Roadway Factors, including roadway and roadside design elements, play an important role in determining the risk of traffic accidents. Negative road engineering factors include those where a road defect directly triggers a crash, where some element of the road environment misleads a road user and thereby creates human errors. In particular, the geometry of the road influences both the frequency and severity of road crashes. In this regard, concepts such as the “Forgiving Road Side Design” and the “Positive Guidance” approach need to be integrated into the engineering design of roads to minimize the risk of road accidents. Tools such as the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP)’s road safety audits (“Star Rating” reports) can help countries to identify the risk factors in road design.
Roadway Factors, including roadway and roadside design elements, play an important role in determining the risk of traffic accidents. Negative road engineering factors include those where a road defect directly triggers a crash, where some element of the road environment misleads a road user and thereby creates human errors. In particular, the geometry of the road influences both the frequency and severity of road crashes. In this regard, concepts such as the “Forgiving Road Side Design” and the “Positive Guidance” approach need to be integrated into the engineering design of roads to minimize the risk of road accidents. Tools such as the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP)’s road safety audits (“Star Rating” reports) can help countries to identify the risk factors in road design.