When it comes to Australian road safety, it is important to consider all road users, not just those travelling in a vehicle.
Vulnerable road users are those who have little or no protection in the event of an accident on roads, footpaths, and driveways. This includes pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and riders of other motorised devices such as e-bikes and e-scooters.
People in wheelchairs, as well as frail, aged or disabled people relying on mobility devices, are generally classified as pedestrians and also considered vulnerable road users.
These road users are considered vulnerable because – unlike drivers and passengers in enclosed vehicles – they have little or no protection when colliding with a vehicle, a tree, the road surface, or road furniture such as signposts and crash barriers.
Speed is a significant factor when it comes to the severity of accidents between vehicles and vulnerable road users. For example, there is a 10 per cent probability of a cyclist or pedestrian being killed if struck by a vehicle travelling at 30 km/h, but this rises to more than 90 per cent at 50 km/h, according to Australian research (see Proposed vehicle impact speed – severe injury probability relationships for selected crash types in injury for cyclists of all ages).
Motorcycle riders, pedestrians and cyclists accounted for a third of Australia’s road toll in 2020. When it comes to serious injuries, that rises to almost half of all incidents.
For Australian motorcycle riders, annual fatality rates per billion vehicle kilometres travelled are, on average, nearly 30 times higher than for vehicle occupants. In 2020, half of motorcycle deaths occurred in 100 and 110 km/h zones.
Primarily pedestrian Australian fatalities involve a collision with a light vehicle, with children and the elderly particularly vulnerable to injury or death in a crash. The majority of pedestrian deaths occurred in 50‑60 km/h zones in 2020, while a quarter of deaths were at intersections.
Similarly, half of Australian cyclist deaths occurred in 50-60 km/h zones and 56 per cent occurred at intersections. Around a quarter were on higher speed roads, of 90 km/h and above, while a quarter involved a heavy vehicle.
Changing road conditions is one key way to protect vulnerable road users. Reducing speed limits, particularly around schools and hospitals, can reduce both the number and severity of incidents involving pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
Initiatives such as creating separate lanes can reduce the risk to cyclists, while efforts to reduce or redesign road furniture can reduce the risk to motorcyclists.
Awareness campaigns also have a major role to play in protecting vulnerable road users. This extends from encouraging riders to wear helmets, through to encouraging all road users to respect speed limits and obey the law, as well as be more aware of and considerate of other road users.
This short video is about the Light Insight Trial, a project iMOVE ran with the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and Deakin University. The impetus for the project was a “… strong and immediate need to investigate innovative methods to ensure the safety of vulnerable road users, particularly cyclists.” The innovation in this case was a smart bike light, and the collection, analysis, and visualisation of the data collected by the bike light.
Read more about the project, its findings and recommendations, at Smart bike lights, data, and improved cyclist safety.
The reality is, there’s just not enough space to accommodate every single user. We need to begin to think more holistically about those users. With cycling for example, some people want to cycle through the city relatively fast because it’s more of a commuter route, whereas some people are coming to the city as a destination.
Same thing with pedestrians. You’ve got people that meander through the city and those that are moving through the city quickly.
It’s asking questions about the different roles streets play. What are their movement functions?
Amy Child – Transport and Urban Planner
CARRS-Q Fact Sheets (2020)
Source: National Road Safety Strategy’s Fact sheet: Vulnerable road users
Source: CARRS-Q, Motorcycle Safety, Fact Sheet 2020
Source: CARRS-Q, Pedestrian Safety, Fact Sheet 2020
Source: CARRS-Q, e-Scooter Safety, Fact Sheet 2020
iMOVE is working with La Trobe University and Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission (TAC) to investigate new technologies to engage the community and improve road safety. It is also set to investigate the use of Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) technologies to improve safety for motorcycle riders, in conjunction with La Trobe University, the TAC and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland).
iMOVE undertook a road empathy project with Swinburne University of Technology, to understand and evaluate campaigns for behaviour change in young drivers and vulnerable road users. It is also investigating interactions between pedestrians, cyclists and autonomous vehicles, with the University of Queensland, in preparation for the introduction of autonomous vehicles to Australia.
iMOVE’s mission is to advance the development and adoption of technologies that improve Australia’s transport systems, through high impact R&D collaborations. Vulnerable road users is a prime candidate for this approach, to improve the safety of VRUs, ultimately leading to the saving of lives and reduction of injuries and trauma.
To date we are running almost 50 projects addressing vulnerable road users, in areas such as:
For a look at all of the VRU work we’re doing click through to the project lists below.
The R&D work of iMOVE and its partners is taking place across Australia. Some work is specifically State- or city-based, other work has a national focus. It’s investigating issues and opportunities on Australian roads, rail, sea, and air.
Additionally, we’re readying Australia’s next generations of experts and practitioners to help make Australian roads safer for vulnerable road users via our Undergraduate Student Industry and Industry PhD programs.
There’s still a lot of work to be done to make Australian transport systems safer. If you’d like to talk to us about any R&D work in the area of vulnerable road users please get in touch with us to start a discussion.
iMOVE, along with its partners, is active in carrying out R&D to make Australians transport and mobility safer.
Please find below the three latest vulnerable road users projects. Or click to view all iMOVE’s vulnerable road users projects.
This project provided an overview of new and emerging technology solutions to aid community engagement around road safety.
An overview of the completed “Collation of shared spaces infrastructure in NSW” project, including a downloadable copy of the final report.
An overview of the completed “New/emerging transport tech: Greater accessibility and inclusivity” project, including a downloadable copy of the final report.
In addition to iMOVE and its partners’ vulnerable road users projects listed above, as part of our Industry PhD Program businesses, universities and PhD students work on an agreed topic over a three-year period.
These are the three most recent PhD projects that have been undertaken on the topic of vulnerable road users. Click to view all iMOVE’s vulnerable road users PhD projects.
This PhD project aims to propose a solution to identify and possibly prevent any type of early stage C-ITS misbehaviour in the network.
This PhD project will look at algorithms to estimate the position/intention of pedestrians essential for the safe interaction between CAVs and pedestrians.
This research will focus on enhanced depiction of pedestrian and active mode interactions with vehicular traffic across a variety of road infrastructure scenarios.
In addition to projects, iMOVE also publishes articles, thoughtpieces, case studies, etc. that cover the many issues and solutions around vulnerable road users.
Below are the three most recent articles. Or click to view all iMOVE’s vulnerable road users articles.
An iMOVE project outcomes webinar, presenting findings from the iMOVE project “Improving transport accessibility for people living with disability”.
An overview of the completed project ‘Improving worker safety on the M1 Motorway’, including a copy of the project’s final report.
The See Me app, aimed at transforming public transport for commuters who are blind or vision impaired, has secured $500,000 investment from iMOVE CRC.
