Technical Committee C 3.1 – Road Safety

In general

PIARC Organization has established 4 “ strategic themes ” in the context of which it has formed and coordinates 20 specialized technical committees .

The scope of the technical committee C 3.1 is road safety. This committee operates within the context of strategic theme “Safety and Road Operations.” .

Aim- Scope

The technical committee aims at “improving the safety and performance of transport systems by simultaneously reducing hazards created during road operation and impacts on the natural surroundings.”.

Committee C 3.1 addresses various issues among which road safety audits, road safety evaluation methods, design technical specifications, analysis of user behaviour,

enforcement, road user training, application of new technologies etc. Special attention is given to road safety issues in developing countries.

Work Groups

For its new workplan, committee C 3.1 has established 4 thematic groups as follows:

Each work group will define its coverage and schedule the final products that will present on expiration of their incumbency.

Road Safety Manual

In November 2004, PIARC issued its Road Safety Manual .

The Road Safety Manual ( RSM ) has been produced by the work groups of the Road Safety Committee during the past eight years and includes the following issues:

Part 1: Introduction to road safety

1 : Scope of the safety problem

2 : Road safety management

3 : Road safety factors

Part 2: Analysis Process

4 : Data collection

5 : Identification

6 : Diagnosis

7 : Priority Ranking

8 : Evaluation

Part 3: Technical Sheets

Technical sheets which include instructions for engineers on issues affecting road safety during design and on existing road improvement. The instructions cover issues of horizontal and vertical formation, sight distances, junction formation, pavement conditions, human factor etc.

  Part 4: Engineering Studies

Instructions and practical P/C programmes ( CD - ROM ) for the production of various traffic studies necessary for evaluating the road safety level. Spot speed measuring, traffic counts, skid resistance, sight distance, travel times, delays and queues, traffic conflicts etc are some of the issues covered.

The Road Safety Manual has been issued English and French in both printed and electronic format. More information on the manual can be found in the site of PIARC:

http :// www . piarc . org / exec / link / edito . htm ? site = en & objectId =556

For more information on ordering and prices of the Road Safety Manual and of the ITS Handbook please contact: mpester @ route 2 market . com