Frangible poles and kilometre markers

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.