Single vehicle collisions in Europe: analysis using real world and crash test data

A large proportion of European road casualties result when a vehicle leaves the main carriageway, often impacting roadside obstacles. As part of the EC-funded project, RISER (Roadside Infrastructure for Safer European Roads), a number of activities were undertaken to collate the type of data which is needed to understand the frequency and severity of real world crash situations and relate this to crash test data mandated in the EU. Accident data was collected and used to create a statistical database and a detailed database exclusively for single vehicle 'run-off the road' collisions on major rural (not urban) roads, simulation software was used to further understand impacts with roadside structures and an inventory of crash test data was collected for impacts with objects such as poles and safety barriersa . The combination of real world accident data, simulations and crash test data has provided a unique insight into the characteristics of single vehicle collisions, helping us to understand them better and make recommendations for consideration when drafting design guidelines. This information is crucial for those involved in the design and evaluation of the roadside environment

Single-vehicle collisions in Europe: analysis using real-world and crash-test data

A large proportion of European road casualties result when a vehicle leaves the main carriageway, often impacting roadside obstacles. As part of the EC-funded project, RISER (Roadside Infrastructure for Safer European Roads), a number of activities were undertaken to collate the type of data which is needed to understand the frequency and severity of real world crash situations and relate this to crash test data mandated in the EU. Accident data was collected and used to create a statistical database and a detailed database exclusively for single vehicle 'run-off the road' collisions on major rural (not urban) roads, simulation software was used to further understand impacts with roadside structures and an inventory of crash test data was collected for impacts with objects such as poles and safety barriers . The combination of real world accident data, simulations and crash test data has provided a unique insight into the characteristics of single vehicle collisions, helping us to understand them better and make recommendations for consideration when drafting design guidelines. This information is crucial for those involved in the design and evaluation of the roadside environment

Roadside infrastructure for safer European roads: D06 European best practice for roadside design: guidelines for roadside infrastructure on new and existing roads.

The relevance of single vehicle accidents (SVA) (also known as run-off-road – ROR or roadside accidents) as a traffic safety issue can be demonstrated in a review of European accident data. In 1998, 33.8 % of all fatalities in the European Union were the result of single vehicle collisions (Eurostat).The data collected on single vehicle accidents in the "Roadside Infrastructure for Safer European Roads" (RISER) project represented about 10 % of the total road accidents reported for the respective countries. If the data is restricted to comprise only fatal accidents, then 45 % of all fatal accidents are SVA. Worse yet, the cases collected in RISER do not represent 100 % of single vehicle accidents and indicate that even higher fatality figures may occur. The over-representation of SVA fatalities (10 % of accidents producing 45 % of all fatalities) cannot be ignored when developing road safety plans. The objective of the RISER project was to develop best practice guidelines that can be a foundation for national policy and guidelines. The project has synthesized the data and expertise from nine European countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The following information does not reflect one national practice for structuring the roadside area. The documents outlining the technical functions and requirements for roadside will need to reflect the conditions of the local road network. Climatic, geographical, and demographic characteristics for the road sections of interest must be developed by local authorities

Roadside infrastructure for safer European Roads: D03 Critical vehicle and infrastructure interactions

The purpose of this report is to describe the relationship between real world crash situations and the crash tests used to approve road equipment in the European Union. The source of data was the reconstruction of accidents collected directly in the RISER project (TNO and CIDAUT), reconstruction of existing accident cases (Chalmers, TUG, and CETE), the analysis of the RISER detailed accident database (VSRC) and the collection of standardised crash tests (HUT). Other partners contributed directly or indirectly to the different tasks in the RISER project

Roadside infrastructure for safer European roads: D04 Envelope of vehicle and driver response prior to collisions

This report describes the human factors issues related to roadside infrastructure. The report gives an overview of the accident causation issues identified in the RISER detailed database, summarises the results of a detailed human factors road scene analysis of ten selected accident sites, and details the results of a driver simulator study conducted at TNO

Roadside infrastructure for safer European roads: D02 Summary of driver behaviour and driver interactions with roadside infrastructure

Purpose: The literature review presented here was conducted within Work- Package 1 of the EU-RISER project. Within this Workpackage, Task 1.3 consisted of collecting existing literature identifying the response of the driving public to changes in road design, in order to prevent severe consequences of single vehicle run of road accidents. This Deliverable (D 02) serves as a starting point to include Human Factors principles within the roam of roadside infrastructure design by means of developing guidelines and analysis procedures necessary to select, implement, and operate a safe, efficient and affordable roadside infrastructure in the EU

Roadside infrastructure for safer European roads: D08 European best practice for roadside design: guidelines for maintenance and operations of roadside infrastructure.

Maintenance and operations of road safety equipment and infrastructure ensure that all safety related elements of the road system are operating as they were designed, tested, and approved. Maintenance of road equipment should not only be considered as the repair of broken or damaged equipment, but also as a potential monitoring system for the road network. This overlooked aspect of maintenance and operations is a central theme for the following sections