Better delineation
More motorcycle crashes occur on curved roads than straight sections of roads. While rider preference for curved roads may increase the amount of riding on these roads, another factor contributing to motorcycle crashes is other vehicles rounding a bend and straying onto the motorcycle's side of the road (or vice versa). Improved delineation has potential to reduce these crashes.
Devices installed to improve delineation can have potential disbenefits to motorcyclists and recent work has focussed on minimising these unintended effects. Paints used for road markings traditionally had lower skid resistance than the surrounding pavement, resulting in slippery surfaces and motorcycle loss of control in some instances. There are paints and other road surface treatments developed that have similar skid resistance to the surrounding pavement and it is important to ensure that such paints are used rather than inadvertently increasing risk.
Similarly, steel reflective delineators on Armco (W-beam) safety barriers have been considered to be hazardous to riders in the past. A new pliable plastic delineator has been developed (HyLyte Joint 10) and is being trialled by VicRoads on routes with a high motorcycle crash risk. VicRoads will assess the effectiveness of the new delineators in terms of safety for motorcyclists, visibility to road users, durability, ease of installation and resistance to attack by vandals.
Information sourced from A review of potential countermeasures for motorcycle and scooter safety across APEC (Full report and References [PDF, 304KB]). |
