Road safety

We work with transport authorities to develop and deliver road safety strategies, plans and infrastructure. Together, we create safer transport environments for all road users, guided by the Safe System philosophy.

By recognising that people make mistakes on the roads, we work collaboratively to improve the safety of the whole road system and prevent errors from becoming tragedies.

We’re committed to safer transport environments for our communities and future generations, delivering pragmatic road safety solutions that put people first.

Road safety for kids

Abley's road safety heroes answer questions from kids for NZ Road Safety week (9-15 May 2022)
Play Video about Abley Road safety for kids
Road to Zero

Road safety strategy + industry guidance

We help governments and local councils build safer roads. Our road safety specialists bring risk to light and inform road safety strategy in New Zealand and around the world.

Road safety strategy projects include researching and developing an Infrastructure Risk Rating tool for Austroads. This tool helps road authorities across Australia assess their road network, identify appropriate speed limits and effective speed management interventions.

The NZ Transport Agency’s Road to Zero road safety program is built on our road safety modelling for the NZ road network. And we built the Safer Journey’s Risk Assessment Tool, also called Mega Maps, the speed management source of truth for every road in the country.

road safety risk curves

Road safety risk assessment

Before you can deliver effective road safety interventions you must understand risk across your road network. We take the heavy lifting out of road risk assessment, so you can focus on planning and implementation. 

Our work has helped reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the roads in New Zealand, Australia and around the world. We can help you with all your road safety challenges.

Christchurch intersection, walking, active

Road safety audits

Road safety audits are a proactive approach to road safety. They’re an integral part of the Safe Systems approach at all stages of roading projects, and they’re often required by road authorities to ensure potential safety issues are identified and addressed.

A road safety audit fulfils a vital role in checking that roading projects are designed and built to the highest safety standards for all road users. We can conduct safety audit subdivisions, road and intersection improvements at each stage of the project, including feasibility audits, detailed safety audits and post-construction audits.

We also have expertise in auditing more innovative and complex transport schemes including shared spaces, pedestrian and cycling facilities, and streetscapes.

Road curves

Safe view

Seeing and being seen are critical for safe road travel. Head on crashes occur when drivers pull out to pass without a safe view of what’s ahead. Safe View is a new methodology for sightline analysis and visibility assessment.

Our work has helped reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the roads in New Zealand, Australia and around the world. We can help you with all your road safety challenges.

speed management

Speed management

Reduce deaths and serious injuries with speeds that are safe and appropriate for your roads’ function and design. 

Abley road safety specialists help road authorities identify high-benefit opportunities and put in place speed management solutions. We can help you develop speed management programmes, review speed limit bylaws, and adopt best practice speed management interventions.

Megamaps

Road safety applications + tools

Understand road safety risk and manage safety programmes with our range of award-winning road safety risk assessment applications and tools for transport authorities.

Risk assessment applications include Mega Maps, created for Waka Kotahi to help road authorities identify where to prioritise safety interventions such as speed limit reductions. We also offer a range of road safety tools including Safe View and Safe Curves.

graph, presenting, data

Evaluation + appraisal of road safety programmes

You invest in road safety programmes to reduce deaths and serious injuries. So, it’s important that you understand how effective your investment is.

We can help you develop, optimise and evaluate the outcomes of road safety programmes and projects. We consider historic crash data, crash reduction factors, crash risk assessments and severity analysis methods.

Monitoring the outcomes of road safety programmes informs your future programmes and projects. When we evaluate the success of safety programmes, we use best practice statistical methods that correct for bias.

pen, writing

Expert witness on road safety matters

Crashes are complex events influenced by a variety of system components. These include road and road-side design, operating conditions, human and vehicle factors. 

We understand these complexities and the factors that influence road safety. Our Safe Systems experts, Paul Durdin and Dr Shane Turner have more than twenty years’ experience as expert witnesses in hearings. They have appeared before the Environment Court. They also give road safety advice at international conferences and workshops.

Paul and Shane are available to provide evidence for court cases, coroner inquiries and other forums requiring specialised road safety advice.

safety, cone, sign

Temporary traffic management

Temporary Traffic Management manages health and safety risks for site workers, site visitors and the public, by eliminating or reducing hazards. 

All temporary activities on the road must comply with Temporary Traffic Management requirements set by local and central government.

We can help you prepare, review, audit, and submit Traffic Management Plans. We also provide data collection technology solutions. These minimise or avoid the need for people to put themselves at risk in active road environments. Our team is qualified in Temporary Traffic Management in New Zealand, operating under the COPTTM requirements. 

My team has engaged Abley extensively over many years … The most recent work has been the delivery of the Speed Management Framework and associated mapping tool, which has not only received praise from road controlling authorities across New Zealand, but has also been the basis of recognition at international conferences and has been adopted wholly or in part by Australian states.”

Glenn Bunting, Manager Network Safety, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

Case study

Helping Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to save lives on our roads

One of the first large pieces of work we did with the Agency was developing SafetyNET. This project mapped risk across the state highway network using both proactive and reactive risk metrics. This was used by Waka Kotahi to identify locations needing road safety improvements.

Contact our road safety experts

Paul Durdin
Director, Transport

Shane Turner 
Technical Director, Road Safety