Safe mobility: challenges, methodology and solution

Purpose – Freeway networks are designed to higher standards and are safer infrastructures as compared to other road types, if properly designed. On the other hand, these facilities are driven at very high speeds and therefore speed and design consistency are essential for achieving safe infrastructure designs. This chapter describes the criteria for speed and design consistency and looks at new tools and criteria for improving freeway safety in new and in existing infrastructures. Methodology – This chapter describes the criteria to evaluate if there are speed, design and Human Factors inconsistencies, as well as potential solutions for tackling local deficiencies and speeding issues. As one of the critical issues in freeway safety is represented by run-off-road crashes a specific section in the chapter is devoted to newly developed design and assessment tools for improving roadside safety. The potential implications of Intelligent Transformation System (ITS) technologies on freeways design and management are also presented. Findings and Social Implications – The important crash reduction trends observed in the decade 2001–2010 are now slowing down and new actions are required to be coupled with more traditional design checks. The full implementation of cooperative ITS systems is expected to have a very important impact on road safety, but in the short term several safety improvements can be realised: section speed enforcement techniques and high-friction wearing courses have been proven to be extremely effective, as have perceptual measures accounting for Human Factors principles.