KiwiRAP

What do drivers think about road engineering

As part of its July 2007 membership opinion survey, the New Zealand Automobile Association included a series of questions to measure how motorists assessed different hazards or road safety features.

This lack of knowledge was confirmed when respondents were asked to imagine a situation where they were driving and lost control of a medium sized car on the open road at 70km/h. They were asked to identify the likelihood of someone in their vehicle being killed or injured due to the existence (or absence) of a number of features.

road engineering

The benefits of wearing a seat belt are obviously well known, with almost 80% of respondents marking it either probable or almost certain that someone would be killed or injured by not wearing a seatbelt. The dangers of a cliff or a steep bank were also identified, with 75% of respondents thinking that a cliff or steep bank would mean it was probable or almost certain that someone would be killed or injured.

In contrast, roadside hazards such as deep ditches and trees were recognised by few. In fact, around 12% of respondents thought it would be almost impossible or unlikely someone would be killed or injured by a deep ditch.

Crash statistics show that 50% of rural and 28% of urban accidents in New Zealand involve a roadside hazard and the majority of these are 'single vehicle loss of control' crashes. Major hazard types are upright cliff banks, ditches, trees and poles, with water bodies and trees contributing to particularly severe crash outcomes.