network Survey
Vehicles. These sites include
footpaths, bike paths and
shared-use / off-road tracks.
All of these have been
recently surveyed for Main
Roads Western Australia, Queensland
Department of Transport and Main Roads,
Adelaide City Council and Campaspe
Shire.
Our fleet of Falling Weight Deflectometers
(FWDs) has also been moving across the
country, surveying out to the far reaches
of North-Western Australia, including
work in the Kimberly and Pilbara regions.
Closer to the east they have worked
in both the private and public sectors
surveying major metropolitan and
regional airports, carparks, construction
work and existing intersections to assess
compliance to specifications.
Whether it be big or small, public or
private, routine or one-off, ARRB data
collection services continue to provide the
quality service, experience and expertise
needed to assess your network.
Bruce Clayton
+61 3 9881 1582
bruce.clayton@arrb.com.au

Visit from Roads Authority of Namibia

ARRB Group recently welcomed Ms
Sophie Tekie and Ms Jaqueline Mukuka
from the Roads Authority of Namibia.
After attending a PIARC meeting in
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Sophie
and Jaqueline visited ARRB’s Perth and
Melbourne offices where they met with
personnel from the divisions. The primary
focus of the meetings was on pavement
and asset management practices with
discussions on data collection equipment,
Pavement Management Systems (PMS)
applications, network safety analysis and
international consulting.
Whilst in Australia, Sophie and Jaqueline
also visited the state road authorities
of Western Australia, New South
Wales and Victoria to obtain a practical
understanding of Australian road
authority practices.
Namibia is a developing nation and has
many climatic and terrain similarities with
Australia, in particular the western parts
of Australia with temperate coastline
and dry inland areas. Also like Australia,
Namibia is sparsely populated and
therefore must optimise its large road
network in relation to its low population
density. With nearly 43,000 km of roads,
the majority of which are unsealed, and
a population of just two million people,
efficient road management practice
becomes essential.
During their time at the ARRB offices,
Sophie and Jaqueline also had the
opportunity to be passengers in a
Hawkeye Network Survey Vehicle.
Simon Barlow
Jaqueline Mukuka (left) and Sophie Tekie in a
+61 3 9881 1635 Hawkeye Network Survey Vehicle in Melbourne.
simon.barlow@arrb.com.au

14  Briefing
Changing roles for key staff
Dave Jones has
resumed as Regional
Manager for Victoria,
Tasmania and New
Zealand, following 18
months in Dubai.
When asked to explain
why a road authority
would seek ARRB’s
assistance during a period of constrained
government spending, Dave said ‘Applying
the outcomes of research is more important
than ever for road managers. ARRB can
assist with effectively targeting investments
and maintenance spending to deliver road
safety and asset preservation benefits.
ARRB’s prudent advice could save many
times its cost via reduced crashes, targeted
investment and longer asset life.
ARRB’s road assessment tools can help
local governments address community
concerns regarding longer trucks. Our route
assessment tools can model roads with
drive-throughs to determine safety issues
arising from curvature, pavement width and
roughness, from a computer and without
exposing the community to trial runs with
trucks. This assessment can screen routes
for potential problems, before field trials on
a short-list of routes commence. Specific
trucks and load types can be modelled. At
The iRAP Road Safety Toolkit
Globally, more than 1.2 million people
die in road crashes every year, with a
further 50 million people injured. Most
of this burden is carried by those living in
developing and middle income countries.
Further, it is expected that there will be
substantial growth in transport in many
a network level, Councils can pro-actively include preparing strategies and plans to
assess their network to identify routes for develop new business and clients.
high productivity vehicles, benefiting local
business and minimising community related Kieran Sharp – Senior
risks.’ Business Manager
Kieran has been with
The current economic climate is also time ARRB Group for 32
to think ‘back to basics’. At a local level, years. His current role
councils and businesses should be thinking has responsibility for
about what they can do to make their leading relationship
places safer, attractive and accessible. management activities
Improvements in bicycle, pedestrian with state and territory
and public transport access may be cost road and transport authorities including
effective, as is more efficient use of existing being a representative on each of our State
car parking. ARRB can advise on policy, Road Authority Agreement Boards.
strategy and operational management in
these areas. Fiona Green – Operations
Manager/ Senior
John Hughes, who joined ARRB in March Business Manager,
2009, is now managing the Dubai office. In Federal Government
other management changes Bruce Clayton, Fiona has been with
Kieran Sharp and Fiona Green are now ARRB Group for 12 years.
focused on their new roles. This new role has a focus
of national relevance,
Bruce Clayton–Operations managing sales in the
Manager, Systems key account of federal government as well
Bruce has been with as overseeing all operational matters for
the ARRB Group for 8 Research and Consulting including business
years. His current role planning, business systems and national
oversees the provision of marketing.
data collection services,
customer support and Dave Jones
+61 3 9881 1535
training. His responsibilities
dave.jones@arrb.com.au
of these regions, and that deaths and To date the information provided has
injuries will increase dramatically unless focused on road engineering based
action is taken. solutions, although where appropriate,
the Toolkit also identifies non-engineering
ARRB, in association with iRAP (the
solutions (such as enforcement and road
International Road Assessment Program)
user education programs). The website
and gTKP (the Global Transport
will soon be enhanced to provide detailed
Knowledge Partnership) has developed
information on both engineering and
the Road Safety Toolkit to help address
non-engineering solutions.
this problem. This free website provides
information on measures that can be The website has been already visited by
taken to improve safety on the road. users in over 90 countries. It is hoped
that further refinements to the website as
It is designed to assist in the analysis of
well as additional promotion will further
crashes, or issues relating to specific road
increase its usage.
user groups, and in the selection of the
most appropriate road safety treatments. The toolkit can be accessed at: www.irap.
Based on existing crash problem types, net/toolkit
users are offered information on a
Blair Turner
range of options that can be used to
+61 3 9881 1661
improve safety. Information is provided
blair.turner@arrb.com.au
on the typical costs and benefits of these
treatments, and how and when to apply
them (and when not to).
Briefing  15
Developing unsealed road testing protocols
ARRB Group has been engaged by the
Federal Department of Infrastructure,
Transport, Regional Development and
Local Government (DITRDLG) to develop
standard testing protocols for the
conduct of field trials on unsealed roads.
The protocols would be used when
evaluating:
• life of a wearing course and
maintenance intervention frequencies
to assist in optimisation of road
operating costs
• benefits of incurring additional
prime costs associated with blending
materials from different locations to
improve performance
• benefits, in terms of improved
performance, associated with
incorporating stabilisation binder in the
wearing course, compared with their
costs
• location of water supplies and water
reducing agents in terms of their
contribution to prime construction
costs.
To assist in development and evaluation
of the protocol, trial sites are being
monitored at:
• Alice Springs, supported by the
Department of Planning and
Infrastructure (DPI)
• ACT, supported by the Department
of Territory and Municipal Services
(TAMS).
The project also involves evaluation of
stabilisation binders which are typically
associated with improving longevity
of unsealed wearing courses and
reducing patrol grading maintenance.
16  Briefing
The performance of
untreated control
sections and, in the case
of Alice Springs, a site
stabilised with lime is
also being evaluated.
A draft protocol is being
evaluated. It is based on
the provision of simple
tools and laboratory
assessments that can
be undertaken to
identify the key material
characteristics and their
performance in an
unsealed road pavement.
The elements of the
protocol are:
trials and performance. For example,
• laboratory classification of the in selecting a binder it is necessary to
proposed wearing course material to consider:
determine the suitability of the product
• costs of transport of the binder to
in relation to the site material
the site – at the NT site, these costs
• selection of a field trial site based on represented approximately 25% of the
local needs and environmental factors total cost of the binder
• preparation of a Scope of Works • availability and cost of specialised
document if construction is to be construction equipment
undertaken by contract
• the cost of binders – can be up to
• construction of the trial site and quality $50,000 per kilometre including
control program transport costs.
• establishment of performance • health & safety – includes providing
indicators which define the benefits of protection from dust and binders
the product or process for inception which can burn.
recommendations
• application of a performance Bob Andrews
monitoring schedule +61 8 8242 1039
bob.andrews@arrb.com.au
• measurement of roughness (IRI) using
the ARRB Roughometer, together with Kieran Sharp
traffic and weather data +61 3 9881 1624
• performance evaluation in terms of kieran.sharp@arrb.com.au
technical appraisal and deterioration
modelling to estimate the life of the
wearing course and the adoption
of relationships developed by ARRB
and other international deterioration
models for unsealed roads
• financial modelling in terms of
estimated pavement life and
maintenance interventions.
As an example of the use of the protocol,
when a stabilisation binder is to be
considered, a desk-top evaluation of
the products or processes to be trialled
is required in terms of its application
logistics to the proposed site and previous
Heather Ward - visiting international expert
Heather Ward recently participated in
ARRB’s International Visiting Experts
Program, where she spent seven weeks
in Australia working with a number of
state road authorities and the ARRB Safe
Systems team. Heather is a Principal
Research Fellow at University College
London, and is recognised nationally and
internationally as a road safety expert. She
has provided advice to the Department
of Transport in the UK, the OECD and
European Council of Ministers on subjects
that include speed management, safety
cameras and rural road safety.
During her time at ARRB Heather
provided advice on a number of
Austroads projects and discussed current
directions in European road safety.
She also visited a number of ARRB’s
Visitors to ARRB
Tasmanian Council Select Committee
Members of the Tasmanian Legislative
Council Select Committee on Road Safety
visited ARRB in February to draw on the
expertise of staff in the Safe Systems
and Heavy Vehicles Groups. The visit
was aimed at informing the Committee’s
Road Safety Inquiry into causes of
crashes, crash countermeasures and how
to reduce crashes in Tasmania, with a
particular interest in motorcycle safety.
Committee members were greeted
by the ARRB Managing Director, Mr
Gerard Waldron and shown the Systems
Group’s survey vehicle capability as it
relates to improving road safety. This was
followed by presentations from key staff
on behavioural, engineering and heavy
vehicle safety projects.
Following the presentations, staff
members engaged in discussions with
Committee members and answered
questions. The Committee members were
particularly interested in ARRB’s research
on young driver safety and driver training,
truck rollovers and motorcycle safety.
The presentations and discussions were
recorded for Hansard, and will be used
to inform road safety policy for Tasmania
into the future.
member agencies (QDTMR, RTA NSW,
MRWA, DTEI and VicRoads) where she
contributed to a variety of projects and
to policy development, including input
to the new National Speed Management
strategy, advice on child pedestrian
safety, new ways of exploring crash data,
and matching of police and hospital
casualty data. Heather’s visit also helped
strengthen ties between Australian and
European road safety experts, as she was
able to create links between researchers
and policy makers working on similar
issues.
The visit was a great success, with positive
comments received from all involved.
Probus Club of Port Phillip The delegation was in Melbourne for a
one-week road safety study tour, hosted
In February ARRB hosted the Probus Club
by VicRoads International and Victoria
of Port Phillip. The meeting was initiated
Police. Senior staff from ARRB’s road
by Tom Russell, former Chairman of ARRB
safety and traffic and heavy vehicles areas
(1982-83) to provide members with a
spoke to the delegation on:
two-hour presentation on ARRB activities
including: • measuring the outcome of
enforcement strategies (speeding, seat
• main road research initiatives
belt wearing, etc.)
• local road developments
• drink driving
• international activities
• crash data and reconstruction of heavy
• tour of ARRB facilities. vehicle crashes.
Vietnamese delegation The study tour concluded with a tour of
ARRB’s premises including visits to the
ARRB hosted a delegation from Vietnam
library, laboratories, and an overview of a
on 2 April consisting of representatives
Hawkeye Network Survey Vehicle.
from the Traffic Police Department,
Government House and the Ministry of
Planning and Investment.
Briefing  17
iRAP in Vietnam
In late 2008 ARRB was contracted by iRAP
to undertake key aspects of its World
Bank funded road assessment program
pilot project in Vietnam. The first phase
consisted of surveying more than 3,800
kilometres of major transport corridors
including the main north – south route
Ribbon cutting ceremony for launch of iRAP Vietnam project
in Ha Noi
New staff
Peter Daly has joined
the Perth team as a
Transport Planner. Peter
recently arrived in Perth
from Ireland where he
was a bridge engineer
and transport planner.
Prior to this role, Peter
held the position
of Transport Planner/Modeller for the
Railway Procurement Agency in Ireland.
Tony de Haas has
joined our Systems
Group as the
Business Manager -
International. Tony
will be responsible for
the overseas sales of
ARRB products and
equipment.
18  Briefing
(National Highway 1) using an ARRB
Hawkeye 2000 digital imaging system.
The project launch on 12 March was
attended by Vice Minister Tran Doan
Tho, the Australian Ambassador Allaster maintenance units during the survey to
Cox as well as many other dignitaries. promote the iRAP concept.
The launch received a large
The rating of the image data began with
amount of publicity from
a five day training course, conducted by
all major media as around
ARRB’s Van Hoang and Joseph Affum,
30 people lose their lives on
on the iRAP process and the use of the
Vietnam roads each day.
Hawkeye image rating software. The
The survey took four weeks rating work is being undertaken using
to complete. The survey team five computer work stations provided by
was headed by ARRB’s Paul ARRB.
van Damme with assistance
A high percentage of traffic in Vietnam
from several Vietnam Road
are motorcycles. This will present a
Administration staff.
challenge for the rating team as will the
As a major component of collection of key information necessary
the project focussed on to generate countermeasure costing for
building in-country capacity improving road safety of the network.
to undertake future iRAP
The rating is scheduled to be completed
projects in Vietnam, local
in early July and the final star rating
staff were trained to use
results to be presented towards the end
the Hawkeye equipment.
of this year.
Information sessions were
also conducted at four Richard Wix
of the Vietnam Road +61 3 9881 1636
Administration’s regional road richard.wix@arrb.com.au
Alvaro Gonzalez has University of Birmingham specialising in
been appointed as a road management and engineering. She
Pavements Engineer. previously worked in a large European
Alvaro has relocated engineering and design consultancy
from New Zealand developing road asset management
where he has been systems.
completing a PhD
Alex Moffat has
with the University of
joined our Luxmoore
Canterbury, and prior
team as a Senior
to this completed a Master of Science
Parking Consultant.
in Santiago, Chile. Alvaro has obtained
Alex has a double
technical experience in pavement
degree in Commerce/
design and materials testing within both
Economics as well
universities.
as a MBus(Property).
Huimin Liu has He was previously
joined ARRB as an employed as a property finance analyst at
Asset Management Suncorp Metway.
Consultant
Anne Still has rejoined
focusing on asset
our Perth office after a
management systems
break in New Zealand.
as well as pavement
She has resumed her
management. Huimin
role as Senior Transport
has a BEng(Traffic)
Planner.
from Beijing University
of Technology and a MEng from the
 Knowledge Transfer at ARRB - 2009 Program
The Knowledge Transfer team has recently
conducted some market research, in order
to establish the need for workshop topics
in each region. The 2009 program is a
reflection of the results of this research.
Thank you to everyone that participated.
Look out for the following workshops
scheduled this year:
Conduct of Level 1 bridge inspections
and assessment on local roads (Level
1 Bridge Inspection workshop): A two
day workshop for those involved with
the routine maintenance inspection of
structures.
Geotechnical and drainage design: A
two day workshop based on the Guide
to Road Design Part 5 – Drainage Design
and Part 7 – Geotechnical Investigation
and Design.
Intersections, interchanges and
crossings: A two day workshop based
on the Guide to Traffic Management
Part 6 – Intersections, Interchanges and
Crossings, and Guide to Road Design Part
4 – Intersections and Crossings.
Calendar of scheduled workshops 2009
New South Wales
• Managing road pavement assets 21-
22 July 09, Albury-Wodonga
• Level 1 bridge inspection 29-30 July
09, Newcastle
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 18-19 August 09, Sydney
• Cycling and pedestrian paths 20
August 09, Sydney
• Geotechnical and drainage design 20-
21 October 09, Sydney
• Local area traffic management 4-5
November 09, Sydney
• Parking 24-25 November 09, Sydney
• Investigation and treatment of crash
locations 09, Sydney
Victoria
• Geotechnical and drainage design 4-5
August 09, Melbourne
• Level 1 bridge inspection 24-25 August
09, Melbourne
• Level 1 bridge inspection 27-28 August
09, Benalla
Unsealed local roads: A two day
workshop on the latest practices in the
management of unsealed roads, based
on the new edition of the ARRB Unsealed
Roads Manual.
Speed limits and speed management:
A one day workshop based on the
Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 3
– Speed Limits and Speed Management
and Guide to Traffic Management Part 5
– Road Management.
Managing road pavement assets:
This workshop is based on the extensive
research and consulting work undertaken
at ARRB, and the various studies and
guides issued by Austroads.
Cycling and pedestrian paths: A
two day workshop for state-of-the-art
sustainable urban transport planning,
looking at planning and behaviour
change, for walking and cycling.
Parking: A two day workshop based
on the new Austroads Guide to Traffic
Management Part 11. It discusses parking
demand and supply and provides a
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 20-21 October 09,
Melbourne
• Cycling and pedestrian paths 22
October 09, Melbourne
• Unsealed local roads 9-10 November
09, Traralgon
• Unsealed local roads 12-13 November
09, Ararat
• Unsealed local roads 16-17 November
09, Swan Hill
• Unsealed local roads 19-20 November
09, Benalla
Queensland
• Geotechnical and drainage design 28-
29 July 09, Brisbane
• Unsealed local roads 5-6 October 09,
Cairns
• Unsealed local roads 8-9 October 09,
Townsville
• Unsealed local roads 12-13 October
09, Rockhampton
• Unsealed local roads 15-16 October
09, Toowoomba
parking policy framework, including
implementation of on-street and off-
street parking, parking controls in urban
centres, parking on rural roads, park-
and-ride facilities, and electronic parking
guidance systems.
Investigation and treatment of crash
locations: A two day workshop based
on the Guide to Road Safety Part 8 –
Treatment of Crash Locations.
Local area traffic management:
A two day workshop based on the
background material supporting the new
edition of the Austroads Guide to Traffic
Management Part 8. It covers material
relating to best practice techniques,
available resources, design principles,
device selection, special needs of different
road users, legal issues and case study
syndicate exercises.
Further information:
www.arrb.com.au/workshops
+61 3 9881 1680
training@arrb.com.au
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 5-6 November 09, Brisbane
Western Australia
• Unsealed local roads 7-8 July 09,
Northam
• Parking 22-23 July 09, Perth
• Level 1 bridge inspection 3-4 August
09, Perth
• Level 1 bridge inspection 6-7 August
09, Bunbury
• Managing road pavement assets 18-19
August 09, Bunbury
• Geotechnical and drainage design 8-9
September 09, Perth
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 10-11 November 09, Perth
• Cycling and pedestrian paths 12
November 09, Perth
• Speed limits & speed management 17
November 09, Perth
• Speed limits & speed management 19
November 09, Albany
• Unsealed local roads 9-10 December
09, Kalgoorlie
Briefing  19
Knowledge Transfer at ARRB (continued)
South Australia
• Speed limits and speed management
28 July 09, Adelaide
• Unsealed local roads 10-11 August 09,
Murray Bridge
• Unsealed local roads 13-14 August 09,
Port Augusta
• Managing road pavement assets 25-26
August 09, Adelaide
• Level 1 bridge inspection 1-2
September 09, Adelaide
• Geotechnical and drainage design 15-
16 September 09, Adelaide
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 27-28 October 09, Adelaide
Tasmania
• Geotechnical and drainage design 11-
12 August 09, Hobart
• Intersections, interchanges and
crossings 25-26 August 09, Hobart 12 October 09, Auckland
• Parking 15-16 September 09, Hobart • Speed limits and speed management
• Unsealed local roads 21-22 September 14 October 09, Wellington
09, Launceston • Speed limits and speed management
• Unsealed local roads 24-25 September 16 October 09, Christchurch
09, Hobart • Parking 19-20 October 09, Auckland
Australian Capital Territory • Parking 22-23 October 09,
Christchurch
• Geotechnical and drainage design 13-
• Intersections, interchanges and
14 October 09, Canberra
crossings 17-18 November 09,
Northern Territory Location TBA
• Geotechnical and drainage design 21- • Managing road pavement assets 24-25
22 July 09, Darwin November 09, Location TBA
• Unsealed local roads 25-26 August 09, Please check the ARRB website
Darwin South conferences and training section (www.
New Zealand arrb.com.au/workshops) for the latest
information and to register your interest
• Geotechnical and drainage design 2-3 in these courses.
September 09, Auckland
• Speed limits and speed management

New publication from ARRB

Safe System Infrastructure – session was held to determine the types
National Roundtable Report of infrastructure required to deliver Safe
System outcomes, and issues relating
B. Turner, M. Tziotis, P. Cairney &
to implementation. This report provides
C. Jurewicz
a summary from this event as well as
Research Report ARR 370 recommendations for the delivery of Safe
System infrastructure into the future.
The Safe System approach has
recently been adopted by all This report is available as a free
Australian jurisdictions as the downloadable PDF from www.arrb.com.
guiding principle for delivering au or contact:
road safety outcomes.
booksales@arrb.com.au
A national event was held to
+61 3 9881 1561
discuss the delivery of road
infrastructure under this
framework. Information is
presented on current progress
towards implementing Safe
System infrastructure from
around Australia. A workshop

Version May 2009

Victoria New South Wales Western Australia Subsidiary
500 Burwood Highway, 2-14 Mountain Street 191 Carr Place, Luxmoore Parking Consulting
Vermont South, VIC 3133, Ultimo NSW 2007 Leederville, WA 6007 Ground Floor
P: +61 3 9881 1555 P: +61 2 9282 4444 P: +61 8 9227 3000 12 Wellington Parade
F: +61 3 9887 8104 F: +61 2 9280 4430 F: +61 8 9227 3030 East Melbourne, VIC 3002
P: +61 3 9417 5277
Queensland South Australia International offices F: +61 3 9416 2602
123 Sandgate Road, Level 5, City Central Jakarta, Indonesia
Albion QLD 4010 Tower 2, 121 King William Street, Xiamen, Hong Kong
P: +61 7 3260 3500 Adelaide SA 5000 Beijing, China research | consulting | technology
F: +61 7 3862 4699 P: +61 8 7200 2659 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
F: +61 8 8423 4500 www.arrb.com.au

Briefing is printed on part recycled, Australian made paper using non

To receive future copies of Briefing contact info@arrb.com.au
Briefing 20 Editors: Peter Milne, John Best Email: peter.milne@arrb.com.au, john.best@arrb.com.au
volatile inks based on vegetable oils from renewable sources.
Briefing is mailed in a degradable plastic bag.
Knowledge Transfer at ARRB (continued)
Tasmania Alice Springs • Speed limits & speed management
14 October 09, Wellington
• Basic geometric design 28-30 April • Unsealed local roads 1-2 July 09,
09, Hobart Katherine • Speed limits & speed management
16 October 09, Christchurch
• Speed limits & speed management New Zealand
17 June 09, Hobart • Managing road pavement assets
• Unsealed local roads 16-17 July 09, 24-25 November 09, location TBA
• Unsealed local roads 12-13 October Whangarei
09, Launceston
• Unsealed local roads 20-21 July 09, Please check the ARRB website
• Unsealed local roads 15-16 October Hamilton conferences and training section (www.
09, Hobart arrb.com.au/workshops) for latest
• Unsealed local roads 23-24 July 09,
Australian Capital Territory Palmerston North information and registration of interest to
attend these courses.
• Planning & design of parking facilities • Unsealed local roads 27-28 July 09,
June 09, Canberra Christchurch
• Unsealed local roads 22-23 October • Unsealed local roads 30-31 July 09,
09, Canberra Dunedin
Northern Territory • Speed limits & speed management
12 October 09, Auckland
• Unsealed local roads 29-30 June 09,

Other workshops in 2009

In addition to the workshops listed above
(which have already been scheduled),
ARRB is planning to also include the
following workshops in the 2009
program.
Geotechnical and drainage design: A
two-day workshop based on the Guide
to Road Design Part 5 – Drainage Design
and Part 7 – Geotechnical Investigation
and Design.
Intersections, interchanges and
crossings: A two-day workshop based
on the Guide to Traffic Management
Part 6 – Intersections, Interchanges and
Crossings, and Guide to Road Design Part
4 – Intersections and Crossings.
Network management and traffic
operations: A three-day workshop based
on the Guide to Traffic Management Part
9 – Traffic Operations.
Traffic management: activity centres
and impact of developments: A
two-day workshop based on the Guide
to Traffic Management Part 7 – Traffic
Management in Activity Centres and Part
12 – Traffic Impacts of Developments.
Road safety: community and rural
remote areas: A two-day workshop
based on the Guide to Road Safety Part
4 – Local Government and Community
Road Safety and Part 5 – Road Safety in the routine maintenance inspection of
Rural and Remote Areas. structures.
Roadside safety design: A two- Further information:
day workshop based on the Guide to
Road Safety Part 9 – Roadside Hazard www.arrb.com.au/workshops
Management and Guide to Road Design +61 3 9881 1680
training @arrb.com.au
Part 6 – Roadside Design (Safety and
Barriers).
Implementing a Safe System: The
aim of this two day workshop is to teach
participants what is involved in developing
successful policies to advance road safety.
Local skid resistance strategies: An
instructional workshop based on the
current Austroads Guide. This is a one day
workshop on developing effective local
strategies in managing road surface skid
resistance across a network.
Road maintenance by contract: A one
day workshop on road maintenance delivery
by contract.
Speed limits: A one day workshop on
the speed limit setting process detailed in
Part 4 – Speed Controls of the Queensland
Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Level 1 bridge inspection: A two-
day workshop for those involved with

Victoria New South Wales Western Australia Subsidiary

500 Burwood Highway, 2-14 Mountain Street 191 Carr Place, Luxmoore Parking Consulting
Vermont South, VIC 3133, Ultimo NSW 2007 Leederville, WA 6007 Ground Floor
P: +61 3 9881 1555 P: +61 2 9282 4444 P: +61 8 9227 3000 12 Wellington Parade
F: +61 3 9887 8104 F: +61 2 9280 4430 F: +61 8 9227 3030 East Melbourne, VIC 3002
P: +61 3 9417 5277
Queensland South Australia International offices F: +61 3 9416 2602
123 Sandgate Road, Level 5, City Central Jakarta, Indonesia
Albion QLD 4010 Tower 2, 121 King William Street, Xiamen, Hong Kong
P: +61 7 3260 3500 Adelaide SA 5000 Beijing, China research | consulting | technology
F: +61 7 3862 4699 P: +61 8 7200 2659 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
F: +61 8 8423 4500 www.arrb.com.au

To receive future copies of Briefing contact info@arrb.com.au Briefing is printed on part recycled, Australian made paper using non
Editors: Peter Milne, John Best Email: peter.milne@arrb.com.au, john.best@arrb.com.au volatile inks based on vegetable oils from renewable sources.
Briefing is mailed in a degradable plastic bag.
Briefing 16
ARRB: supporting local government
This special edition of Briefing coincides
with the national IPWEA Conference in
Melbourne.
Traditionally, the Conference is an
opportunity for local government
practitioners to meet to share their
experiences. Consistent with this aim of
information interchange, this edition of
Briefing outlines our research, tools and
services that can assist local governments
with managing their assets, making
communities safer and investing in the
professional capabilities of their staff.
Over the last 50 years, ARRB Group
has evolved significantly from its
origins as the Australian Road Research
Board. The organisation’s members
remain as the state and territory road
authorities of Australia, the Department
of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional
Development and Local Government,
New Zealand Transport Agency and the
Australian Local Government Association.
ARRB’s objective is to ‘collaborate with
the roads industry to turn knowledge into
practice’. Hence, whether you manage or
use a road network, ARRB provides data,
knowledge and tools to assist you.
ARRB provides research, advice and
services on:
Safe Systems – road safety engineering,
community road safety and crash
investigation.
The launch of the Austroads Guides
www.arrb.com.au
Sustainable Infrastructure
Management – to assist road authorities
with managing their road and bridge
assets.
Sustainable Infrastructure Sciences –
pavements, bituminous surfacings and
concrete.
Geoff Lake (right) President of the
Australian Local Government Association
during his recent visit, with Gerard
Waldron, Managing Director ARRB Group
Congestion, Freight and Productivity –
transport operations, transport economics
and heavy vehicle design and accessibility.
After reading this edition of Briefing, we
believe you will be better placed to access
the value that ARRB can provide to you.
Keeping up-to-date?
ARRB has several ways for you to keep
up-to-date about the latest research
outcomes, new tools and services.
We would be pleased to add you to
the mailing list for any of these free
publications (info@arrb.com.au).
Local Roads News
Mining and Resources newsletter
Road Safety Risk Reporter
Road Safety Audit Toolkit Bulletin
Traffic Modelling Techniques newsletter.
In addition, ARRB has released the
updated and expanded Unsealed Roads
Manual. This publication integrates
research, national guidelines and advice
from practitioners into one easy reference
document. The manual covers the
care, maintenance and management
of unsealed roads, including geometric
design, road safety, construction practices,
asset management, maintenance
specifications and environmental issues.
The cost of the new Manual is $275 plus
$16.50 delivery in Australia, including
GST. Copies of the Manual can be
ordered from booksales@arrb.com.au
Knowledge transfer workshops
With the launch of the new Austroads
Guides on 1 July, councils will now need
to ensure that their staff are appropriately
trained in their application. ARRB’s new
workshops will assist professional staff
with understanding the purpose and
structure of the substantially revamped
Guides, and draw attention to the most
significant issues. This will help council
staff with their adoption, with lower risk
of errors being made.
Our program of workshops is shown on
page 16.
(continued next page)
Issue 123 September 2009

Contents
Issue 123 September 2009
ARRB: supporting local government 1
New impetus for local road safety
programs 3
What to do about crashes on local roads 4
ARRB’s safety check for Queensland’s
local roads 5
Safety review in Moreton Bay region 5
ARRB training courses on Level 1 bridge
inspection 6
Structural investigation of local
government bridges 6
Predicting deterioration of local roads 7
Reducing, re-using, recycling 8
How safe are your roads? 9
NetRisk on Mornington Peninsula 9
ARRB releases Roughometer lll 10
Helping local government turn data
into information 10
How visible are your pavement
markings and signs? 11
Austroads ARRB Technical Research
Program 12
ARRB assists Surf Coast Council at
citizens’ jury 13
Grants for local government projects 13
Free publications 14
Conferences 14
New staff 14
ARRB Conferences 2010 15
Knowledge transfer program - 2009 15
Published by ARRB Group Ltd
ISSN 1328-7206
2  Briefing
(ARRB and local government continued)
Resources to help you
ARRB provides many tools and services to
assist you.
MG Lay Library: The library is Australia’s
National Transport Library, and is a
free public reference library in ARRB’s
Melbourne head office. The library can
organise interlibrary loans and it operates
a fee based copying service. For more
information, follow the Library link from
www.arrb.com.au.
Road Research Register: The road
research register is a list of recent and
current road research for Australia
and New Zealand. It provides basic
information about the research project,
and how to find out more information.
The Register provides a means for
practitioners and researchers to contact
each other to exchange information,
and for organisations considering new
research, to understand what has
already been done. See http://www.
roadresearch.com.au/
Austroads Road Safety Audit Toolkit:
The Road Safety Audit (RSA) Toolkit is an
online tool that assists practitioners to
carry out road safety audits. It steps you
through the Austroads Road Safety Audit
process (i.e. Feasibility stage, Preliminary
design stage, Detail design stage, Pre-
opening stage, Roadwork traffic scheme
and Existing roads), provides Australasian
and jurisdiction specific references, and
allows auditors to generate road safety
reports. See http://www.rsatoolkit.com.
au/
Austroads Road Safety Engineering
Toolkit: The Road Safety Engineering
Toolkit is a reference tool for road
engineering practitioners in state and
local governments. It outlines best-
practice, low cost, high return road
environment measures to achieve a
reduction in road trauma. The Toolkit
seeks to reduce the severity and
frequency of crashes involving road
environment factors. Provision of safer
roads and roadsides is a major area of
gain under the National Road Safety
Strategy 2003 – 2010 and is a strategic
priority area for Austroads research. The
Toolkit draws together existing road
safety engineering knowledge into one
Toolkit for easy access by practitioners.
The presented knowledge has been
updated with recent experience from
local and state government agencies, and
with the results of comprehensive road
safety research reviews. See http://www.
engtoolkit.com.au/
ARRB Research Reports: Many
ARRB Research Reports (ARRs) can be
downloaded for free from our Internet
site (www.arrb.com.au) as pdf files, or
a hard copy can be ordered and delivered
for a small fee. ARRs are produced by
ARRB for internally funded research, and
when clients permit the outcomes of their
projects to be published by ARRB as part
of their project. (See page 14 for further
information).
ARRB’s local government team can be
contacted as follows:
NSW/ACT – David McTiernan
+61 2 9282 4444
david.mctiernan@arrb.com.au
QLD/NT – Ian Steele
+61 7 3260 3500
ian.steele@arrb.com.au
VIC, TAS, NZ – Norbert Michel
+61 3 9881 1555
norbert.michel@arrb.com.au
WA – Richard Jois
+61 8 9227 3000
richard.jois@arrb.com.au
SA – Paul Morris
+61 8 7200 2659
paul.morris@arrb.com.au
 A new impetus for local road safety programs
Part 4 of the new Austroads Guide to
Road Safety shows how local government
and community groups can work
proactively to improve the safety of road
users.
The Guide explores the basis of road
safety programs throughout Australia and
New Zealand, including:
• how they are structured
• what types of activity they involve
• how they contribute to road safety
outcomes
• what the road safety responsibilities of
local government are.
The core underlying philosophy of the
Guide is the Safe System principle. In
essence, Safe System recognises that all
road users make mistakes, but requires
that no road user should be subjected to
an energy exchange in a crash so severe
that it results in death or permanent
injury.
This is to be achieved through a
combination of speed management,
forgiving roads and roadsides, occupant
protection within vehicles, and more
compliant road users.
The Guide identifies the advantages of
working closely with the community in
meeting road safety responsibilities. It
discusses the growing importance of
Photo: Vicki Jaeger
capacity building, social capital and social
networking in the delivery of government
services and their contribution to
establishing sustainable local road safety
programs.
The Guide explains the necessary steps for
putting a road safety strategy into place,
which can be summarised as:
• the benefits of a strategy
• the planning process
• resources for implementing a plan
• sources of funding
• mobilising resources
• implementation.
Examples are given of the types of activity
undertaken as part of local government
road safety programs. Outline road safety
plans for three very different communities
are presented as case studies. Examples
of road safety activities included in road Links to useful information sources
safety plans from throughout Australia including local government and road
and New Zealand are also presented. safety websites are provided as an
appendix.
Measuring the effectiveness of the
road safety programs at a local level is Part 4 was developed with the assistance
particularly challenging due to the small of a Steering Group drawn from across
crash numbers available for analysis. Australia and New Zealand. It consisted of
Appropriate evaluation methods are local government road safety practitioners
discussed, including process evaluation, and road authority personnel who
appropriate interpretation of changes oversee local government and community
(or the lack of them) in crash numbers, programs.
and the value of measuring behavioural
The process of developing the Guide
change.
also benefited from ARRB’s experience
The Guide acknowledges that effective in helping local governments to develop
communication is essential for the programs, and in evaluating programs in
successful running of a local road different jurisdictions.
safety program, and provides advice
Dr Peter Cairney
on communication and reporting to
+61 3 9881 1621
council, other stakeholders and the wider
peter.cairney@arrb.com.au
community.
Briefing  3

What to do
about crashes
on local roads
Local government roads form a significant
part of the public road network, but little
is known about road safety on these
types of roads. ARRB has just completed a
study (funded by Austroads) to investigate
the incidence of crashes on local roads, as
well as causal factors and likely solutions
for improving safety.
The study involved a review of literature,
crash data analysis, site investigations,
in-depth crash analysis (including work
conducted by the Centre for Automotive
Safety Research in Adelaide) and a
stakeholder workshop to address this
issue.
4  Briefing
incidence of crashes, many of which
related to lower road design standards
including:
• presence of roadside hazards
• poor delineation
• poor road alignment and junction
geometry
• unsealed shoulders.
Various barriers to improving safety
were identified during a stakeholder
workshop. These included issues such
as lack of funding, the often dispersed
nature of crashes, lack of staff skilled in
road safety, and lack of access to safety
related data (e.g. on crash locations). The
workshop also produced a number of
recommendations for improving safety on
local government roads including:
• development of road safety strategies
where these do not already exist
• improved partnerships within local
government, between councils, and
between councils and other agencies
(particularly state government)
• better guidance and dissemination
of information targeted at local
government practitioners, including
It was identified that around half of all systematic training on the Safe System
casualty crashes in Australia, and two- approach and provision of crash data
thirds of those in New Zealand occur on in a usable format.
local government roads. Given a lack of
A full report on this topic is being
accurate information for traffic volumes
finalised, and will be released shortly by
on local roads, it is not possible to
Austroads.
calculate accurate crash rates (in terms of
crashes per 100 million vehicle kilometres
Blair Turner
travelled), but it is likely that the risk is
+61 3 9881 1661
higher (between 1.5 to 2 times), and in
blair.turner@arrb.com.au
some road environments may be much
higher.
A number of key crash types and
causation factors were identified from a
crash analysis, including that:
• Three-quarters of crashes occurred
on urban roads, although half of fatal
crashes occurred on high speed rural
roads.
• The most common fatal crash types
involved motorists losing control of
their vehicles either on a curve or
straight, or striking a pedestrian.
• Speed and alcohol were common
causal factors, and over-represented
when compared to crashes on state
roads.
• Young drivers were over-represented.
Site investigations revealed a number of
factors that may contribute to the higher
ARRB’s safety check for Queensland’s local roads
State and local governments across
Queensland have joined forces to improve
safety by launching a state-wide safety
check for roads.
The Roads Alliance has recently endorsed
an arrangement for NetRisk assessments
to be conducted and asset data collected,
across a network of regionally significant
roads, defined as the Local Roads of
Regional Significance (LRRS).
The Roads Alliance is a partnership
between the Department of Transport
and Main Roads (DTMR) and the Local
Government Association of Queensland
(LGAQ), where both spheres of
government work together to manage
the LRRS network, currently in excess of
32 000km.
ARRB, in collaboration with the Roads
Alliance, has developed the road network
safety auditing software known as the
Road Network Safety Assessment (RNSA)
tool - freely available to DTMR and
Queensland local government employees.
Safety review in Moreton Bay region
Since the inception of RNSA, ARRB has
incorporated the tool into the proactive
road safety assessment package ‘NetRisk’.
The state-wide arrangement for NetRisk
will benefit local governments, enabling
them to invest in their communities’
safety and target treatment of high risk
locations across the state. It will also allow
regional councils to continue to gain
best value for money in these times of
increasing economic pressure.
To date, DTMR has utilised ARRB’s expert
safety capability to undertake a NetRisk
assessment on all state-controlled roads
including the state-owned LRRS. This
arrangement has now been extended to
include higher order local government
roads, to ensure consistency across the
entire LRRS network.
This commission will see ARRB, with
data collection assistance from RoadTek,
undertake a road safety NetRisk
assessment for in excess of 16 000km of
the LRRS network.
The Queensland Department of
Transport and Main Roads and the
Moreton Bay Coast & Country (MBC
& C) Regional Roads Group engaged
ARRB to undertake a network level
road safety assessment of the local
roads of regional significance (LRRS)
within the local government regional
areas of Moreton Bay and Somerset.
The approach used was based on
the NetRisk Road Network Safety
Assessment method (described
above) and also examined historic
crash data to identify high risk
sections for treatment prioritisation.
The two were combined using
geospatial analysis techniques.
The NetRisk assessment identified
several roads and many intersections
as being high risk. These results
were combined with an analysis of
crash data from 2001 to 2006 which
together enabled identification of a
number of locations possessing high
risk in both classes.
The crash analysis indicated
behaviour as the strongest overall
contributor to the cause of crashes
The arrangement utilises the combined
data collection resources of RoadTek and
ARRB Group to:
• collect the road network digital road
video
• collect various asset condition
information for council.
The arrangement also utilises ARRB to:
• undertake the road safety NetRisk
assessment.
ARRB provides expert capability to deliver
this much needed analysis and will build
on the success of the state controlled
roads assessment and also the recent
Moreton Bay Regional Road safety
partnership where ARRB also provided key
road safety expertise (see article below).
Ian Steele
+61 7 3260 3500
ian.steele@arrb.com.au
regardless of risk class. However, it was
also noted that generally the roadside
environment significantly contributed to
the severity outcomes of many crashes.
Recent research indicates that only a
third of all fatal crashes occur within
identified blackspot zones and that
more than half are on sections where no
previous crashes had occurred. As such
the combined results of medium to high
NetRisk locations and proven crash zones
can be considered for appropriate priority
treatment.
The project results have been key in
formulating a strategic road safety plan
for the MBC & C and identifying high risk
zones.
The approach used in Moreton Bay can
be easily applied to other locations as a
strategic road network identification and
priority tool for road safety improvement
options.
Patrick Hjelte
+61 7 3260 3500
patrick.hjelte@arrb.com.au
Briefing  5
ARRB training
courses on
Level 1 bridge
inspection
Don’t know the condition of your bridges?
ARRB can provide courses aimed at
assisting local governments in improving
management of their bridge assets.
Bridges require regular maintenance in
order to remain safe and functional. Bridge
management systems (BMS) broadly
comprise components such as bridge
inventory information, bridge inspection at
different levels, bridge maintenance and
rehabilitation and related financial issues.
A critical component of BMS is the bridge
inspection which is conducted at different
levels. These include:
Level 1 – routine maintenance inspection
Level 2 – condition inspection and rating of
bridge components and the whole bridge
Level 3 – detailed engineering inspection
and structural assessment.
These inspections are carried out in the
above hierarchical order such that Level
1 triggers the need for Level 2 and Level
2 for Level 3. For this reason it is essential
that bridge asset owners such as local
government agencies have in-house
skills to conduct the Level 1 inspection,
which can be carried out by experienced
road maintenance crew after appropriate
training.
To address the needs of local government
in the management of their assets, The Level 1 training courses are
ARRB produced the Local Roads Bridge conducted by Dr Ahmad Shayan and
Management Manual in 2000, and Dr Reza Salamy who have extensive
since then has been conducting training experience in the areas of inspection and
courses on Level 1 routine maintenance assessment of bridges at all the three
inspection. levels of bridge inspection mentioned
above.
The courses run over two days; the
first day being in the classroom, where Please contact ARRB if you are interested
participants learn how to conduct the in training for Level 2 condition inspection
Level 1 bridge inspection and how to and rating of bridges.
complete the Level 1 report form. The
Dr Ahmad Shayan
second day is conducted in the field,
+61 3 9881 1658
where participants gain experience in
ahmad.shayan@arrb.com.au
inspecting timber, concrete and steel
bridges, and identifying maintenance
issues related to these structures.
ARRB has previously conducted the Level
1 training courses in many locations
throughout Australia. Currently five
training courses have been scheduled for
Newcastle, Benalla, Melbourne, Adelaide
and Perth in 2009.
Enrolment for the first three courses has
now closed but further courses could
be developed should ARRB receive
expressions of interest from other regions.

Structural investigation of local government bridges

ARRB was commissioned to conduct
a detailed structural investigation of a
council’s bridges in 2008. The aim was
to determine the structural integrity and
load carrying capacity of the bridges,
as well as the most cost-effective
maintenance/upgrade strategy for the
bridges to meet the current standards.
This required condition assessment of
each bridge by identifying defects in all
their structural elements and determining
the extent of these defects, structural
analysis for standard loading conditions,
and options for repair/replacement of
defective elements to allow the standard
loads to be carried.
The investigation included a detailed
visual inspection as well as a Level 3
structural assessment of the bridges, risk
analysis and estimation of the restoration
cost of the bridges in comparison to their
replacement costs.
The bridges were structurally analysed
in order to determine their load capacity
with respect to the Australian Standard.

(continued next page)

6  Briefing
The assessment showed that none
of the bridges could carry standard
load and they should be upgraded by
strengthening, adding or replacing weak
members or replaced entirely. In general,
lack of load carrying capacity arose
because these bridges had elements with
inadequate dimensions. For analysis,
SpaceGass software was employed.
For each bridge, a cost estimate was
made for all the repair actions needed
to restore the elements to their original
condition and for maintenance and
upgrade options to increase their load
Predicting
deterioration of
local roads
The aim of this study was to produce
credible evidence based road
deterioration models for sealed and
unsealed local roads in Australia. These
models can be incorporated into the asset
management systems used by councils
to reliably predict future road conditions
as part of the process used by councils to
manage their road assets.
The study commenced in late 2001 and is
scheduled to be completed by 2010 at a
total cost of around $5 million. This type
of study is unprecedented for local roads
in Australia and elsewhere.
Funding for this study was provided by
the contributions of 235 participating
councils that made available over 600
local road sites for the study, 100 of
which were unsealed. These sites were
located in all states and territories across
carrying capacity or bring them to the
Australian Standard AS 5100. These
costs were then compared with the
replacement cost of the bridge.
Finally a risk analysis, based on probability
and consequence of failure, was
conducted on all the bridges, using
the Level 2 condition rating, as well as
parameters such as road class, traffic
volume and human and environmental
factors. The risk analysis provided risk
scores and risk rankings, which were used
to prioritise the bridges for rehabilitation.
Australia so that state/territory based
local road deterioration models could
be developed upon completion of the
deterioration monitoring.
At the conclusion of the study,
deterioration data from each state/
territory will be pooled to develop highly
robust deterioration models because of
the wide range of the data collected. All
the participating councils will receive the
deterioration models resulting from the
study.
The importance of this investigation is
that some defects were found that were
a result of inadequate structural design,
particularly for support and bearing.
These defects are common in bridges of a
similar age and design.
The methodology applied in this project
can be applied to other bridge stocks
to produce robust results for local
government and road authorities.
Dr Reza Salamy
+61 3 9881 1637
reza.salamy@arrb.com.au
ARRB has monitored the deterioration of
the road sites over a period of five years
for the sealed roads and one year for the
unsealed roads. Estimates of traffic on
each of these sites was sought from the
councils, while the other contributing
variables were estimated by ARRB.
The study has resulted in a unique
database containing approximately
2100 records of distress (1500 for
sealed and 600 for unsealed) on local
road deterioration. For sealed roads the
models predict strength deterioration,
rutting and roughness deterioration and
cracking progression. For unsealed roads
the models predict gravel loss, roughness
deterioration and loss of cross-section
shape.
ARRB can assist both participating and
non-participating councils to incorporate
these models into their road asset
management systems to gain the full
benefits from this study in 2010.
Norbert Michel
+61 3 9881 1689
norbert.michel@arrb.com.au
Dr Tim Martin
+61 3 9881 1564
tim.martin@arrb.com.au
Briefing  7
Reducing, re-using, recycling
Local governments should be considering
how recycled materials can be used within
their road projects, or at least ensure their
design briefs and construction project
specifications do not exclude re-use
and recycling. Working with local or
regional industries that produce recyclable
materials, local governments can
contribute to developing new markets
that will support local businesses, as well
as reducing stockpiled materials that may
be of concern to local communities.
The recycling of construction and
demolition waste began commercially in
Australia in the late 1980s and significant
advances have been made in plant
facilities, product quality, uniformity of
product range and customer acceptance.
Austroads Part 4E of the Guide to
Pavement Technology includes a waste
hierarchy as a core principle for the
management of waste streams.
The following are examples of each level:
• Waste reduction: the economic
use of materials during construction,
pavement design, maximising
pavement life and minimising
pavement maintenance.
• Reuse: reusing an existing pavement
by overlaying or resurfacing it.
• Recycling: the highest quality,
and most expensive, materials are
generally located in the upper layers
of pavements. Recycling these layers
8  Briefing
makes best use of a pavement
material’s properties and results in the
greatest savings.
• Landfill: dumping of pavement
materials into landfill is the least
preferred.
Sources of recycled materials include:
• construction and demolition (C&D)
wastes, predominantly concrete with
proportions of secondary inert material
such as brick and masonry
• reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP)
• industrial slag, predominantly iron and
steel slag
• ash and fly ash from coal-burning
power generating plants
• rubber tyres, either as crumbed rubber
additives to new asphalt or as retaining
structures.
A comparison of the characteristics
of the properties of recycled materials
with a large range of quarry materials
available throughout South Australia
has illustrated that the characteristics of
recycled materials are on a par with, or
exceed, those attributes associated with
traditional materials.
Recycled materials can exhibit properties
that do not conform to traditional
specifications for quarried crushed
rock or natural gravels. However, New
Zealand and most Australian states have
developed material specifications for
recycled materials - predominantly waste
sourced from concrete and masonry.
Recycled construction and demolition
materials that originate from building sites
or roadworks may be contaminated. The
identification of contaminants and their
potential release into the environment is
one of the most difficult assessments as
to whether materials are ‘fit for purpose’.
Current specifications typically place
upper limits on supplementary materials
and deleterious materials.
From an environmental point of view,
recycled materials are not permitted in a
number of domestic circumstances and
the contaminants associated with asphalt
waste are prohibitive for clean landfill
requirements.
Also of concern to road authorities is the
variability of the incoming source material
for processing and the consequential
perceived inability to supply a consistently
complying product. However it has
been proven that with proper stockpile
management and processing, a
uniform product can be consistently
manufactured.
The National Construction and Demolition
Division of the Waste Management
Association of Australia has embarked on
a strategy which will demonstrate that
recycled materials are fit for purpose in
road pavements and engineered fills. This
will include guidelines, accreditation and
references for practioners.
(continued next page)
 Glass stockpile for reuse in asphalt

ARRB has been engaged in several

product and industry development
projects for recycled materials, including
the development of bituminous stabilised
pavement material products from
recycled pavements, the development
of engineering fills from crusher fines
and mixed waste processing, marketing
strategies, a strategy for the use of
recycled materials in road and footpath
construction, and the development of materials testing and specifications for Bob Andrews
national construction and demolition projects, as well as working with local +61 8 7200 2659
waste strategies. government and industry bodies to assess bob.andrews@arrb.com.au
products for their suitability for reuse and
ARRB can assist local government with
recycling.

How safe are your roads?

Does your road have tight radius curves,
inappropriate superelevation, crossfall
variation, compound cornering or low
friction surfacing? Any one of these can
increase the likelihood of heavy vehicle
rollover and put the asset owner at risk.
ARRB has developed a model which can
be used to assess risk of rollover at critical
locations on a road network. It is based
on specifications of typical vehicles using
the road and measured surface condition,
crossfall, elevation, curvature and position
of the road.
Gundagai Shire Council engaged ARRB
to evaluate rollover risk on a selected part
of the network. Outcomes for Council
included identification of high risk areas,
identification of safe speeds for tight
bends, improved personnel safety (by
reducing the need for on-site inspections),
and in the longer term, a reduction in
truck rollovers.
Anthony Germanchev
+61 3 9881 1620
anthony.germanchev@arrb.com.au

NetRisk on
Mornington
Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula Shire has
successfully implemented a formal risk
assessment program as part of its road
Map courtesy Mornington Peninsula Shire

safety strategy. MPS Road Safety strategy

– Peninsula DriveSafe, incorporating
NetRisk, has become an integral part
of the road safety engineering and
maintenance procedures at the Shire.
The Shire engaged ARRB to train its
engineering staff in the theory and
application of the NetRisk road safety
assessment method. The approach
focuses on high risk engineering features
of the road network, drawing on focus its resources on providing safety according to the potential for road safety
established Austroads research into crash treatments along roads where crashes improvements.
risk. are more likely to occur. The Shire has Philip Roper
also used the output of the NetRisk +61 3 9881 1599
This process has enabled the Shire to process to prioritise maintenance work philip.roper@arrb.com.au

Briefing  9
ARRB releases Roughometer III
The latest version of the popular
Roughometer series, the Roughometer III,
has now been released by ARRB.
Suitable for both sealed and unsealed
roads, the Roughometer III collects
repeatable roughness data that can
be used to assess the performance of
any road network. Popular with local
governments and other authorities
responsible for the management of local
road networks, the Roughometer has
proven itself as a key piece of equipment
for assessing road roughness and ride
quality, having sold over 250 units
worldwide
Since its inception in 2002, the
Roughometer has been regularly
updated to ensure it continues to offer
the most reliable and user-friendly
method for obtaining measurements
at both the project and network levels.
Whilst maintaining a level of simplicity
and ease of use, the Roughometer
III now incorporates many user
recommendations, including the following
new features:
• fully integrated and time stamped GPS
data collection, replacing the need to
synchronise the Roughometer with the
external GPS used in previous versions
• USB connection for super fast
download of data
• higher on-board capacity with up to
13,000 km of survey data storage
• improved software with automatic
upload, faster processing and
customisable maps.
The Roughometer III now comes as a
complete user package with the fully
integrated GPS unit, a high accuracy
Distance Measurement Instrument (DMI)
and the data acquisition, processing and
reporting software.
Alana Cox
+61 3 9881 1560
alana.cox@arrb.com.au

Helping local government turn data into information

To an over-worked asset engineer, across its 4,500 square kilometer area. Vehicle (for roads) and the All-Terrain
there is a critical difference between By surveying multiple asset classes at the Survey Vehicle (for pathways). By using
‘useful information’ and ‘needless data’. same time, an economy of scale was able these integrated collection technologies,
Campaspe Shire recently undertook to be achieved as well as giving the Shire multiple data sets were collected in a
a data collection exercise with ARRB a comprehensive baseline data set. single pass.
that aimed to improve the information
The data was collected using a The raw data sets of roughness, rutting,
outcome.
combination of an ARRB Network Survey cracking, texture, pavement defects,
By using the same fundamental approach (continued next page)
across roads, pathways and kerb and
channel assets, ARRB and Campaspe
Shire engineers were able to formulate a
program that applied simple and robust
engineering principles to evaluate the
state of these assets.
With input from the council’s senior
engineers; through to the works level
staff, a systematic approach was taken
that complemented their current systems
and allowed for incorporation of the
results of future surveys.
Campaspe Shire is a mid-sized Victorian
council, centred around Echuca. It has over
1200 km of sealed road, 250 km of kerb
and channels and 220 km of pathways

10  Briefing
roadside hazards, lane widths and road
geometry were turned into a variety
of information about the network.
These included pavement modelling,
re-seal modelling, footpath modelling
and NetRisk safety modelling. Once
weighted, these were converted into
single condition scores that allowed for
easy comparison of assets across the
network using visual representations such
as mapping data on the Shire’s existing
GIS layers.
The utilisation of Campaspe’s road
deterioration models, created from
their involvement in the Local Roads
How visible are your pavement markings and signs?
Road assets are typically viewed purely
in terms of the road pavement and
major assets such as bridges. Extensive
work goes into the performance of the
pavement and into the basic inventory of
the roadside assets, their locations and
state of repair.
However, only minimal work goes into
examining the performance and quality
of some of the more critical ancillary road
assets. These include pavement markings
and traffic control and guidance signage,
which are a vital part of ensuring road
safety and efficient traffic management.
Whilst careful analysis is generally
performed on the design, procurement
and placement of these devices to meet
strict criteria during the installation phase,
often no follow-up quality assurance
measurements are undertaken to ensure
ongoing performance of these devices.
There are a number of worldwide
standards and substantial documentation
on testing procedures and quantifiable
measurements that can be taken to
ensure that line markings and signage
remain compliant to standards. Easy-
to-perform testing can be conducted
by field staff to ensure that the assets
are functioning as they were originally
designed.
A repeatable and internationally
recognised measurement can be
taken which will provide a numerical
representation of the device’s
visibility. This is known as a reflectivity
measurement and has units in terms of
retroreflected luminance. These results
Deterioration Models Project (carried out
in conjunction with ARRB), will ensure
local road conditions will be correctly
modelled into the future.
Campaspe Shire’s approach to this
data collection exercise has generated
quality information about their roads
and roadside assets. By having this
information, asset managers will have
the best platform for making informed
decisions about their network.
Simon Barlow
+61 3 9881 1635
simon.barlow@arrb.com.au
All-Terrain Survey Vehicle
can then be compared to established
requirements for that particular asset type
and if needed, corrective measures taken.
To be able to provide this vital testing
capability, ARRB has sourced and added
to its equipment range a number of the
world leading reflectivity meters from
the Delta (Denmark) product portfolio.
Combining both the Hawkeye Digital
Imaging System and the Delta portable
measurement products, ARRB can offer
a complete signage and pavement
marking management package. With
the Delta products, high accuracy,
reliable measurements can be conducted
compliant to AS-1742 (Standards
Australia) and international performance
specifications (ASTM, CIE).
The Delta product range is portable and
easy to use offering both pavement
and signage reflectivity measurements.
The Delta LXT range provides industry
leading pavement marking measurement
and the hand held 4500 Retro Sign
Retroreflectometers measure the
reflectivity of road signage. All devices
provide immediate results in universal
format. Both are easily transported
and should form an integral part of
the network manager’s asset quality
assurance tool kit.
Simon Barlow
+61 3 9881 1635
simon.barlow@arrb.com.au
Delta’s LTL-X Retroreflectometer
Briefing  11
Austroads ARRB Technical Research Program
The sixth year of the Austroads – ARRB
technical research program commenced
on 1 July. The 2009/10 program involves
44 research projects focused in four key
areas as follows:
Number of
Key area
projects
Bituminous
8 heavier trucks on your roads?
surfacings
Pavement
9 program continues to focus on improving
technology
Asset
15
management
Road safety
12
engineering
The projects vary in size from $50,000
to $500,000 with an average budget of
$115,000.
In addition to delivery of high quality
research outputs, the purpose of the
program is to develop and sustain a
national capability for technical research
and knowledge in each of the key areas
so this can be available to meet the future
requirements of the Australasian road
industry.
This research is critical as ARRB’s Members
are responsible for a road asset valued
at over $200 billion with recurrent
expenditure of over $6 billion on
maintenance.
Are you concerned about bitumen
quality?
The bituminous surfacings research
aims to improve the ability of road
agencies to manage their surfacings
assets in response to the emerging freight
12  Briefing
task and community expectations. The
program includes work on optimising
the performance of bituminous binders,
sprayed seals and asphalt surfacings
including use of polymer modified
binders. A specific focus will be on the
performance of warm mix asphalt and
asphalt mix design in general.
Are you concerned about larger and
The pavement technology research
understanding of the response of flexible
pavements to changing vehicle loads and
new-generation heavy vehicles. Emphasis
is being placed on unbound granular
pavement materials, which make up the
bulk of Australia’s road network and on
cemented materials, whose performance
is most sensitive to changes in load levels.
Issues such as the effects of multiple axle
group loads on pavements and use of
finite element methods for pavement
design are being covered.
The major focus of the road safety
engineering program is on ways to
improve the road environment in order to
reduce road safety risk as part of the Safe
Systems approach. A number of projects
covering areas of road safety and speed
(including rural speed and speed through
intersections) and roadside safety are
underway. Other projects include road
safety engineering measures to address
fatigue, improving safety of heavy vehicles
in urban areas and program development
The Council of Australian Governments and trials of a national risk assessment
(COAG) requires improved road freight model.
productivity. What does this mean for
road assets and road safety? Electronic copies of the technical reports
arising from this research program
Asset management research involves are available free of charge from the
development of decision tools to Austroads publications website.
assist road agencies. Key areas include
assessment of the effects of incremental Richard Yeo
increases in axle group loads on the road +61 3 9881 1503
network in terms of road condition and richard.yeo@arrb.com.au
road agency costs, predicting dynamic
wheel loading and its effects on the
network and long-term pavement
performance monitoring to develop
consistent performance models. The
program will also investigate improving
skid resistance measurement and
involvement with Australian trials
of a traffic speed deflectometer in
collaboration with road agencies.
ARRB assists Surf Coast Council at citizens’ jury
Surf Coast Council in Victoria recently
set up a citizens’ jury to help in making
decisions about roads and drainage
schemes in the Aireys Inlet – Precinct 2.
Citizens’ juries are used for decision
making when there are a number of
options to consider which incorporate the
views of the community into a process
normally dominated by experts and
special interest groups.
The citizen’s jury approach is effective in
townships like Aireys Inlet which has a
population of 750 and, with its location
on Victoria’s world-famous Great Ocean
Road, has a unique coastal character.
George Giummarra, Principal Consulting
Engineer, from ARRB has been called on
as an expert witness to discuss the merits out any additional information required. understand the technical aspects of road
of sealed and unsealed roads. proposals and arrive at more informed
The process concluded with the jury
recommendations to council that would
The jury consisted of 12 randomly chosen voting on recommendations and writing a
best benefit the community.
citizens that matched the profile of the report to record these and any individual
Aireys Inlet community. Selection criteria points of view. The report was presented ARRB is most willing to share its expertise
included age, gender and permanent/ to Council as a key decision making tool with councils and the broader community
non-permanent residency. There was only on progressing infrastructure upgrades and provide independent and technical
one jury member allowed per street and as part of the Aireys Inlet Roads and information on a wide range of road and
per family. Drainage Improvement Plan. transport proposals to assist in arriving at
an informed decision.
The jury was given detailed information Many of the issues and concerns on roads
about the issues and heard a wide range related to the cost-effectiveness of sealing George Giummarra
of views from experts. Jurors could ask a road and on-going maintenance costs. +61 3 9881 1563
questions of the presenters as well as seek The process helps jury members better george.giummarra@arrb.com.au

Grants for local government projects

Federal and state governments have a
variety of grant funding available for local
governments to assist in addressing a
range of issues in their local communities.
Projects delivered through these grants
can include safety, asset, pedestrian and/
or cyclist improvements.
ARRB has been assisting councils to
identify funding options and to complete
the grant application process. This has
reduced the amount of time and effort
• ARRB is working on a joint project with
that local governments have to commit to
this labour intensive process. For example:
• ARRB assisted the City of Swan in WA
with identifying sites that met the
criteria for Metropolitan Regional Road
Group grants. In the improvements
category, ARRB analysed crash
statistics, traffic data, the existing
road layout and produced schematic
drawings of an improved road layout.
For rehabilitation projects, ARRB
analysed test data and visually
inspected the pavement to design a
rehabilitation option. ARRB submitted
the application forms for this $1.3m
project to Main Roads WA for
consideration.
Curtin University under a Strategic
Waste Initiative Scheme (SWIS) grant
to develop a recycled concrete road
base performance specification for
local government.
The project aims to demonstrate
that recycled concrete can and is
performing at a high quality standard
as subbase and base course material in
secondary roads.
Accompanying this evidence will be
a draft performance specification
for recycled concrete for inclusion
in the IPWEA Local Government for
Subdivisional Development – Edition
2, 2009.
With the inclusion of this specification
it is anticipated that interest and
confidence of local government
in using recycled concrete as an
alternative to virgin materials in roads
will be achieved.
Richard Jois
+61 8 9227 3000
richard.jois@arrb.com.au

Briefing  13
Free publications
Below is a selection of ARRB reports
available as free downloadable full text
PDF files from the ARRB website www.
arrb.com.au
(Hard copies are available at $49.50 plus
$7.70 delivery by contacting booksales@
arrb.com.au or +61 3 9881 1561).
Asphalt recycling: results of a user
survey and the design of asphalt mixes
incorporating recycled asphalt
J. Oliver, Research Report ARR 347
The collection and discharge
of stormwater from the road
infrastructure
A. Alderson, Research Report ARR 368
Corrosion prevention of reinforced
concrete structures
G. Song, A. Shayan, Research Report ARR
332
Development of a performance based
specification for a major bicycle
facility
P. Cairney, K. King, Research Report ARR
358
The effect of climate on the cost of
Conferences
RoadSafe 09 Biennial Conference: Making a
Difference
Melbourne, Victoria, 8-9 October 2009
http://www.iceaustralia.com/roadsafe09/
AAPA 13th International Flexible Pavements
Conference 2009: Pavements For Today
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, 11-14 October
2009
http://www.halledit.com.au/pavements09
3rd National Urban Freight Conference 2009
Long Beach, California, USA, 21-23 October
2009
http://www.metrans.org/nuf/2009
New staff
Ricardo Espinoza
has recently joined
ARRB in its Queensland
office as a Senior
Engineer, Sustainable
Infrastructure. He is
an experienced civil
engineer with over 13
years working in both
government (Main
Roads WA) and private (SKM) sectors, with
expertise in road and traffic engineering
and asset management. This includes
14  Briefing
road maintenance in Australia
T.C. Martin, Research Report ARR 353
Engineering requirements for logging
truck operations on forest roads
G. Giummarra, C. Blanksby, Research
Report ARR 367
Estimates of unit road wear cost
B. Vuong, C. Mathias, Research Report
ARR 361
Estimation of lane width requirements
for heavy vehicles on straight paths
H. Prem, E. Ramsay, C. Fletcher, R.
George, B. Gleeson, Research Report ARR
342
An evaluation of the field and
laboratory properties of lateritic
gravels
Highways Asset Management 2009
London, United Kingdom, 21 October 2009
http://www.nce.co.uk/highways-asset-
management/81.event
2009 AASHTO Annual Meeting
Palm Desert, California, USA, 22-27 October
2009
http://www.transportation.org/meetings/181.
aspx
2nd World Roads Conference 2009:
Sustainable Urban Transport Development
Singapore, 26-28 October 2009
http://www.wrcsingapore.sg
substantial knowledge and experience
in project and contract management. He
is also a qualified and experienced road
safety auditor.
Key capabilities include pavement and
surfacing design, asset management,
traffic and road design and project and
contract management. He has a BA and a
DipCE and is Member of the Institution of
Engineers Australia.
K. Sharp, B. Vuong, R. Rollings, Research
Report ARR 343
Integrated planning and sustainable
development
R. Brindle, Research Report ARR 333
Pavement condition monitoring in
Australasia: the state of the art
G. D. Foley, Research Report ARR 331
Review of residential street design
and construction standards
G. Foley, Research Report ARR 337
Transport-generated air pollution and
its health impacts: a source document
for local government
R. Brindle, N. Houghton, G. Sheridan,
Research Report ARR 336
10th Annual NZIHT and NZTA Conference
2009: Customer Driven Highways
Rotorua, New Zealand
1-3 November 2009
http://www.nziht.co.nz/nzta09
Australasian College of Road Safety
National Conference 2009
Perth, Western Australia, 5-6 November 2009
http://www.acrs.org.au/activitiesevents/
1st International Intelligent Speed
Adaptation Conference 2009
Sydney, New South Wales,10 November 2009
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/2009_
conference.html
Peter Reynolds has
joined ARRB as Senior Web
Developer in the Systems
Division. He completed
a Bachelor of Software
Engineering in 2001. Since
then he has gained a variety
of commercial experience in
backend systems, product
development and web applications. Peter’s
areas of expertise are typically around
Microsoft technologies including the .NET
framework and SQL Server.
 ARRB Conferences 2010

Melbourne Melbourne
11 – 12 October 2010 13 - 15 October 2010

ARRB Group, in recognition of its breadth of experience across the roads and transport industry, is delighted to offer two
consecutive conferences in 2010: the 2nd International Sprayed Sealing Conference and the 24th ARRB Conference.
To celebrate ARRB Group’s 50th Year Anniversary, both conferences will be held in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2nd International Sprayed Sealing Conference theme is Sustaining sprayed sealing practice.
The 24th ARRB Conference theme is Building on 50 years of road and transport research.
Both conferences will be at the Sebel Hotel, Albert Park, Victoria.
for more information - www.arrb.com.au

Knowledge transfer program - 2009

Training is crucial
Gaining an understanding of best practice
through new guidelines and updates
developed by ARRB for Austroads should
be a priority. ARRB not only provides
training on the Austroads Guides but
also on many other areas of interest.
Having recently celebrated the launch of
nine revised Austroads Guides, ARRB is
giving high priority to introducing new
workshops based on these Guides, over
2009 and 2010.
Workshops currently scheduled for 2009
include the following:
Speed limits and speed management:
A one day workshop based on the
Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part 3
– Speed Limits and Speed Management
and Guide to Traffic Management Part
5 – Road Management. Speed limits are a
key tool in speed management and in the
safe and efficient operation of the road
network.
Unsealed local roads: A two day
workshop on the latest practices in the
management of unsealed roads, based
on the new edition of the ARRB Unsealed
Roads Manual. The workshop will be a
practical ‘hands-on’ presentation with
group participation, worked examples,
case studies, equipment demonstrations
and a field inspection of unsealed road
sites.
Geometric road design and
intersection design: A two day seminar
based on several of the new Austroads
Guides. It is not intended to provide
detailed training in the geometric design
of roads and intersections.
Conduct of Level 1 bridge inspections
and assessment on local roads: A two
day workshop for those involved with
the routine maintenance inspection of
structures. The workshop aims to assist
practitioners conduct a Level 1 inspection
and provide completed condition reports
on which to base routine maintenance
requirements. The training covers timber,
steel and concrete structures.
Managing road pavement assets:
This workshop is based on the extensive
research and consulting work undertaken
at ARRB, and on the various studies and
Guides issued by Austroads. The course
covers areas of basic road pavement asset
management including asset registers
and data collection, and also looks at
modeling, optimisation, decision support
systems and risk.
Local area traffic management: A two
day workshop based on the background
material supporting the new Austroads
Guide to Traffic Management Part 8. It
covers material relating to best practice
techniques, available resources, design
principles, device selection, special needs
of different road users, legal issues and
case study syndicate exercises.
Geotechnical and drainage design:
Based on the background material
supporting the Austroads Guide to Road
Design Part 5: Drainage Design and
(continued next page)

Briefing  15
Knowledge Transfer at ARRB (continued)
Part 7: Geotechnical Investigation and needs of road users, and a case study For further information:
Design. It covers material relating to best syndicate exercise to provide ‘hands-on’ www.arrb.com.au/workshops
practice techniques, available resources, experience. +61 3 9881 1680
design principles, device selection, special training@arrb.com.au

Calendar of scheduled workshops 2009

New South Wales Western Australia • Speed limits and speed management
• Managing road pavement assets 22-23 • Managing road pavement assets 14-15 May 2010, Auckland
September 09, Sydney October 09, Perth
• Speed limits and speed management
• Geotechnical and drainage design 20- • Geometric road design and May 2010, Wellington
21 October 09, Sydney intersection design 10-11 November
• Level 1 bridge inspection 27-27 09, Perth • Speed limits and speed management
October 09, Sydney • Speed limits and speed management May 2010, Christchurch
• Local area traffic management 5-6 17 November 09, Perth
New Austroads based workshop to
November 09, Sydney • Speed limits and speed management look out for 2009/2010
19 November 09, Bunbury
• Geometric road design and Community road safety – rural
intersection design 24-25 November • Geotechnical and drainage design 26- and remote areas: is based on the
09, Sydney 27 November 09, Perth Austroads Guide to Road Safety Part
• Unsealed local roads 9-10 December 4: Local Government and Community
Victoria
09, Kalgoorlie Road Safety, and Part 5: Road Safety for
• Level 1 bridge inspection 20-21 Rural and Remote Areas. The workshop
October 09, Melbourne South Australia
will give an overview of how local
• Unsealed local roads 9-10 November • Level 1 bridge inspection 23-24 government and community road safety
09, Traralgon September 09, Adelaide programs are structured in Australia
• Unsealed local roads 12-13 November • Geometric road design and and New Zealand, and the road safety
09, Ararat intersection design 27-28 October 09, responsibilities of local government. It
Adelaide discusses the advantages of working
• Unsealed local roads 16-17 November
closely with the community in meeting
09, Swan Hill Tasmania
these responsibilities, and extending
• Unsealed local roads 19-20 November • Unsealed local roads 21-22 September beyond the necessary minimum in road
09, Benalla 09, Launceston safety. It will also provide participants with
Queensland • Unsealed local roads 24-25 September a more comprehensive understanding of
09, Hobart the nature and causes of crashes in rural
• Unsealed local roads 5-6 October 09,
• Geotechnical and drainage design 6-7 and remote areas, and discuss measures
Cairns
October 09, Hobart and future directions that will result in
• Unsealed local roads 8-9 October 09, reduced road trauma.
Townsville • Geometric road design and
intersection design 8-9 December 09, Please check the ARRB website
• Unsealed local roads 12-13 October
Hobart conferences and training section (www.
09, Rockhampton
Australian Capital Territory arrb.com.au/workshops) for latest
• Unsealed local roads 15-16 October information and registration of interest to
09, Toowoomba • Geotechnical and drainage design 13-
attend these courses.
14 October 09, Canberra
• Geometric road design and
intersection design 5-6 November 09, New Zealand
Brisbane • Geotechnical and drainage design 1-2
December 09, Auckland

Victoria New South Wales Western Australia International offices

500 Burwood Highway, 2-14 Mountain Street 191 Carr Place, Jakarta, Indonesia
Vermont South, VIC 3133, Ultimo NSW 2007 Leederville, WA 6007 Xiamen, China
P: +61 3 9881 1555 P: +61 2 9282 4444 P: +61 8 9227 3000 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
F: +61 3 9887 8104 F: +61 2 9280 4430 F: +61 8 9227 3030

Queensland South Australia Luxmoore Parking Consulting

123 Sandgate Road, Level 5, City Central Ground Floor
Albion QLD 4010 Tower 2, 121 King William Street, 12 Wellington Parade
P: +61 7 3260 3500 Adelaide SA 5000 East Melbourne, VIC 3002 research | consulting | technology
F: +61 7 3862 4699 P: +61 8 7200 2659 P: +61 3 9417 5277
F: +61 8 8423 4500 F: +61 3 9416 2602 www.arrb.com.au

Briefing is printed on part recycled, Australian made paper using non

To receive future copies of Briefing contact info@arrb.com.au
Briefing 16 Editors: Peter Milne, John Best Email: peter.milne@arrb.com.au, john.best@arrb.com.au
volatile inks based on vegetable oils from renewable sources.
Briefing is mailed in a degradable plastic bag.

Contents
Issue 124 December 2009
ROMAN II: ARRB’s state-of-the-art asset
management software solution
for WALGA 1
International success stories 2
New international business manager 2
Visit by Ethiopian Road Authority 2
Review of surface dressing practice in
Ethiopia 3
ARRB Distributor Meeting in Malaysia 3
Roughometer success in Bangladesh 3
ARRB advises Samoa on road switch 4
Samoan earthquake and tsunami 5
Safety audit of Dubai roads 6
Key safety manuals translated into
Arabic 7
TREx is alive and well and living
at ARRB 7
Promoting safety in South East Asia 8
Measuring the structural response
of roads 8
Former ARRB staff elected Honorary
Members of REAAA 8
Investigation of deterioration in two NZ
bridges 9
A guide to the Guides 10
NetRisk in Queensland 12
ARRB Conferences 2010 13
ARRB’s research on research 13
ARRB to create rail Knowledge Bank 14
New staff 14
New publication from ARRB 14
Promoting Safe System to novice
drivers 15
Conferences 15
2010 Knowledge transfer program 15
Published by ARRB Group Ltd
ISSN 1328-7206
www.arrb.com.au
ROMAN II: ARRB’s state-of-the-art
asset management software solution
for WALGA
ARRB Group and the Western Australian Local
Government Association (WALGA) have recently
signed a contract that will see ARRB deliver a
replacement for the ROMAN asset management
software.
For the past twenty years ROMAN has been the
tool for state and local government to enter,
maintain, analyse and report on the current and
predicted condition of the Western Australian
road network.
To find a replacement package for ROMAN,
WALGA commenced an extensive tender and
assessment process, with ARRB Group chosen as
the preferred provider. Left to right seated: Gerard Waldron, Managing
Director ARRB, Ricky Burges, Chief Executive Officer
An integrated software solution comprising both WALGA. Standing: Peter Damen, General Manager,
Road Assessment and Maintenance Management Research and Consulting ARRB, Bill Mitchell,
(RAMM) from CJN Technologies in New Zealand President WALGA.
and dTIMS software from Deighton Associates
Ltd. in Canada, will form the state-of-the-art
• to provide value for money and system
asset management software to be known as
longevity through bulk purchasing
ROMAN II.
arrangements
In addition to software applications, ARRB offers • to provide a suite of system, training and
its expertise and support in pavement asset support services.
management, whilst WALGA will ensure regular
ARRB is now assembling a technical team tasked
marketing of the system is maintained and a
with fine-tuning the technical aspects of the
consolidated position is reached for all local
software system and ensuring a smooth rollout.
government authorities in managing their road
This will entail (among other things) setting up a
assets.
help desk and providing strong support for users.
ARRB has worked very closely with Main Roads
For more information on ROMAN II please
Western Australia, WALGA and the Institute of
contact:
Public Works Engineering Australia to determine
the user requirements for ROMAN II: Norbert Michel
+61 8 9227 3017
• to provide a detailed and accurate road asset
norbert.michel@arrb.com.au
register, incorporating financial values
• to serve as a data collection and record
keeping tool, with GIS functionality
• to act as a comprehensive works programming
and deterioration modelling tool
• to be compatible with State and
Commonwealth Government road asset
reporting systems
• to serve as a tool for providing road asset
reporting to the Grants Commission
• to be able to ‘phase in’ without loss of data
with minimal disruption to existing processes
Issue 124 December 2009
International success stories
ARRB’s international business has seen
much growth. Over the past two years,
we have provided services and equipment
in Europe, the Middle East, South East
Asia, South Asia, the Pacific, Africa,
Central Asia and many more.
The focus of our international projects has
been on institutional strengthening, in
areas such as:
• infrastructure management
• road safety
• capacity building/knowledge transfer
• departmental structuring and strategic
alignment.
Some recent projects have included:
• Worldwide – Preparation of a speed
manual for the Global Road Safety
Partnership (see page 7)
• Worldwide (OECD) – Benchmarking
performance of international vehicles
• Worldwide – the International Road
Safety Toolkit
• China – Workshop on road safety for
New international business manager
Christina Chin has
been appointed
to the role of
Business Manager
– International. Her
key tasks include
contributing to
the direction of
international business,
Visit by Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA)
In June ARRB hosted a delegation
from the ERA who were investigating
Australian and international best practice
in low volume rural roads. The delegation
was headed by Mr Zerfu Tessema, Deputy
Director General and also the General
Manager of the Ethiopian Road Fund Mr
Reshid Mohamed.
With a program facilitated by ARRB, the
group spent three days in Brisbane hosted
by TMR where they received presentations
on rural road network management and
maintenance including a field trip.
ARRB provided presentations on local
roads maintenance and management,
2  Briefing
road designers in Xinjiang
• Ethiopia – Review of surface dressing
practice (see page 3) and supply
of a Network Survey Vehicle to the
Ethiopian Roads Authority
• Europe – European Road Assessment
Program (EuroRAP), covering 18
different countries
• India – Supply of a Network Survey
Vehicle to Indian Road Survey &
Management Pty Ltd
• Indonesia – Eastern Indonesian
National Road Improvement Program
(EINRIP)
• Kazakhstan – Presentation of a road
safety seminar to CAREC countries
(Central Asian Regional Economic
Cooperation)
• Malaysia – Mino Roadshow on
managing road assets for community
outcomes
• Papua New Guinea – Key roads for
growth maintenance project
• Samoa – Road switch in Samoa (see
page 4)
managing key contracts and coordinating
expressions of interest and proposals.
Christina joined ARRB in February 2006
as a Research Engineer working in
the Bituminous Surfacings team and
was Conference Secretary for the 1st
International Sprayed Sealing Conference.
More recently she has worked on
sealed road maintenance and pavement
stabilisation of rural roads.
In Canberra meetings were held with
infrastructure unit personnel at AusAid
and also with a number of senior
personnel at BITRE.
The group was also accompanied by Mr
Colin Gourley from the UK Department
for International Development attached
to the ERA and Mr Rob Geddes of AFCAP
(African Community Access Programme)
which was sponsoring the study tour.
As a result of this successful visit, AFCAP
on behalf of ERA invited ARRB to send a
• Sri Lanka – Supply of a Network
Survey Vehicle to the Sri Lankan Road
Development Authority
• Thailand – Rural roads mentoring
project
• UAE – Dubai road safety audit project
(see page 6)
• Vietnam – International Road
Assessment Program
• Yemen – Management capacity
assessment for road safety in Yemen
ARRB is also currently establishing new
distribution chains for the African and
South American markets. These activities
have been complemented by visits
to ARRB from a number of overseas
delegations, adding further to ARRB’s
steadily growing international reputation.
Finally, ARRB is taking steps to foster
international collaboration in transport
related research through its TREx program
(see page 7).
Christina Chin
+61 3 9881 1669
christina.chin@arrb.com.au
developing a set of Network Performance
Indicators to monitor road assets at
an operational level and identifying
relationships between pavement
maintenance and condition/usage.
Christina Chin
+61 3 9881 1669
christina.chin@arrb.com.au
road surfacing expert to conduct a review
of surface dressing practice in Ethiopia
(see following article).
Paul Robinson
+61 3 9881 1527
paul.robinson@arrb.com.au
Review of surface dressing
practice in Ethiopia
The Africa Community Access Programme
(AFCAP) is a research program funded
by the UK Government’s Department for
International Development (DFID), which
is promoting safe and sustainable rural
access in Africa.
Due to widespread road failures in recent
years, AFCAP has been asked by the
Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA) to analyse
and understand the causes of these
failures, and provide recommendations
for improved practice.
Kym Neaylon of ARRB was one of two
international consultants engaged for the
project. Key tasks include:
• reviewing design methods and
standard specifications for typical thin
bituminous seals used in Ethiopia
ARRB Distributor Meeting in Malaysia
Roughometer success in Bangladesh
ARRB’s expansion into Bangladesh is
continuing with further sales of the
Roughometer to the Local Government
Engineering Department (LGED).
Having now supplied numerous
Roughometers into the country, the
popularity of the device is steadily
increasing as word spreads regarding
its suitability for Southern Asia’s road
network.
With over 200,000 km of unsealed
roads in Bangladesh the Roughometer
is ideally suited for the local conditions.
• visiting a selection of
construction and failure
sites
• conducting interviews with
government, university and
industry
• reviewing work done by the University
of Addis Ababa concerning surface
failures on the Alemgena-Lemen-
Butajira Road
• recommending additional testing of
materials or field investigations and
undertaking analysis of the results
• preparing a draft report on the
causes of surface dressing failures,
and recommendations for improved
practice
• presenting the study findings to a
workshop attended by government
ARRB Group recently welcomed
participants to the 2009 ARRB Distributor
Meeting, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
from 5-6 October.
The primary aim was to share knowledge
of the industry and obtain feedback on
various key points relating to ARRB’s
market offerings. The two day program
was also used to provide each distributor
with the necessary information and tools
to successfully supply and support ARRB
products and services.
Twenty representatives from 11 regional
locations attended the meeting, with all
The recently released Roughometer III
Kit offers the most reliable and user-
friendly method for obtaining roughness
measurements at both the project and
network levels.
Whilst the Roughometer is a response-
type roughness device, it eliminates the
uncertainties associated with the vehicle,
such as the suspension or passenger
weight, by directly measuring the axle
movement with a precision accelerometer.
This means that compared with other
Class III roughness devices, such as the
and industry representatives.
Assist the workshop to define an
appropriate role for surface dressings
in the Ethiopian road investment and
maintenance program
• updating the draft report to reflect
the workshop discussions and other
comments received from stakeholders.
The workshop was held on 23-26
November.
Kym Neaylon
+61 3 9881 1629
kym.neaylon@arrb.com.au
participants providing valuable insights
on issues within their region, including
competitor intelligence and feedback on
customer wants and needs.
The feedback on the event has been
very positive and has built further on the
already close relationship between ARRB
and our distributors. We thank all of the
distributors for attending the event and
we hope to see even more attendees at
the next ARRB Distributor Meeting.
Alana Cox
+61 3 9881 1560
alana.cox@arrb.com.au
bump integrator, the Roughometer
III does not need to be calibrated
experimentally to produce true IRI.
With the assistance of our recently
appointed ARRB Distributor, FERBA
Instrumentation Logistics, the
Roughometer is swiftly becoming the
roughness measurement device of choice
in Bangladesh.
Tony de Haas
+61 3 9881 1674
tony.dehaas@arrb.com.au
Briefing  3

ARRB advises Samoa on
road switch
Sweden did it in 1967. Okinawa
Prefecture in Japan did it in 1978.
On 7 September 2009 Samoa (population
180,000) became the first major region/
country in over 30 years to switch the
side of the road upon which vehicles are
driven. The move, which sees Samoans
now drive on the left hand side of the
road, has the objective of improving
accessibility to cheaper and better quality
new and second hand, right hand drive,
cars from overseas.
The move was favoured given that
approximately 170,000 Samoans currently
call Australia and New Zealand home, and
often send money (and now it is hoped,
vehicles) back to their families. Many of
the Pacific nations (although not all) also
drive on the left hand side of the road.
The initial announcement of the switch
in 2007 was not without controversy,
with a campaign of peaceful protest and
ultimately a legal challenge in the Samoan
Supreme Court.
ARRB was commissioned by the
Office of the Attorney General of
Information sign at entrance to the test facility
4  Briefing
Samoa to provide an independent
professional review of the planning and
preparations for the switch, and give an
opinion regarding its likely road safety
implications, culminating in providing
expert evidence to the Supreme Court.
David McTiernan and Paul Hillier of
ARRB’s Sydney office met with key
government officials (including the
Attorney General; the Minister of Works,
Transport and Infrastructure; the CEO of
the Land Transport Authority; and the
Commissioner of Police and Prisons) and
undertook extensive road network drive
throughs. A range of documentation was
also provided for consideration by the
ARRB team.
Samoa has some 1,000 km of sealed
roads across its two main islands: Upolu
and Savaii. Upolu is the busiest and most
developed of the islands and includes the
capital Apia. There are around 18,000
vehicles in Samoa, with approximately
14,000 of these being left hand drive.
Example of the community-wide promotion in preparation for the switch
Vehicle stickers (left) making sure everyone knew
the switch day
A typical, colourful bus showing door on right hand
side
There is a heavy reliance upon buses and
taxis as public transport.
Traffic volumes are relatively light, and
speeds low, compared to many countries,
with an open road speed limit before
the switch of 35 mph (56 km/h) and 25
mph (40 km/h) in Apia town. There had
been 97 fatalities in the 5 years to the
end of 2008. Issues exist with respect to
the extremely low level of compliance
with seat belt usage legislation and the
incidence of drink driving.
Those opposing the switch expressed
concerns regarding:
• pedestrian safety (especially the young
and elderly) due to a failure to look the
correct way when crossing the road
etc.
• passenger bus entry and exit doors
– which if unmodified could see
passengers entering and exiting from
‘live’ traffic lanes
• reduced forward sight lines for drivers
in left hand drive vehicles operating
on the left hand side of the road
when negotiating left hand curves and
during overtaking manoeuvres.
ARRB’s review found there were a number
of engineering treatments and awareness
activities planned and/or implemented.
A framework based on the 4Es of
road safety (Engineering, Education,
Enforcement and Encouragement) was
adopted to analyse the likely effectiveness
of the measures in mitigating the risks of
the switch and in offering more generic
road safety returns. One of the most
significant measures announced was a
blanket reduction in speed limits of 10
mph for an indefinite period during and
after the switch.
A ‘gap analysis’ was also conducted with
the results being provided to the Land
Transport Authority for consideration of
additional measures for implementation
in advance of the switch. Given the finite
level of resources available, the focus
was by necessity on identifying low cost
treatments and activities that provided a
very good rate of return.
Paul Hillier provided expert testimony to
the Supreme Court hearing. The verbal
judgement of Justice Nelson, which was
announced on 28 August 2009, found
Samoan earthquake and tsunami
Directional lane arrows were provided every 150 to 200 m on the main road network
that the switch was not unconstitutional
(in that it would not create a definite or
immediate risk to life) and could therefore
go ahead on 7 September 2009 as
planned. At the time of writing, the full
judgement is still awaited.
The switch day unfolded without major
incident or even minor crashes amid
the gaze of the world’s media. It is
understood that apart from a small
number of minor incidents, this remains
the case. A concerted increase in police
enforcement of drink driving and seat
belt usage ahead of the switch has also
proved to be highly effective.
However, it is considered that the ultimate
test will be in the coming months as
road user familiarity increases and levels
of concentration, care and enforcement
could reasonably be expected to drop.
For this reason, ARRB recommended a
robust evaluation and monitoring regime
(over at least a 6 month period), as well
as the continuation of education and
encouragement activities in the months
ahead.
One of the undoubted challenges is
likely to be in correctly determining
contributory factors in future road crashes
to identify if those incidents are directly
attributable to the switch.
Paul Hillier
+61 2 9282 4400
paul.hillier@arrb.com.au
David McTiernan
+61 2 9282 4414
david.mctiernan@arrb.com.au
On 30 September, Samoa
was hit by a high magnitude
earthquake and a devastating
tsunami which caused
significant loss of life,
widespread damage to
infrastructure and major
disruption to everyday life.
Samoa is slowly regaining
its feet, but still needs help
to rebuild. Donations can be
made via the Red Cross.
Photos: Satitoa coast road before and after tsunami
damage (courtesy of the Attorney General of Samoa)
Briefing  5
Safety audit of Dubai roads
ARRB has recently completed a large
scale safety audit project for the Dubai
RTA in the United Arab Emirates. The
safety audit covered approximately 1,906
centreline kilometres or 6,518 lane
kilometres of the Dubai road network.
Freeways, expressways, arterials, collector
and commercial roads were all included
in this comprehensive audit. It is the first
major audit program undertaken in the
UAE, and one of the largest of its type in
the world.
The inspection work was conducted in
accordance with the best international
practices in the field of safety auditing.
ARRB’s team consisted of up to five
auditors with two or three undertaking
the field inspections while the others
processed the findings in ARRB’s Dubai
office.
6  Briefing
When on site the audit team looked at
the road from the perspective of all road
users including pedestrians, bicyclists and
motorcyclists. Much of the work was
carried out in the summer months with
temperatures well into the forties Celsius.
ARRB’s auditors found RTA’s new air
conditioned bus stops a welcome respite
during roadside inspections.
The location of each finding was recorded
using a Global Positioning System (GPS)
enabled digital camera which allowed
each road safety issue to be accurately
located, recorded and illustrated in the
audit report. For each road audited ARRB
has produced a comprehensive report
with findings and recommendations to
address safety concerns identified.
For the purpose of establishing an
effective record for the project findings,
ARRB developed a comprehensive
database that displays each road’s
inventory of safety issues (findings),
severity level, location, coordinates, and
the recommended course of action in
response to each finding.
The safety issues were rated from
‘Intolerable’, where the risk was very
high and urgent remedial action was
warranted even if the cost was high, to
‘Low’ where the risk did not constitute
a major safety hazard but warranted
corrective action if the cost was low.
The outcomes of this study showed that,
roadside hazards represent the major
non-conformance classes on the freeway,
expressway and arterial road networks.
These account for almost 90% of the
findings. On collector and commercial
roads, non-conformance classes such
as delineation (signs, lane marking,
channelisation) and pedestrian issues
were found to predominate.
The outcomes of this project will help
Dubai RTA to identify the potential safety
risks and their location on the whole
of the road network and consequently
implement the recommended
countermeasures to reduce risk.
This pioneering project comes within the
context of the continuous efforts made
by Dubai RTA to improve the safety on
the main roads. Dubai RTA’s Maintenance
Section has commenced implementation
of many of the recommended remedial
works based on the priority list prepared
by ARRB.
The project is considered one of the
most important projects in the field
of road safety in Dubai. It has opened
considerable work opportunities for
ARRB as a pioneering firm in this field in
the region.
John Hughes
+971 4 332 8532
john.hughes@arrb-me.com
 Key safety manuals translated into Arabic
In 2008 ARRB was a major contributor to
a Speed Management manual developed
by the World Health Organisation (WHO),
the World Bank, the FIA Foundation for
the Automobile and Society and the
Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP).
Together with a companion report on
seat belts, both reports were recently
translated into Arabic for distribution
throughout the Middle East.
Road crashes are an issue of growing
concern for government, business
and society in this region. In 2008 the
United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),
Shell and the GRSP launched a regional
road safety initiative, the Middle East
and North Africa Road Safety Partnership
(MENARSP), to help share knowledge and
good practice.
MENARSP supported the translation into
Arabic of the two good practice manuals.
TREx is alive and well and living at ARRB
The Transport Researchers’ Exchange
(TREx) is an international ARRB initiative
aimed at improving collaboration
between transport research institutes.
Giulia Baracco, the first TREx exchange
professional to come to ARRB, arrived
in October from the Milan Polytechnic
(Politecnico di Milano). Giulia is reading
for a Master of Science degree, under the
supervision of Professor Maurizio Crispino
who was one of the earliest supporters of
the TREx initiative.
Giulia’s work at ARRB involves applying
new software tools to assemble valid
data and to execute pavement life-cycle
costing analyses on a demonstration,
pilot-scale road network. The objective
ARRB Conferences 2010 - Call for Abstracts - see page 13 or www.arrb.com.au
In October Michael Schumacher formally
presented the new Arabic manuals to
government officials from Dubai, Abu
Dhabi, and Saudi Arabia. The World Bank
funded translation and Shell funded
printing of 250 copies of each manual
for distribution to governments and
practitioners throughout the region.
John Hughes
+971 4 332 8532
john.hughes@arrb-me.com
Michael Schumacher with Arabic best practice
Manuals
The manuals are aimed at governments,
non-governmental organisations and
road safety practitioners. Written in an
accessible manner, they provide practical
steps – based on existing good practice
and experience - on how to tackle key
risk factors and implement effective road
safety programs. RTA officials receiving the road safety manual
from Michael Schumacher
is to assess Transport
the ability of
the new tools Researchers
to estimate Exchange
maintenance
and
rehabilitation feel – I really appreciate this! I have learnt
funding levels much since I arrived. This is my first
for networks. working experience and so everything
Giulia describes is new to me and very useful for my
her first month personal and technical growth. I will be
at ARRB and in always grateful to ARRB for giving me this
Melbourne: opportunity.
I think there is a very good atmosphere Mike Shackleton
at ARRB, everyone is friendly and very + 61 3 9881 1572
kind to me. Staff members always try mike.shackleton@arrb.com.au
to involve me in activities and ask how I
Briefing  7
Promoting safety in
South East Asia
The annual GRSP (Global Road Safety
Partnership) Asia Seminar was held
in Singapore on 7 and 8 October. It
was followed immediately by the iRAP
(International Road Assessment Program)
Workshop. ARRB has been a regular
supporter of these annual events, which
are valuable opportunities to share
knowledge on best practice road safety
initiatives.
The focus of the seminar was on ‘Make
roads safe – toward a decade of action’.
This year Blair Turner presented two
seminar papers and Richard Wix and Blair
Turner coordinated
a session at the iRAP km of road via a collaboration of many
workshop. local Vietnamese agencies. ARRB was
heavily involved in this World Bank
Most peak bodies forecast that the
Road Safety Facility funded project. It
global road toll will grow rapidly with
included collection of digital video data
the majority of the increase being in
across the road network, establishment
the developing countries of Asia. ARRB
and training of road assessment teams,
has been heavily involved in building
project coordination and broader capacity
capability in road safety practice in many
building.
parts of Asia over the past 10 years.
Peter Damen
At the iRAP Asia workshop, it was noted
+61 8 9227 3000
that the iRAP Vietnam pilot program
peter.damen@arrb.com.au
had successfully assessed over 3,000

Measuring the structural response of roads

The Roads and Traffic Authority of New
South Wales has negotiated with the
Danish Road Directorate (DRD) to bring their
innovative new hi-tech survey vehicle to
Australia. This technology has allowed the
Danes to collect road pavement condition
data from roads approximately 20 times
faster than previously possible.
The Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) can
survey the structural response of roads at
speeds of up to 80 km/h, provide data at a
much finer resolution and improve on-road
safety for both the operators and the public.
The RTA plans to survey as much of their
network as possible during the time the
TSD is in Australia. In addition Department
of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland
has negotiated with the RTA for a sample of
their own network to be surveyed.
Taking advantage of the opportunity
presented by the RTA’s initiative, Austroads
has engaged ARRB to develop an
independent national perspective on
the applicability of the TSD to Australia’s
before survey work begins in February 2010.
unique conditions and road management
practices. The ultimate goal of the work For further information on the survey work,
is the development of an Australian TSD please contact David Pratt at the RTA.
specification. The Austroads project will Alternatively if you are interested in the
build on existing knowledge and interpret Austroads project please contact:
data from a small program of research field
trials as part of the larger TSD survey work in Julia Kelley
NSW and Queensland. +61 3 9881 1555
julia.kelley@arrb.com.au
The TSD is anticipated to arrive in December
with a month of shakedown and field trials

Former ARRB staff elected Honorary Members of REAAA

At the recent REAAA Conference in
Incheon, Korea, two former senior
members of ARRB – Emeritus Professor
John Metcalf and Professor Ian Johnston
– were awarded Honorary Membership of
the Road Engineering Association of Asia
and Australasia (REAAA).
Honorary membership is only awarded to
a person of outstanding eminence and
long experience in the science and practice
of road engineering who has contributed
outstanding services to the Association.
Ian was Director of the Monash University
Accident Research Centre from May 2001
until December 2006. Throughout the
1990s Ian was Managing Director of ARRB.
He is a past President (and Life Member)
of REAAA. He served on the International
Governing Council for 15 years, most of
those as Chair of the Technical Committee
responsible for initiating technology
transfer efforts throughout the region,
then as Vice-President and, from 2000
to 2003, as President. He also served
two terms as Chairman of the Australian
Chapter of REAAA.
John Metcalf joined ARRB in 1967. He
was appointed Deputy Director in 1975
responsible for the delivery of ARRB’s
research program. Following the formation
of REAAA, the ARRB Board nominated
John as the Technical Secretary. The first
activity was to hold the first REAAA
Conference in Thailand in 1976. He also
organised several ensuing Conferences
including the joint ARRB/REAAA
Conference in Adelaide in 1986.
John served for 12 years as Chairman of
the Technical Committee of REAAA and
represented Australia as Vice President
over the same period. He continued his
membership of the Australian Chapter
while working in the United States from
1992 to 2007.

8  Briefing
Investigation of deterioration in two NZ bridges
Two bridges in NZ with multiple
deterioration problems were recently
assessed by ARRB, as supplier of
specialist expertise in these areas to Opus
International (NZ). The bridges were
about 30 years old when the signs of
distress were first reported. They are in an
estuarine environment, exposed to tidal
conditions.
The bridges were 1.2 km and 500 m
long with 139 and 27 spans, respectively.
The former showed cracking in 33% of
the piles, and the latter in 25%. Design
concrete strength was 45 MPa and 69
MPa, respectively.
Opus (NZ) had found that the bridge
piles were cracking, splitting and spalling
near the corners, as well as softening
and erosion of the concrete, which had
significantly reduced the cross-sectional
area of these piles. One quarter to one
third of the piles on each bridge were
affected. Some cracks were clearly due to
reinforcement corrosion, which occurred
above the high tide level.
Other cracks extended from the tidal zone
to below low tide level and sometimes
below bed level and appeared unrelated
Cracks initially induced by ASR extend below
water level
• measurement of residual expansion
potential to predict future cracking
• extraction of aggregate from core
remnants and testing for ASR potential
and comparison with a current source
of similar aggregate using the RTA
T363 accelerated mortar bar test and
the RILEM AAR-4 concrete prisms test.
The investigation indicated that the
deterioration was very probably caused by
ASR and was exacerbated by DEF.
Based on the results of this work, a
joint paper between Opus and ARRB
was presented at the Coasts and
Ports Conference in September 2009
(Wellington, NZ), which was awarded
the Kevin Stark Memorial Award by
Corrosion-induced cracking
Engineers Australia. The Award recognises
excellence in coastal and ocean
to reinforcement corrosion. Efflorescence engineering, especially using a multi-
and rust staining were absent from disciplinary approach.
these cracks, unlike cracks caused by ARRB services in the area of assessment
reinforcement corrosion. Seventeen of concrete structures are available to
piles had previously been jacketed with the industry and government authorities
concrete to maintain structural integrity in Australia and overseas. For further
Opus NZ dispatched 19 concrete core information, contact:
samples from piles representative of
Dr Ahmad Shayan
various extents of cracking to ARRB for
+61 3 9881 1658
investigation. The cores were subjected to
ahmad.shayan@arrb.com.au
the following:
• visual observation to note salient
features of deterioration
• petrographic examination by polarising
microscope to identify aggregate
types, presence of alkali silica reaction
(ASR) and delayed ettringite formation
(DEF) products, and microcrack
distribution
• scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX)
analysis to identify the morphological
features and chemical composition of
reaction products
• chemical analysis to determine cement
content and source (from which the
original concrete alkali content was
estimated) and the remaining soluble
alkali content of the concrete
Advanced deterioration
Briefing  9
A guide to the Guides
The following table lists where the material in old Austroads publications is now located.

Publication Year Destination/s in new

Old Publication Number Published Guides
Guidelines for the Management of Road Surface Skid Resistance AP-G83/05 2005 AM5F, AM5G
Best Practice on Road Use Data Collection Analysis and Reporting AP-G84/04 2004 AM5A
Road Maintenance Practice AP-12/91 1991 PT7, PT5
Guide to Heritage Bridge Management AP-G68/01 2001 AM6, BT7
Waterway Design — A Guide to the Hydraulic Design of Bridges AP-23/94 1994 BT4, BT5 and RD5
Bridge Construction Practice AP-14/91 1991 BT6
Bridge Management Practice AP-13/91 1991 AM6, BT7
Austroads Guidelines to Environmental Reporting AP-G70/02 2002 AM2, AM3, PD2, RD6B, TP
Guide to Field Surveillance of Quality Assurance Contracts AP-38/95 1995 PD2, PD3
Valuation of road infrastructure assets in Australia and New Zealand AP-144/00 2000 AM8
Benefit Cost Analysis Manual AP-42/96 1996 PE various
Pavement Rehabilitation – A Guide to the Design of Rehabilitation Treatments for
AP-G78/04  2004 PT5, PT8, AM5
Road Pavements
Asphalt Guide** AP-G66/02 2002 PT4B, PT4F, PT8
Asphalt mix design: APRG 18; AP-T20/02 2002 PT4B App A
Pavement Design – A Guide to the Structural Design of Road Pavements AP-G17/04 2004 PT2, AM5
Pavement design for light traffic AP-T36/06 2006 PT2
Guide to Best Practice for the Construction of In Situ Stabilised Pavements AP-G75/03 2003 PT8, PT4D, PT4L
Sprayed Sealing Guide AP-G76/04 2004
PT4F, PT4K, PT8
Guide to the Selection and Use of Bitumen Emulsions AP-G73/02 2002
Guide to the Selection of Road Surfacings (2nd ed.) AP-G63/03 2003 PT3, PT4B
Asphalt Characterisation for Pavement Design AP-T63/06 2006 PT2
Bitumen Sealing Safety Guide (2nd edition) AP-G41/02 2002 Publication will continue
Road Condition Monitoring Guidelines – Pavement Roughness AP-G65.1/01 2001 AM5B
Guidelines For Road Condition Monitoring: Pavement Cracking AP-G65.4/05 2005 AM5E
Road Condition Monitoring Guidelines – Pavement Rutting AP-G65.06/05 2005 AM5C
Pavement strength in network analysis of sealed granular roads: basis for
AP-R233/03 2003 AM5D
Austroads guidelines
Guide to Stabilisation in Roadworks AP-60/98 1998 PT4B, PT4D, PT4I, PT4L,
Mix design for stabilised pavement materials AP-T16/02 2002 PT5, PT8
NAASRA Pavement materials
– Part 1 – Search 1982
– Part 2 - Natural Gravels, sand-clay and soft and fissile rock 1980
PT4A, PT4J, PT8
– Part 3 - Crushed rock 1976
– Part 4 - Aggregates 1982
– Part 5 - Quality description and assurance (draft) 1977
Asphalt Recycling Guide AP-44/97 1997 PT4E, PT8
PT5 and
Visual Assessment of Pavement Condition AP-8/87 1987
sub-parts B – G. AM5
Publication will continue +
Austroads Design Vehicles and Turning Path Templates AP-G34/06 2006
RD3, RD4 RD4A

10  Briefing
 Publication Year Destination/s in new
Old Publication Number Published Guides
RD2, RD3, RD4, RD6, RD7,
Rural Road Design – A Guide to the Geometric Design of Rural Roads AP-G1/03 2003
others as necessary
RD2, RD3, RD4, RD6, RD7,
Urban Road Design - Guide to the Geometric Design of Major Urban Roads AP-G69/02 2002
others as necessary
Road Safety Audit (2nd Edition) AP-G30/02 2002 RS6
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 1: Traffic Flow AP-11.1/88 1988 TM2, TM3
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 2: Roadway Capacity AP-11.2/88 1988 TM3, TM2
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 3: Traffic Studies AP-G11.3/04 2004 TM3
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice — Part 4: Treatment of Crash Locations AP-G11.4/04 2004 RS8
TM 6, RD4 and sub-parts
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 5: Intersections at Grade AP-G11.5/05 2005
A–C
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 6: Roundabouts AP-11.6/93 1993 TM6, RD4B
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 7: Traffic Signals AP-G11.7/03 2003 TM6, TM9, TM10, RD4A
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 8: Traffic Control Devices AP-11.8/88 1988 TM10
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 9: Arterial Road Traffic Management AP-11.9/88 1988 TM5
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 10: Local Area Traffic Management AP-G11.10/04 2004 TM8
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 11: Parking AP-11.11/88 1988 TM11
RD6, RD6B & TM & RD
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 12: Roadway Lighting AP-G11.12/04 2004
various
TM, RD various, RD4, RD4A,
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 13: Pedestrians AP-11.13/95 1995
RD6A
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 14: Bicycles AP-11.14/99 1999 TM, RD various , RD4, RD6A
Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice Part 15: Motorcycle Safety AP-11.15/99 1999 TM, RD various
Telecommunications in Road Reserves: Operational Guidelines for Installations AP-G72/02 2002 Publication will continue
A Guide for Traffic Engineers – Road-Based Public Transport and High Occupancy
AP-G71/02 2002 RD3 & RD4 TM4, TM5, TM6
Vehicles
Principles for Strategic Planning AP-55/98 1998 RTP
Environmental Risk Management Guidelines and Tools for Road Projects AP-R185 2001 PD2 , PD3
Geometric Design For Trucks: When, Where and How? AP-R211-02 2002 RD4A

Abbreviations Notes: and management options, AP-R180/01 – is a

• Guide to Asset Management (AM)
• Guide to Bridge Technology (BT)
• Guide to Pavement Technology (PT)
• Guide to Project Delivery (PD)
• Guide to Project Evaluation (PE)
• Guide to Road Design (RD)
• Guide to Road Safety (RS)
• Guide to Road Transport Planning (RTP)
• Guide to Traffic Management (TM)
• Guide to Road Tunnels (RT)
AP-R202/02 Integrated asset management
guidelines for road networks is complemented
(but not replaced) by AM1, AM3 & AM4.
AM2 replaces AP-R289/06 Guidelines for the
development of a level of service framework
based on community consultations.
Update of the Austroads sprayed seal design
method, AP-T68/06 is being retained.
Guide to the selection and use of PMBs and
multigrade bitumens, AP-T42/06 is being
retained.
Specification framework for PMBs and Multigrade
bitumens, AP-T41/06 is being retained.
Road runoff and drainage: environmental impacts
reference for RD5.
Guidelines for treatment of storm water run-off
from the road infrastructure, AP-R232/03 – is a
reference for RD5.
Guidelines for the collection and discharge
of storm water from the road infrastructure,
Austroads project TP1158 – is a reference for
RD5.
**Asphalt Guide is made up of: 6 technical
reports plus Part 4B
- AP–T67/06; AP–T66/06; AP–T65/06; AP–
T64/06; AP–T63/06 and AP–T62/06.
(Reproduced with permission from the Austroads
Newsletter October 2009)

Briefing  11
Queensland Roads Alliance state-wide road safety
initiative - NetRisk
A partnership between local
government, Transport and Main
Roads and ARRB
State and local governments across
Queensland have joined forces to improve
safety by launching a state-wide safety
check for roads. The Roads Alliance has
endorsed an arrangement for NetRisk
assessments to be conducted and asset
data collected, across a network of
regionally significant roads, defined as
the Local Roads of Regional Significance
(LRRS).
The Roads Alliance is a partnership
between the Department of Transport Current Project Status have provided their road lists), to discuss
and Main Roads (TMR) and the Local and formalise their contracts.
The Roads Alliance NetRisk initiative
Government Association of Queensland has now reached the critical scheduling It is anticipated that this valued work
(LGAQ), where both spheres of stage, with data collection to commence will be completed by April 2011. This
government work together to manage this month (see flow chart above). The partnership between ARRB Group and its
the LRRS network, currently in excess of Roads Alliance Board has endorsed the members of local and state government
32 000 km. agreement with the vendors, ARRB and will result in informed and better targeted
ARRB, in collaboration with the Roads RoadTek. This includes a Memorandum of investment into roads, creating safer
Alliance, has developed the road network Understanding to guide the initiative. roads for all in Queensland.
safety auditing software known as ARRB and RoadTek have commenced Ian Steele
the Road Network Safety Assessment contacting their allocated councils (who + 61 7 3260 3500
(RNSA) tool - freely available to TMR ian.steele@arrb.com.au
and Queensland local
government employees.
Since the inception of
the RNSA, ARRB has
incorporated the tool
into the proactive road
safety assessment package
‘NetRisk’.
The state-wide arrangement
for NetRisk will benefit local
governments, enabling
them to invest in their
communities’ safety and
target treatment of high risk
locations across the state.
This commission will see
ARRB, with data collection
assistance from RoadTek,
undertake a road safety
NetRisk assessment for in
excess of 16 000 km of the
LRRS network.

12  Briefing
 Call for Abstracts
Melbourne 10 – 12 October 2010 Melbourne 12 - 15 October 2010
The 2nd International Sprayed Sealing Conference, Sustaining The 24th ARRB Conference will focus on research outcomes which address
sprayed sealing practice, will focus on the practical issues faced emerging issues affecting the road and transport industry, and the global
in maintaining sprayed seal performance in a world climate of community. Abstracts are invited on key topics including:
increasing expectations and demands, combined with depletion of
known quality materials. Abstracts are invited on: • Congestion, freight & productivity • Safe Systems
- transport network - road safety engineering
• Binders • Future developments - transport planning - road user behaviour
• Understanding seal behaviour - climate change & - economics - road design
greenhouse gas emissions - freight & logistics - traffic management
• Seal design & construction - innovative heavy vehicle solutions - safe vehicles
• Sealing equipment - effect of oil scarcity & price - environment & sustainability • Sustainable infrastructure management
on binder supplies • Sustainable infrastructure sciences/
• Bitumen & alternatives - innovative inventory solutions
- new binders technology - infrastructure assessment
• Treatment selection - pavement design & performance - asset management
- new procedures.
- pavement construction/maintenance - bridge management
Technical Secretary - Ms Khar Yean Khoo - materials technology - infrastructure maintenance
E: ssc2010@arrb.com.au P: +61 3 9881 1555 F: +61 3 9887 8104 - concrete & structures - local roads.
Conferences sponsored by: Conferences endorsed by:
Technical Secretary - Ms Tariro Makwasha
E: 24conf@arrb.com.au P: +61 3 9881 1555 F: +61 3 9887 8104

Abstracts should be submitted via Abstracts should be submitted via

www.arrb.com.au/SSconference www.arrb.com.au/ARRBconference

ARRB’s research on research

In 2006, ARRB recognised that there is no capital enjoys moderate recognition by research performance in each of these
systematic means of assessing the impact both senior and frontline managers. categories.
and value of research. The next stage will be to work with road Mike Shackleton
As a result, ARRB initiated a ‘research agencies to develop a means of setting +61 3 9881 1572
on research’ project which is being led performance targets and measuring mike.shackleton@arrb.com.au
by Mike Shackleton. A number of senior
road agency staff were asked what their
expectations were in terms of the types Rating
of benefit they believe should be coming Objective Benefit from research CEO & Frontline
from public interest research, such as that senior man’t man’t
conducted by ARRB for Austroads through Progress towards infrastructure &
the Technical Research Agreement. High Medium
network efficiency outcomes
The results are shown in the table. Green Mission Progress towards social/environmental/
High High
advancement safety outcomes
cells indicate a high rate of recognition as
a benefit, whilst orange cells indicate a low Positioning industry for future challenges Medium Low
rate of recognition.
Filling knowledge gaps High High
It is clear that
Knowledge
Charting knowledge gaps Low Low
• Senior and frontline management advancement
recognise research as a means of Unrelated knowledge benefit Low Low
progression towards desired outcomes.
• Filling knowledge gaps is widely Developing experienced researchers Medium Medium
Human capital
recognised as a benefit of research. development
Developing ‘smarter’ professionals Medium Medium
• Frontline managers recognise research
as a means of applying existing Formulating evidence-based policies Medium High
knowledge to new circumstances. Knowledge
application
• Research’s role in developing human Economic benefits for agency Medium High

Briefing  13
ARRB to create a rail Knowledge Bank
ARRB’s M.G. Lay Library has a long and
successful track record in the collation
and dissemination of information to the
land transport research sector. ARRB
has recently been commissioned by the
Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) for
Rail Innovation to develop and maintain
a Knowledge Bank of rail research and
knowledge.
Likely content will encompass research
project details, reports, conference
papers, data files and news items. The
Knowledge Bank will organise electronic
and hard copy items currently distributed
across CRC for Rail Innovation participants
and stakeholders into a single online
resource.
Hard copy items will be managed as a
dedicated section of the M.G. Lay Library’s
40,000 item collection in Melbourne. In
the first instance the Knowledge Bank
New staff
Mark Ferrenden has
joined the Brisbane
office in the role of
Senior Bridge Inspector.
Mark will lead and
supervise teams to
deliver bridge inspection
services predominantly
across Queensland.
He comes to us with a great deal of
experience in this area having previously
worked for Brisbane City Council as a
Senior Bridge Inspector for the last ten
years.
New publication from ARRB
Learner driver experience monitoring
2007
V. Pyta and J Catchpole
Research Report ARR 373
VicRoads has conducted a series of
telephone surveys of learner permit
holders and newly-licensed drivers to
monitor the accumulation of supervised
driving experience by Victorian learner
permit holders. Surveys were conducted
in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
The 2007 survey was performed by Roy
Morgan Research on behalf of VicRoads.
ARRB Group was commissioned by
VicRoads to analyse the data and report
14  Briefing
will draw on information and materials
sourced from CRC participants who
include:
• Australasian Railway Association (ARA)
• Australian Rail Track Corporation
(ARTC)
• Public Transport Authority, Western
• Central Queensland University
Australia
• Department of Transport, Victoria and
• TransAdelaide
related parties
As the CRC for Rail Innovation is
• Monash University
providing initial funding (for up to two
• QR Limited years), access to the Knowledge Bank
• Queensland University of Technology will be exclusive to CRC participants and
• Rail Corporation (NSW) stakeholders. Discussions with other
possible collaborators and funders, who
• Rio Tinto Iron Ore
would then gain access to the resource
• Southern Cross University and contribute to its development, will
• University of Queensland commence in the near future.
• University of South Australia Andrew Meier
• University of Wollongong +61 3 9881 1603
andrew.meier@arrb.com.au
Neal Lake has also Mike Maher has
joined our Brisbane been appointed to our
team as Principal Sydney Office in the
Consultant Structures capacity of Principal
(Bridges). Neal carries Parking Consultant for
with him a PhD and his the Luxmoore team.
experience in structural Mike has 26 years
engineering is diverse. of experience within
Neal was previously the Australian parking industry and
with Tierney Consulting Engineering as a most recently was employed as General
Principal Structural Engineer and at Aspec Manager with Mirvac Parking Ltd.
Engineering and Queensland Rail both in
the capacity of Senior Structural Engineer.
on changes in the amount and variety of
experience accumulated by learner permit
holders compared with previous surveys.
The results of the survey revealed that
the average amount of experience
accumulated by learner permit holders
before graduating to a probationary
licence has increased by 4.9% from 104.5
hours in 2005 to 109.6 hours in 2007.
This report is available as a free
downloadable PDF file from www.arrb.
com.au or contact:
(Learner
booksales@arrb.com.au driver experience
+61 3 9881 1561 monitoring 2005, Research Report
ARR 372, has also been released).
Promoting Safe System to novice drivers
Safe System forms the basis of the already existed in the Handbook and the
National Road Safety Action Plan 2009 judgments of an expert panel.
and 2010. It has been adopted as the
The messages were tested on two focus
guiding principle by all state and territory
groups (learner and provisional licence
road authorities. The essential goal is to
holders aged 16 to 20 years). The Safe
provide a road system in which the road
System concept was well-received by
users will never be subject to impact
participants who liked its simplicity
forces in a collision from which they may
and appreciated that their role and
never recover completely.
responsibilities were immediately clear.
This project tested the viability of They also enjoyed being involved in
introducing Safe System concepts to critiquing the road safety messages.
young drivers in the ACT Road Rules
Designing Safe System messages to
Handbook. By introducing the concept
bring driver handbooks into line with
in an easy-to-understand manner, driver
Safe System principles is viable and the
understanding of their role in road safety
concept warrants further development.
should be improved.
Victoria Pyta
Topics that were developed were guided
+61 3 9881 1640
by a comparison of the Safe System
victoria.pyta@arrb.com.au
principles with safety messages that

Conferences (See page 13 for details of ARRB Conferences)

NAPA 2010: 55th Annual Meeting
National Asphalt Pavement Association
Hawaii, 17-20 January 2010
http://www.hotmix.org
IQPC - Innovative Pavement
Management Systems Summit 2010
Singapore, 26-27 January 2010
http://www.iqpc.com.sg
Intermodes 2010: Towards a Mobile
Europe: 1st Congress and Exhibition
on Intermodality in Passenger
Transport
Brussels, 3-4 February 2010
http://www.intermodes.com/
13th International Winter Road
Congress: Sustainable Winter Service
for Road Users
World Road Association (PIARC)
Quebec, 8-11 February 2010
http://www.piarcquebec2010.org
Urban Transport World Australia
2010: Mass Transit
Sydney, 22-25 February 2010
http://www.terrapinn.com/2010/utw/
5th Australian Road Engineering and
Maintenance Conference 2010
Melbourne, 16-17 March 2010
http://www.halledit.com.au/roads10
15th International Conference 2009:
Road Safety on Four Continents (RS4C)
Swedish National Road and Transport
Research Institute (VTI) and National
Transport Authority of UAE
Abu Dhabi, 22-24 March 2010
http://www.vti.se/templates/
Page____11111.aspx
Intertraffic Amsterdam 2010:
Connecting Innovation to
Infrastructure
Amsterdam, 23-26 March 2010
http://www.amsterdam.intertraffic.com/
nl/en/Pages/default.aspx

2010 Knowledge transfer program

2009 has been another successful year
for the knowledge transfer program at
ARRB. Nearly 60 training workshops and
seminars were held around Australia. We
aim to exceed these numbers in 2010
by providing a wide-ranging workshop
program which addresses your issues.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010
PROGRAM
Unsealed local roads: A two day
workshop on the latest practices in the
management of unsealed roads based
on the popular ARRB Unsealed Roads
Manual. It will cover recent research
findings, best maintenance techniques
and case studies demonstrating how to
get greater value from available funding.
The workshop will be a practical hands-
on presentation with group participation,
worked examples, case studies and a field
inspection of unsealed road sites.
• Cairns, 1-2 February 2010
• Townsville, 4-5 February 2010
• Rockhampton, 1-2 March 2010
• Toowoomba, 4-5 March 2010
Various locations in Vic, mid-late 2010.
Geometric road design and
intersection design seminar: A two day
seminar on several of the new Austroads
design Guides relating to the geometric
design of roads and intersections. This
seminar will step participants through
the new guides and discuss new material
(continued next page)

Briefing  15
2010 Knowledge Transfer program (continued)
contained in them. It is not intended to
provide training in the geometric design
of roads and intersections.
• Rockhampton, 3-4 February 2010
• Brisbane, 8-9 February 2010
• Toowoomba, 10-11 February 2010
• Cairns, 10-11 March 2010
• Townsville, 12-13 April 2010
• Mackay, 15-16 April 2010
HDM-4 training: A full week workshop
(including an introductory seminar) for
people new to HDM-4 and for senior
managers to become familiar with
its application and functionality. The
workshops involve trainer demonstrations
and hands-on use of the system, and
will include applying, interpreting and
presenting case studies which employ the
full suite of HDM-4 applications.
• Brisbane, 22-26 February 2010
Road safety and traffic management
seminar: Will provide road safety and
traffic management practitioners with
an appreciation of the new Austroads
Guides to Road Safety (9 Parts) and
Traffic Management (13 Parts) in terms
of their structure, main features and new
material. It is not intended to provide
training in specific aspects of road safety
management or traffic management.
Separate training workshops are available
for that purpose.
• Auckland, 15 February 2010
• Wellington, 17 February 2010
Treatment of crash locations: A two
day training workshop on the Guide to
Road Safety Part 8: Treatment of Crash
Locations. The workshop will cover
providing a safe system, road safety
engineering, human factors, police
investigations, identifying crash locations,
diagnosing the crash problem at the site,
Victoria New South Wales
500 Burwood Highway, 2-14 Mountain Street
Vermont South, VIC 3133, Ultimo NSW 2007
P: +61 3 9881 1555 P: +61 2 9282 4444
F: +61 3 9887 8104 F: +61 2 9280 4430
Queensland South Australia
123 Sandgate Road, Level 5, City Central
Albion QLD 4010 Tower 2, 121 King William Street,
P: +61 7 3260 3500 Adelaide SA 5000
F: +61 7 3862 4699 P: +61 8 7200 2659
F: +61 8 8423 4500
To receive future copies of Briefing contact info@arrb.com.au
Briefing 16 Editors: Peter Milne, John Best Email: peter.milne@arrb.com.au, john.best@arrb.com.au
selecting an effective solution, crash costs • Perth, 22 April 2010
and economic appraisal. • Melbourne, 13 May 2010
• Hobart, 4-5 March 2010 • Adelaide, 20 May 2010
• Adelaide, 20-21 April 2010 • Sydney, 3 June 2010
• Melbourne, 17-18 May 2010
Legal issues facing road authorities:
Remaining capital cities later in 2010.
The two-day workshop describes the
context of, and current and emerging
Geotechnical investigation and
issues associated with, the liability of
design: A one day training workshop
road authorities. It provides a useful
to review best practice in geotechnical
toolkit for any practitioner who may
design considerations in road design, and
become involved in legal proceedings.
how to identify important geotechnical
The workshop is most relevant to those
issues that have an impact on various
starting a career with a road authority
road design elements.
(including young professionals and
• Perth, 23 March 2010 graduates).
• Adelaide, 25 March 2010 • Perth, 20-21 April 2010
• Sydney, 4 May 2010 • Melbourne, 11-12 April 2010
• Canberra, 5 May 2010 • Adelaide, 18-19 May 2010
Managing road pavement assets: A • Sydney, 1-2 June 2010
two day workshop providing participants
Speed limits and speed management:
with tools to effectively identify, record
A one day workshop on best practice
and manage their road network assets.
relating to speed limits and speed
The workshop will be delivered by
management. It is based on Austroads
ARRB’s asset management specialists,
Guide to Road Safety Part 3 – Speed
each having a wide range of experience
Limits and Speed Management and Guide
from research, operations and private
to Traffic Management Part 5 – Road
enterprise.
Management.
• Brisbane, 23-24 March 2010
• Auckland, 3 May 2010
• Melbourne, 8-9 June 2010
• Wellington, 5 May 2010
Skid resistance: A one-day workshop to • Christchurch, 7 May 2010
provide delegates with an understanding
of the fundamental principles of skid For further information:
resistance and surface texture, as well as www.arrb.com.au/workshops
identifying current and emerging issues +61 3 9881 1680
in the management of skid resistance training@arrb.com.au
across road networks. Guidance is given
in developing a local management
strategy which is fit for purpose, effective
and commensurate with local issues and
resources, and which will help deliver
safer roads as part of a Safe Systems
approach.
Western Australia International offices
191 Carr Place, Jakarta, Indonesia
Leederville, WA 6007 Xiamen, China
P: +61 8 9227 3000 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
F: +61 8 9227 3030
Luxmoore Parking Consulting
Ground Floor
12 Wellington Parade
East Melbourne, VIC 3002 research | consulting | technology
P: +61 3 9417 5277
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