Road safety audit on a major freeway: implementing safety improvements

Abstract

The paper presents (i) the method followed in a road safety audit of Attica Freeway (“Attiki Odos”), (ii) the findings and recommendations which arose from the RSA, (iii) the improvements made by the freeway operator to improve safety, and (iv) the pilot safety treatments which were proposed with a view to broader implementation in order to mitigate similar problems at other locations. The Road Safety Audit team conducted the RSA with the goal of identifying potentially dangerous roadway or traffic features of the freeway operating environment, as well as potentially misleading or missing information by the applying the safety principles of positive guidance and self-explaining roads. The RSA findings were recorded in the RSA report together with recommendations for implementation. On the basis of the RSA findings, the freeway operator decided on the prompt implementation of several countermeasures, and in cooperation with the RSA team submitted to the Ministry of Infrastructure a proposal for pilot implementation of safety improvements included in the RSA report. An important factor determining the effectiveness of the RSA was that the RSA recommendations were implemented shortly after the RSA was completed. Preliminary results from a before-and-after analysis of data regarding skid resistance characteristics, speeds and crashes at locations where RSA recommendations had been implemented showed improvements in skid resistance characteristics and a reduction in the number of crashes and incidents. The RSA of Attica Freeway promoted the implementation of innovative road safety measures such as shot blasting and motorcyclist-friendly restraint systems.