ROAD SAFETY AUDIT

PRACTICE IN MALAYSIA

by

Ir. RICHARD WONG

CHAIRMAN
HIGHWAY & TRANSPORTTION ENGINEERING TECHNICAL DIVISION (HTETD)
INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, MALAYSIA (IEM)

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 ROAD DEATHS IN MALAYSIA
DEATH
7400

7200

7000

6800

6600

DEATH
6400

6200

6000

5800

5600
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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RW Consultancy Source: Dato Ir Foong Choy Chye 3
 Consequences of Overloading

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 Interaction of road, vehicle and driver in
road crash
EXTERNAL External Factors are :
FACTORS 1. institutional policy
2. organisational
administrative factors
VEHICLE relating to safety
management issue
PROBABLE CRASH

DRIVER ROAD PROBABLE SEVERE CRASH

EXTERNAL EXTERNAL
FACTORS FACTORS

RW Consultancy Source: Dato Ir Foong Choy Chye 5

RW Consultancy Source: Dato Ir Foong Choy Chye 6
RW Consultancy Source: Dato Ir Foong Choy Chye 7
 Brief History of Road Safety Audit
• 1994 – JKR or PWD Malaysia introduced Road
Safety Audit in Road Project implementation
• Later was mandatory for all new road projects
implemented under the Seventh Malaysia
Plan (1996 - 2000)
• 1997 – Road Safety Audit Section was set up
in JKR

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There are 5 stages in the development of a road project when it is
most appropriate to carry out a road safety audit (RSA).
They are as follows:

➢ Stage 1 – Feasibility and Planning Stage

➢ Stage 2 – Draft (Preliminary) Design Stage
➢ Stage 3 – Detail Design Stage
➢ Stage 4 – TMP/During Construction/Pre-Opening Stage
➢ Stage 5 – After Construction/Operational Stage

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 OBJECTIVE
1) To determine whether the consulting engineer’s design from the
planning to operational stage of the proposed road project is in
accordance with the “Guidelines for the Safety Audit of Roads in
Malaysia” published by the Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) Malaysia;
the “Arahan Teknik Jalan” publications by JKR Malaysia; and also
any other recognized publications such as Road Engineering
Association of Malaysia (REAM), Austroads and IHT.
2) To identify road safety deficiencies at various stages in the
development of the proposed road project.
3) Eliminate deficiencies at the most opportune time to reduce
costs and minimize disruption to design and construction
progress.

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 TECHNICAL GUIDELINE REFERENCES

▪ Guidelines for the Safety Audit of Roads in Malaysia by JKR

▪ ATJ 1/85 – Manual on Design Guidelines of Longitudinal Traffic Barrier
▪ REAM GL 9/2006 – Guidelines on Design and Selection of Longitudinal
Traffic Safety Barrier
▪ ATJ 2A/85 – Manual on Traffic Control Devices, Standard Traffic Signs
▪ ATJ 2B/85 – Manual on Traffic Control Devices, Traffic Sign Applications
▪ ATJ 2C/85 (Pindaan 2017) – Manual on Traffic Control Devices, Temporary
Signs and Work Zones Control
▪ Nota Teknik Jalan 23/03 - Guidelines for Traffic Management During
Construction
▪ ATJ 2E/87 (2011) – Guide Signs Design and Application

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 TECHNICAL GUIDELINE REFERENCES (cont’d)

▪ ATJ 2D/85 – Manual on Traffic Control Devices, Road Marking and

Delineation
• REAM GL 8/2004 – Guidelines on Traffic Control and Management
Devices Part 4 – Pavement Marking and Delineation
• ATJ 8/86 (2015) – A Guide on Geometric Design of Roads by JKR
• REAM GL 2/2002 – A Guide on Geometric Design of Roads
• ATJ 11/87 – A Guide to the Design of At-Grade Intersections by JKR
• ATJ 12/87 – A Guide to the Design of Interchanges by JKR
• ATJ 13/87 – A Guide to the Design of Traffic Signals by JKR
• Nota Teknik Jalan 18/97 – Guidelines on Pedestrian Facilities
• References are also made to other nationally and internationally
accepted engineering practices such as LLM, AASHTO and
AUSTROADS.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Stage 1 Audit – Feasibility and Planning Stage

1) Identifies safety problems associated with the overall

concept of the project.
2) Covers the road network, geometric standards,
provision for other users such as motorcyclists &
pedestrians, access control, environmental
considerations such as high winds & scenic vistas and
route options/alternatives.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)
Stage 2 Audit – Draft (Preliminary) Design Stage

At this stage, many of the traffic engineering features of the project

should be established.

1. Identify the safety aspects and design requirements as per best

international practice and the guidelines of the JKR “Arahan
Teknik Jalan” and REAM publications.
2. We audit the design criteria, cross section, alignments,
interchanges/junctions, access control, major land use
developments (their implications such as entry and exits) and
stage development of major projects

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Stage 2 Audit – Draft (Preliminary) Design Stage (cont’d)

3. Also includes interchange layouts, lane and carriageway

layouts, sight distances, ‘Right-of-Way’ requirements and
provisions for other users such as motorcyclists and
pedestrians.

4. The project development shall not proceed into the detail

design stage before resolution of each of the road safety
items identified in the Stage 2 Audit.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Stage 3 Audit – Detail Design Stage

1) Examine the design decisions made against road safety

objectives and will identify aspects in which safety has
not been given high enough weighting compared to
other competing factors.

2) For areas where the design features can not be altered,

for whatever reason, and road safety is being
compromised, mitigating factors shall be recommended
by the designer and agreed upon by the auditor.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Stage 3 Audit – Detail Design Stage (cont’d)

3) Audit features shall include sight distance, adverse

combinations of vertical and horizontal alignment, gradients,
interchanges/intersections, road markings, drainage,
roadside safety, traffic signings and controls, street lighting,
landscaping features and provisions for special road users.

4) The project shall not proceed to the construction stage until

each of the road safety items identified in the Stage 3 Audit
has been resolved.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)
Stage 4 Audit - During Construction/Pre-Opening Stage
1) Includes the Verfication Audit and traffic management
in and around the site during construction.
2) Viewed in three dimensions for both day and night. The
actual placement of guardrails, traffic signs and poles,
street lights and landscaping shall be looked at in detail.
3) Emphasis will be given to all road user groups to ensure
that desirable road safety standards are met.
4) Auditing shall be done as early as possible during
construction (about 50% completion), to cover any
changes or modifications made during construction
until its completion or pre-opening to traffic.
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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)

Stage 5 Audit – After Construction/Existing Stage

1) Identify safety problems developed due to normal

‘wear and tear’ from traffic operation.
2) Also identify safety hazards from the way the
landscaping has matured, such as trees and foliage
obstructing traffic signs or impairing sight distances.
3) Inspections shall be carried out for both day and
night to check inadequacies in road delineation and
visibility.

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 Understanding Road Safety Audit (RSA)
Stage 5 Audit – After Construction/Existing Stage (cont’d)

4) Emphasise the way each road user group views the

road from their particular safety viewpoint. Example, a
motorcyclist may view a safety hazard differently from
a motorist.

5) This audit shall be carried out within 3 to 6 months

after the opening of the project to the public or
generally during the defect liability period.

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 Looking from north (Solok Pandamaran) to the site on the left. Sight distance is good
and alignment is straight and flat. Faded lane markings. Trees and posts near to
travelled way.
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 Delineator Post
Provided

Without
Delineator Post
 Rigid Delineator Post

Flexible
Delineator
Post
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 Proposed New Temporary Signs During Construction For All Roads
Other Than Expressways

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 Temporary Signs (Expressways)

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Photo 1: NJBs are not interlocked; blinkers are not regularly spaced; string delineators are not continuous;
pavement delineators are faded; directional pavement arrows are recommended.
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 Photo 2: At the abutment, concrete NJBs are recommended to close up the gap exposing a drop of
more than 1 m.

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Photo 3: Signs with distance markers; NJBs, if not interlocked, may drop and become disorganised.
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 Photo 4: Permanent delineation are mixed with temporary delineation; recommend a buffer zone;
signs behind barriers should be on high posts; and provide a U-turn sign at the U-turn.

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 Photo 5: Lack of pavement delineation and road markings to guide motorists; NJBs not
interlocked and disorganised; string delineators not continuous; blinkers not regularly spaced.

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 Study Approach – Stage 5 Audit

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 Study Approach – Stage 5 Audit

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 Study Approach – Stage 5 Audit

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 Parting Words
• While we Engineers, Contractors,
Auditors, Authorities give our level best
to have safety in mind in carrying out our
duties, road environment and design
contributes insignificantly to road
accidents.
• The greatest contributor to road
accidents is human behaviour & attitude.

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 SO….
1. DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE

2. DON’T PHONE, TEXT AND

DRIVE

3. DON’T SPEED
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 THANK YOU
from
Ir. RICHARD WONG
Chairman
HTETD, IEM

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