Austroads: Transport Research and Trends

Over the last decade there has been a trend by a number of governments to invest more heavily in transport infrastructure and systems, and to accelerate programs of work. This has been a response to various ‘burning platforms’ including transport congestion in our major urban areas, fast growing populations, extreme events like flooding, bushfires and earthquakes, and job creation to support econo...

This webinar presents the results of the Austroads project that developed guidelines for incident response vehicles and truck-mounted attenuators. The project was a collaboration between Austroads, iMOVE, Queensland University of Technology and Deakin University. Two sets of guidelines have been developed as part of the project. The first set provides information on models/types and design specifi...

The United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 has set the ambitious global target to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2030. Some jurisdictions have set even more ambitious targets by setting a date for achieving zero road trauma, such as by 2050. While there is a growing body of evidence around what initiatives are effective in reducing road crashes and injuries, what...

Driver licensing legislation and regulation is the responsibility of each of Australia’s 8 states and territories. However, there is a commitment by all jurisdictional regulators to harmonised practices with minimum licensing standards. Under the Austroads registration and licensing taskforce, states and territories agree periodic programs of work to improve licensing practice which recognises eme...

Australia’s Transport Ministers have agreed in-principle to an improved, nationally‑consistent approach to the training and licence progression of heavy vehicle drivers, that improves road safety and productivity. The in-principle changes were approved by infrastructure and transport ministers in December 2023 through the agreement by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM) to en...

How do drivers respond to the iconic tunnel design features included in the NorthConnex road tunnel project? What were the objectives of the designs and have the designs achieved these objectives? How do the designs affect driver behaviour? The webinar explains the two key elements of this work – the validation of the UNSW driving simulator as a means of assessing road tunnel design features, and...

The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics held a webinar on the 16 November 2023 to update industry on the Northern Territory’s transition to the National Training Framework Temporary Traffic Management (NTFTTM). Industry and individuals currently working in Temporary Traffic Management roles, or associated with the Temporary Traffic Management industry were encouraged to attend to...

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for acti...

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for acti...

Austroads has developed an extended vehicle classification scheme (EVCS) to enable improved understanding and monitoring of the evolving vehicle mix on Australian and New Zealand roads in traffic and transport surveys. This builds upon the existing 1994 vehicle classification scheme. The EVCS provides greater granularity for each of the existing 12 classes of vehicles and adds a new class for acti...

In this session, we will present a comprehensive report that identifies and explores those physical infrastructure practices that matter most to CAVs. Just like human drivers, CAVs need to understand line and pavement markings, electronic and non-electronic signs, and traffic signals. Computer sensing and computer processing, however, differ to humans, and differ between different and evolving sys...

Supplements have provided important additional guidance to the Austroads Guide to Road Design (Guide). But there are questions about their use. Are these supplements needed? What should they contain? Should the information in the agency supplements be included in the Guide? These questions were addressed in a recently completed Austroads project that undertook a detailed review of jurisdictional s...

Following previous workforce capability studies undertaken in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2017, Austroads engaged Oxford Economics Australia to undertake a new workforce capability analysis for member authorities based on planned and forecasted infrastructure development and service objective requirements in Australia and New Zealand over the next 10 years to 2032. Through stakeholder and industry engage...

For over a decade, the National Telematics Framework has been setting a benchmark as an effective regulatory framework for optimised vehicle movements, making Australia a world-leader in intelligent access management. The National Telematics Framework (Framework) was established following a series of decisions made by ministers between 2003 and 2008 and was globally recognised as an International...

Road users in regional and remote Australia are at a greater risk of road trauma than those living in major cities. Approximately one third of Australians live in regional or remote areas but two thirds of fatal crashes occur in these areas. The fatality rate in regional and remote areas is 12.2 deaths per 100,000 population and increases to 34.6 deaths per 100,000 in very remote areas. The former...

Information on injurious road crashes is required for prevention. National information on fatal cases has been available for many years, but information on serious non-fatal cases has been lacking. This webinar will take participants through the outcomes of Stage 2 of an Austroads project commissioned to establish a system to report serious injury cases due to road crashes in a consistent way thro...

Between December 2023 and September 2024, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone will close their 3G networks to make room for new, faster services. The 3G network shutdown will affect vital equipment and services across the road transport sector. Devices that rely on 3G will no longer function and need to be upgraded or replaced to continue operating. Commonly affected devices include: telematics and vehicl...

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is transitioning from Interim On-Board Mass (OBM) management to Smart OBM. All Performance Based Standards (PBS) vehicle operators with mass monitoring as a condition of access will need to transition to the more advanced telematics technology by 1 June 2024. Smart OBM systems capture axle mass measurements as digital records and share the data with relevant road managers...

The asphalt industry is rapidly evolving, and it is widely accepted that prescriptive specifications are not necessarily well suited to take full advantage of the benefits that new and innovative technologies can provide. There is therefore a desire to develop a national performance-based asphalt specification that would allow asset owners and asphalt suppliers to take full advantage of the enhanc...

Trials of automated vehicle (AV) technology are undertaken to research and develop the technology, understand the supporting regulatory and operational frameworks required, and prepare for wide-scale adoption of the technology. Governments across Australia and New Zealand have expressed an interest in maximising the value of trials through improved evaluation and knowledge sharing. To meet this ne...

Austroads has recently completed a project to identify best practice for road tunnel wall panels and finishes to ensure the products achieve performance, access, maintenance, and durability requirements. The best practice research provided through this project aims to add value to tunnel operators over the life cycle of the assets by facilitating ease of maintenance access for regular inspections,...

The  Design Vehicles and Turning Path Templates Guide  has been restructured as part of the update of the Guide to Road Design Part 4. This webinar, presented by Noel O’Callaghan and Malcolm Mak, is the fourth session in a four-part series to provide an overview of the update. The session focuses on new guidance added to the Design Vehicles and Turning Path Templates Guide covering design vehicles...

Austroads’ recent project has updated the Guide to Road Design (AGRD) Part 4 series . This webinar is the third in a four-part series to provide an overview of the project, including the aim, research background, methodology and outcomes. This session, presented by Noel O’Callaghan and Malcolm Mak, explains how to implement the changes in AGRD parts 4B and 4C, including mini and radial roundabouts...

Can motorcycle protective clothing really prevent serious injuries in motorcycle crashes? Over the past 20 years there have been great advances in the technology of impact and abrasion resistant materials and yet many of the garments currently available will fail under average crash conditions or are too hot to be worn in warm climates. In the absence of effective standards, motorcyclists have had...

The current learner approved motorcycle scheme (LAMS) was introduced in NSW in 2002 to replace the 250cc engine capacity limit for novice riders (i.e., those on learner and provisional licenses) as race replica 250cc motorcycles were over-represented in fatal and serious injury (FSI) crashes. It was subsequently adopted by VIC, QLD, SA, NT, WA, TAS, and New Zealand, albeit with some amendments in...