Latest Austroads news, publications and upcoming webinars No Images? Click here AustroadsNews | May 2018Welcome to the May 2018 edition of AustroadsNews. If you have been forwarded this email you can subscribe here to receive future updates. Contents
Austroads Board Meeting CommuniquéThe Austroads Board met on 18 April 2018 in Sydney. Neil Scales, Director-General for the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads chaired the meeting. The meeting Communiqué includes an update on the progress of the Board's strategic projects, an overview of the research work program and the Board's strategic priorities for 2017-18. New Austroads Website coming soonWe are redeveloping our website to better serve the needs of the people who use our online information. The new site will combine the Austroads corporate website and publications website. The new site will enable free access to all of our publications and as a precursor to this we are pleased to announce that from 1 July, PDFs of Austroads Guides will be free to download from our existing publications website. The new website, which will launch later in the year, will include:
Review of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency FrameworkAustroads has published a review of the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. The Framework established minimum competency standards for heavy vehicle drivers. The review of the Framework evaluated the governance of heavy vehicle driver training and assessment as well as the content of training courses and the competencies required for heavy vehicle driver training and trainers. The review identified that the standard of training and assessment is often inadequate, with some drivers obtaining a heavy vehicle licence after undertaking training that ran for less than one day. The review recommends that minimum training lengths, including behind the wheel time, be established with stronger regulator input to training content. The review found that while the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector provides some level of oversight it is not sufficient to ensure the quality and integrity of outsourced licensing services. The review recommends transport regulators take a more active role in setting and monitoring training standards. Improving the management of end-of-life vehiclesAustroads has released a report that sets out a rationale for modifying the national vehicle registration framework to enable better end-of-life management of vehicles. More than 700,000 vehicles are ‘retired’ from the national vehicle fleet each year having reached the end of their economic or safe operating life. The volume is expected to increase at a rapidly escalating rate as the result of the continued growth in vehicle ownership, the decreasing average age of vehicles, and the escalating costs of maintaining and operating older vehicles. However, few owners of end-of-life vehicles formally surrender their vehicle’s registration, leaving the status of hundreds of thousands of vehicles uncertain on the national vehicle register which simply shows that the registration has not been renewed. Better managing safety infrastructure assetsAustroads has published a report on the management of safety infrastructure assets such as safety barriers and safety fences. The report considers ways to mitigate risks to road users and maximise the level of service at a minimum life-cycle cost. In recent years the value, operational costs and significance of non-pavement road-related assets have been recognised, along with the need to provide more guidance on their management. The report provides detailed guidance to help road authorities develop strategies and procedures to better manage roadside assets while considering their own needs and conditions. It covers amenity, safety, environmental management and the identification of service standards for asset management practitioners. Future directions for long-term pavement projectAustroads has published a report that presents the proposed future directions for long-term pavement performance (LTPP) studies in Australasia. Austroads project (AT1064) has monitored the long-term structural and functional performance of a number of sealed granular, asphalt and concrete pavement sections under different climate and traffic loading regimes since 1995. The proposed way forward for the project is based on the results of a 2017 survey directed to the LTPP Project Steering Group and Assets Task Force with the objective of assessing their views regarding the future direction and management of the project together with a wider perspective on the value of Australasian LTPP data. Understanding the effectiveness of pavement maintenanceAustroads has released a report that clarifies the effectiveness of periodic maintenance and rehabilitation activities on pavement condition and distress (roughness, rutting and cracking) deterioration rates. The study estimated trends in pavement deterioration in three jurisdictions (New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria) from a time series of observational data using mostly iPave condition and deflection data. It then compared the observational trends with historical and predicted rates of deterioration to assess the effectiveness of the various pavement maintenance treatments. The main findings include:
Bituminous slurry test methods updatedAustroads has published five updated test methods related to the testing of bituminous slurry samples. Bituminous slurry is a processed mixture of bituminous emulsion binder (with or without a polymer modifier), continuously graded aggregate, mineral filler, additives and water, properly proportioned to form a slurry which can be laid evenly on a road surface. Test methods provide a consistent approach to materials testing and detail the scope, equipment, procedures, calculations and reporting requirements to enable a test to be performed. Join us for Webinar: Updated Pedestrian Facility Selection ToolTuesday 29 May 2018 | Online, 1pm AESTAustroads has recently updated the Pedestrian Facility Selection Tool, designed to help Australian and New Zealand practitioners select the most appropriate type of pedestrian crossing based on walkability, safety and economic outcomes. Based on user feedback, the tool has been enhanced with more functionality including consideration of raised and flush medians, a new field for maintenance costs and a site inspection form. Other updates and refinements to the tool include economic values, improved save/load function, unfeasibility reasons, visual style enhancements, crossing upgrades and new option to specify existing facility. This webinar will provide you with an introduction to the tool and a demonstration on how to use it with a fully worked example. You will gain an understanding of:
Join in a live Q&A with our presenters to ask questions about the tool. Presented by Dave Smith and Dr Stacy Rendall. No charge, but registration is essential. Can't make it to the live session? Register and we'll send you a link to the recording. Webinar: Best Practice in Road Safety Infrastructure Programs, now online This webinar, presented on 15 May 2018, provides best practice recommendations for the development of Road Safety Infrastructure Programs (RSIPs) that align with the safe system approach. Presented by Paul Durdin and Dave Smith. Webinar: Towards Safe System Infrastructure, now online This webinar, presented on 10 May 2018, provides an overview of the new Austroads compendium of knowledge on Safe System treatments and real world experience in the practical application of solutions that can mitigate crash severity. It outlines information covered in a series of workshops on the translation of the Safe System approach, enabling attendees to consider the application of the theories onto their own road networks. Presented by Associate Professor Jeremy Woolley and Dr Blair Turner. Webinar: Geopolymer Concrete and its Applications, now onlineThis webinar, presented on 1 May 2018, outlines the findings of an Austroads geopolymer concrete project and a current update of the use, monitoring and specification of geopolymer concrete by VicRoads over the past nine years. Presented by Dr Ahmad Shayan and Fred Andrews-Phaedonos. Barrier Assessment Transitioning to MASH GuidelinesThe eligibility criteria for product submissions to the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel has changed, effective 23 April 2018. Stan Robb, Chair of the Austroads Safety Barrier Assessment Panel (ASBAP), has written to industry advising of the change. Since its introduction in 1999, the Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 3845 has used the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350 (NCHRP 350) guidelines as the basis for testing protocols to assess safety barrier related hardware and devices. ASBAP reviews have been based on NCHRP 350, in line with the Standard. In 2017, Part 1:2015 and Part 2:2017 of the Standard recognised the introduction of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) MASH guidelines. To encourage installation of MASH crash tested devices, and in line with the changes to the Standard, ASBAP has updated its product submission criteria NTC seeks feedback on a safety assurance system for automated vehiclesAustralia’s approach to a safety assurance system for automated vehicles is the subject of a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) which opened for public consultation yesterday. According to National Transport Commission (NTC) Chief Executive Paul Retter, Australia’s existing laws and regulations do not recognise automated vehicles. The Consultation RIS seeks feedback on what role Australian governments will play in assuring the safety of automated driving systems, and what form a safety assurance system would take. “We have produced the Consultation RIS to gather feedback on the four safety assurance options identified: no change to existing laws, and three options with various choices of safety assurance systems – administrative, legislative, and legislative with a primary safety duty of care on the entity responsible for the automated driving system,” Mr Retter said. Submissions for the Consultation RIS can be made on the NTC website until ARSC2018Sydney, 3-5 October 2018 The 2018 Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2018) will be held in Sydney from Wednesday to Friday 3-5 October 2018. The Australasian College of Road Safety, Austroads, ARRB and Transport and Road Safety Research (TARS), UNSW are proud to support the largest road safety-dedicated conference in the Southern Hemisphere. |