Innovative signs help reduce rural risk

DPTI is continuing to innovate with the trial of the Rural Junction Active Warning System (RJAWS), which will improve safety on the South Australian rural road network.

The system involves installing variable speed-limit signs at junction approaches, including where there are blind bends, which are radar triggered by the presence of side-road traffic.

Motorists crossing a major road or turning right onto a major rural road can often underestimate the required gap to do so. The activation of a reduced speed limit for a short section of road approaching the junction will slow down approaching traffic and increase the gap time.

Lower vehicle speeds also translate to lower impact speeds in the event of a collision, which reduces the severity of sustained injuries.

This system, which was originally developed in Sweden, has been trialled in New Zealand as part of a wider program to address safety at high-risk rural junctions.

The RJAWS will be trialled at the junctions of Cudlee Creek Road and Fox Creek Road, McLaren Flat Road and Baker Gully Road, Bull Creek Roadand and Paris Creek Road, and Horrocks Highway and Stradbrooke Road.

The $500,000 project is funded by DPTI’s Annual Program.