Strategy

#54 Roadside Rubbish and Related Reflections

When we think of ‘taking out the trash’, most of us don’t consider loading it into our car and driving out to illegally dispose of it on an unsuspecting rural or suburban road shoulder. However, despite providing a novel habitat for limited small fauna[1], this is a persistent problem on Australian roads and roadsides, with potentially devastating outcomes in some cases. Source: https://www.vic.gov.au/forests-are-no-place-dumped-rubbish Identification and impacts “Litter”, ac

5 hours ago2 min read

#52 Effects of extreme heat on pavement

As reported in a previous brief , Australia faces the likelihood of more frequent and destructive extreme weather events in the coming decades. While the impacts of floods and storms on transport infrastructure are generally known and sometimes quantified, and future scenarios are predicted, the specific effects of extreme heat on pavement integrity are less often reported. This is relevant because extreme heat impacts pavement integrity without the additional destructive eff

Jan 122 min read

#48 Extreme weather events: Cost and resilience

Australia faces the likelihood of more frequent and destructive extreme weather events in the coming decades due to climate change. In terms of damage to infrastructure from such events, roads tend to be hit hardest, impacting road users, communities, industry and all levels of government. Acknowledging the impacts of floods in eastern States in 2021-22, a 2023 Parliamentary Inquiry into the issue reported estimated costs of road repairs and rebuilds of approximately $3.8 bil

Nov 24, 20252 min read

#47 Speed Limit Compliance

The relationship between vehicle speeds, crash risk, and injury severity is well known and is a key topic that continues to be examined heavily in road safety research. Generally, both crash risk and injury severity risk increase with higher speeds. This is a fundamental driver of various efforts to reduce speeds and speeding through a combination of engineering, enforcement, education and regulatory measures. The benefits of speed reduction measures may be crudely estimated

Nov 17, 20252 min read