Abstract:
In 2018, the National Road Traffic Engineering Technical Committee (NRTETC) resolved
that various road safety engineering policies, procedures, and guidelines needed review
and updating to incorporate Safe System principles to support improved road safety. This
has resulted in the commissioning of a series of documents formulated with defined
objectives to address user behaviour (research on improved behaviour on South African
roads), assess or audit road safety conditions, identify areas that require improvement and
provide guidance to improve road safety on the South African road network.
This change includes the need for a review of the South African Road Safety Manual
(SARSM) (1999) Volume 6: Roadside Hazard Management, which was developed to
provide a best-practice guideline document regarding the management of the roadside
and median area to reduce the severity of roadside crashes. A review of literature across
various countries was undertaken to gain a comprehensive insight into best practices for
enhancing roadside safety. By examining strategies implemented globally, it was possible
to identify diverse approaches and assess their effectiveness in different contexts.
This review considers best practices to improve roadside safety and elements required for
the provision of more forgiving roadsides (e.g., breakaway support technology and revision
of the use of kilometre markers) to minimise the impact and severity of crashes.
