As a driver on the road, have you ever wondered whether you practice road safety?

For example, Fiji Roads Authority is spending money sign posting the network to inform drivers about approaching obstacles and speed limits.

I ask as a fellow driver, do you take notice of these signs or do you think they apply to the other drivers on the road just not you?

Shifting the focus back to FRA, in this week’s article, we look at Road Safety Management and how Fiji Roads Authority is working towards embedding the safe system approach on our roads through safety audits, blackspot reduction and village treatments.

An integrated road safety strategy includes the three E’s; Engineering, Enforcement and Education, with FRA’s core role being the physical improvement of the road network; “the engineering aspect”.

Most countries worldwide now adopt a more holistic approach that improves the road environment. Fiji has signaled its intent to do so by adopting the United Nations, Road Safety Decade of Action Plan 2010-2020.

The term Safety Audit is really just a formal examination of a road project with the primary objective of delivering a project that is consistent with the safe system approach.

It is intended to help deliver a safe road system and is not a review of compliance with standards.

In can happen at any time but ideally it should happen, pre-construction, during construction and post construction.

FRA is introducing this concept into the capital projects where sites like Buca Bay have undergone a safety audit.

Through the audit, safety concerns are be identified and recommendations made for improvements.  At this point FRA will have to make a decision on the treatment methods it will undertake.

Recent example

In Suva, a recent  example is the safety audit along Khalsa road  and the areas identified in need of improvement include; road markings, delineation (term used to describe objects guiding traffic like road markings, advisory signs), pedestrian facilities, edge breaks, road side encroachments like houses and structures being built too close to the  road.

Recommendations have been made for FRA to consider and include in our future plans.

The recommendations include the need for footpaths, regularly repainting line markings, signage, repairing edge breaks, guardrails and intersection improvements.

This example is a reflection of the amount of work that is needed  across the country.

The good news then is that Khalsa Road has a future plan and we will get to that in due course.

A more immediate example is further along Kings Road towards Nausori where the residents of Nawanawa and Beaumont Road now have a footpath for pedestrians to use; improving their road environment.

– Neil Cook is the CEO of the Fiji Roads Authority. This is his regular column which will be published by the Fiji Sun on Saturdays.