Effective risk assessment for passive safety solutions

摘要

Any discussion by Traffic Engineers about Passive Poles is likely to expose widely disparate views and passionately held positions. Comments might include:-"Passive safety at traffic signals is expensive and a waste of taxpayers' money!" "Passively safe poles create more risks than they solve!" "Passively safe solutions are rarely installed properly and consequently don't really perform!" "Passive poles are weak and will fall over in strong winds!" Like all such statements these may contain an element of truth, but the use of passively safe solutions at traffic signals can also improve overall safety, as long as the solutions are deployed appropriately. A selection of useful material on this topic already exists and guidance is available, for example the 'Passive Safety UK Guidelines for Specification and Use of Passively Safe Street Furniture on the UK Road Network' published by Passive Safety UK. In addition, several authors have previously published articles in various magazines, including TEC, to try and help bring clarity to a confused picture. Despite the availability of this material, the full implications of using passive poles and the care needed when designing schemes is still not well understood.