Safe Roads & Roadsides

Why This Pillar Matters

Editors can replace this placeholder with the published overview describing why safe roads & roadsides is central to the Safe System approach.

How Safe Roads & Roadsides reduces the likelihood and severity of crashes.
Infrastructure, standards and technologies that support safe roads & roadsides.
Operational and policy levers practitioners can apply.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

How This Element Shapes Road Safety

Safe Roads & Roadsides applies across all areas of road safety, helping reduce both the likelihood and severity of crashes through safer road design and infrastructure.

How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for pedestrians.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect pedestrians.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for cyclists.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect cyclists.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for micro-mobility.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect micro-mobility.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for motorcyclists.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect motorcyclists.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for passenger vehicle occupants.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect passenger vehicle occupants.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for heavy vehicle occupants.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect heavy vehicle occupants.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for main roads.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect main roads.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for main streets.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect main streets.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for local streets.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect local streets.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for civic spaces.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect civic spaces.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for treatments.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect treatments.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for run-off-road crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect run-off-road crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for head-on crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect head-on crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for intersection crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect intersection crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for motorcyclist crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect motorcyclist crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for pedestrian crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect pedestrian crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for cyclist crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect cyclist crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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How Safe Roads & Roadsides design choices reduce risk for other crashes.
Infrastructure and treatments that protect other crashes.
Operational and policy levers that lower crash likelihood and severity.
Guidance, standards and further reading for practitioners.

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Charting a Path to Zero

See how Safe Roads & Roadsides fits into the broader Charting a Path to Zero framework and Vision Zero goals.

Examples in Practice

Real-world case studies demonstrating safe roads & roadsides in action.

Case Study

Austroads · 22 Apr 2024

Case Study: Rural Head-On and Run-Off-Road Crash Reduction

A corridor program using centreline and edge treatments to cut head-on and run-off-road crashes on high-speed rural main roads.

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Case Study

Austroads · 28 Mar 2024

Case Study: Pedestrian and Cyclist Priority in Local Streets

A local-government program giving pedestrians, cyclists and micro-mobility users priority on local streets through lower speeds and protected infrastructure.

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Case Study

Austroads · 11 Feb 2024

Case Study: Urban Intersection Safety Upgrade Program

A metropolitan program upgrading high-risk intersections with raised platforms, signal phasing and treatments to cut intersection crashes.

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Case Study

Austroads · 2 Sep 2023

Case Study: Motorcycle Safety Barrier Retrofit Trial

A trial retrofitting motorcyclist-friendly barriers and roadside treatments on high-risk routes, with before-and-after crash and severity data.

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Case Study

Austroads · 10 Aug 2023

Case Study: Queensland Safer Roads Sooner Program

How Queensland delivered systematic crash-reduction treatments across 400+ sites, achieving a measurable fall in serious injury crashes.

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Relevant Resources

Guidance, research and references related to safe roads & roadsides.

Project

Austroads · 1 May 2024

Project: Applying Safe System Principles to Rural Road Networks

Cross-jurisdiction project investigating cost-effective Safe System treatments for high-speed rural roads, with pilot installations in three states.

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Webinar

Austroads · 18 Apr 2024

Webinar: Applying the Safe System Approach in Practice

Recorded webinar with Austroads experts discussing practical application of Safe System principles in project design and delivery.

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Project

Austroads · 4 Mar 2024

Project: Developing National Network Safety Plans Across Jurisdictions

Multi-jurisdictional project to develop and align Network Safety Plans against the National Road Safety Strategy targets.

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Webinar

Austroads · 28 Feb 2024

Webinar: Speed Management - From Strategy to Signs on the Road

A deep dive into the end-to-end speed-management process, from strategic targets through to road-section speed limit decisions.

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Project

Austroads · 9 Nov 2023

Project: Vulnerable Road User Infrastructure Treatments

Research and demonstration project assessing protected cycling, pedestrian priority crossings, motorcycle barriers and related vulnerable road user treatments.

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