Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Information on injurious road crashes is required for prevention. National information on fatal cases has been available for many years, but information on serious non-fatal cases has been lacking. This webinar will take participants through the outcomes of Stage 2 of an Austroads project commissioned to establish a system to report serious injury cases due to road crashes in a consistent way throughout Australia and over time.

Stage 2 aimed to obtain ten years of data from all jurisdictions (2008 to 2017), report against equivalents to the NRSS fatality indicators and analyse characteristics of the data, including matched and unmatched cases, cross-border flows, and the impact of data linkage on estimates. Ethics and data custodian approvals enabled data to be collected from all jurisdictions except Western Australia.

Information on injurious road crashes is required for prevention. National information on fatal cases has been available for many years, but information on serious non-fatal cases has been lacking.

Webinar presenters Professor James Harrison and Associate Professor Angela Watson explain the method used in Stage 2 of the project and provide a detailed overview of the project findings.

Between December 2023 and September 2024, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will close their 3G networks to make room for new, faster services. The 3G network shutdown will affect vital equipment and services across the road transport sector.

Devices that rely on 3G will no longer function and need to be upgraded or replaced to continue operating. Commonly affected devices include:

• telematics and vehicle/asset tracking devices installed in heavy and light vehicles, as well as general assets such as trailers, generators, etc.
• traffic management signs used in school zones, intersections and freeways
• weather systems and stations
• alarms/building entry
• devices that incorporate gateway or mesh backhaul
• personal Emergency Response (PER) systems
• phones and tablets.

Businesses, government, and industry are being urged to commence their transition immediately to avoid lapses in vital equipment and services across the road transport sector. Early transition and planning are vital given the large number of devices affected by the shutdown. The migration process can take months, and timing is dependent on the number of affected devices and the availability of installers.

New Zealand is also shutting down their 3G network. The country will close their services between August next year and the end of 2025.

This webinar, organised by Austroads and Transport Certification Australia (TCA), provides high-level information on the impacts of the Australian 3G shutdown and what local government and transport industry need to do to prepare for the transition.

Presenters are David McIntosh, Telstra’s National Telematics Domain Lead, Michael Reynolds, Head of Network Products, Programs and Services at Optus, Mark Joselin, Followmont Transport Compliance Manager, Adam Ritzinger, Chief Technical Officer at Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia, and John Gordon, Manager Strategic Development at TCA.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is transitioning from Interim On-Board Mass (OBM) management to Smart OBM. All Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicle operators with mass monitoring as a condition of access will need to transition to the more advanced telematics technology by 1 June 2024.

Smart OBM systems capture axle mass measurements as digital records and share the data with relevant road managers in a secure and standardised way.

The changes aim to harmonise the use of Smart OBM systems for mass monitoring of heavy vehicles in New South Wales with other states.

The changes will require the operators of eligible PBS vehicles to have Smart OBM systems fitted to their vehicles. Additionally, those vehicles must be enrolled in an applicable scheme of the Telematics Monitoring Application (TMA), and their Smart OBM systems paired with an Application Service Provider (ASP) certified by Transport Certification Australia (TCA).

This webinar provides an overview of the upcoming changes and how they will affect PBS drivers travelling to and within the state.

Webinar attendees are taken through the steps required for signing up to Smart OBM or transitioning from Interim OBM to Smart OBM.

Presenters also talk about the importance of Smart OBM for the road network and how mass data from Smart OBM is being used by road managers.

The session is beneficial to PBS operators who operate their fleet in NSW or travel across the border, ASPs seeking information to update their customers and road authorities looking to better understand the use of Smart OBM data.

The webinar is presented by Gavin Hill, General Manager of Strategy and Delivery at TCA, and Brett Graham, Senior Manager for Road Access at TfNSW.

The asphalt industry is rapidly evolving, and it is widely accepted that prescriptive specifications are not necessarily well suited to take full advantage of the benefits that new and innovative technologies can provide. There is therefore a desire to develop a national performance-based asphalt specification that would allow asset owners and asphalt suppliers to take full advantage of the enhanced performance characteristics of current and emerging asphalt technologies.

This webinar, presented by Joe Grobler, provides an overview of a recently completed Austroads project undertaken to harmonise test methods used in asphalt performance specifications. The project developed three new Austroads asphalt test methods and updated several existing methods for use in future performance-based specifications.

The project also collated available flexural modulus, fatigue resistance and permanent deformation resistance test data of locally manufactured asphalt mixes to inform the future development of these performance limits.

The presenter talks about the background to the new test methods and the indicative performance limits established for modulus, fatigue and permanent deformation resistance.

This work builds on the results of the previous Austroads project that developed a national performance-based asphalt specification framework.

Trials of automated vehicle (AV) technology are undertaken to research and develop the technology, understand the supporting regulatory and operational frameworks required, and prepare for wide-scale adoption of the technology. Governments across Australia and New Zealand have expressed an interest in maximising the value of trials through improved evaluation and knowledge sharing. To meet this need, Austroads has prepared guidance for the evaluation and reporting of AV trials. This guidance seeks to improve consistency in evaluation and reporting as an enabler and contributor to improved knowledge sharing across jurisdictions.

The guidelines set out the three key stages associated with evaluation and reporting. The scoping and planning stage helps with understanding the objectives and purpose of the trial and the associated evaluation, along with developing a plan to reach the evaluation objectives. For the conducting stage, guidance is provided on undertaking the trial, based on the trial plan, with necessary adjustments, to gather and analyse findings. Finally for the reporting and dissemination stage, the guidelines provide advice on reporting on the key findings from the evaluation and disseminating the report broadly.

Austroads has recently completed a project to identify best practice for road tunnel wall panels and finishes to ensure the products achieve performance, access, maintenance, and durability requirements. The best practice research provided through this project aims to add value to tunnel operators over the life cycle of the assets by facilitating ease of maintenance access for regular inspections, and meeting durability requirements.

In this webinar, Tony Peglas and Georgia O’Connor gave an overview of the research undertaken into best practice solutions for road tunnel wall panels and finishes, including outcomes of the stakeholder consultation, a detailed current practice review, a literature review, and the development of specification framework.

The Design Vehicles and Turning Path Templates Guide has been restructured as part of the update of the Guide to Road Design Part 4. This webinar, presented by Noel O’Callaghan and Malcolm Mak, is the fourth session in a four-part series to provide an overview of the update.

The session focuses on new guidance added to the Design Vehicles and Turning Path Templates Guide covering design vehicles versus checking vehicles, performance-based standards, clearances between swept paths, software parameters and a new design vehicle for a passenger vehicle towing a trailer.

Austroads’ recent project has updated the Guide to Road Design (AGRD) Part 4 series. This webinar is the third in a four-part series to provide an overview of the project, including the aim, research background, methodology and outcomes.

This session, presented by Noel O’Callaghan and Malcolm Mak, explains how to implement the changes in AGRD parts 4B and 4C, including mini and radial roundabouts, cyclist treatments, ramp cross section, entry and exit ramps, sight distance, grade separated intersections.

Can motorcycle protective clothing really prevent serious injuries in motorcycle crashes?

Over the past 20 years there have been great advances in the technology of impact and abrasion resistant materials and yet many of the garments currently available will fail under average crash conditions or are too hot to be worn in warm climates. In the absence of effective standards, motorcyclists have had to rely on advertising, brand name or price when buying protective garments.

This webinar traces the research process and evidence that has resulted in the development of an independent testing program to inform consumers as to the performance of currently available motorcycle jackets, pants and gloves. The researchers have also developed a guide for the manufacturers of PPE to ensure their products are fit for purpose.

This webinar describes the mechanisms and limits of motorcyclist’s protective clothing, the prevalence and types of injuries, the limitations of standards, the challenges to manufacturers and road authorities in factoring motorcycle PPE into a safe system.

The webinar is presented by Dr Liz de Rome, the winner of the Women in Road Safety Award presented by Austroads at the 2022 Australasian Road Safety Conference.

The current learner approved motorcycle scheme (LAMS) was introduced in NSW in 2002 to replace the 250cc engine capacity limit for novice riders (i.e., those on learner and provisional licenses) as race replica 250cc motorcycles were over-represented in fatal and serious injury (FSI) crashes. It was subsequently adopted by VIC, QLD, SA, NT, WA, TAS, and New Zealand, albeit with some amendments in some jurisdictions. A formal review of the LAMS has not been performed since its introduction.

This webinar was presented by Dr Tana Tan and provided an overview of the Austroads project that reviewed the LAMS with the aim of bringing it up to date with the latest research and information and ensuring it provides optimal safety outcomes for novice motorcycle riders.