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2007 Mines Safety Roadshow held in October 2007
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and Employment Protection Resources Safety 1
Toolbox presentation:
Road safety on mine sites part 2
Traffic safety on mining operations October 2007
 Road safety on mine sites toolbox series

1. Road safety issues on WA mine sites

2. Traffic safety at mining operations
(Author: Damir Vagaya, ARRB Group)

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Presentation objectives

Recognise and understand some of the traffic hazards

present at mining operations, including processing plants,
that are often overlooked
Guidance on how to deal with these hazards

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Presentation overview

Risk
Roads
Pedestrians
Delineation
Traffic signs
Parking
Remedial actions

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Introduction to ARRB Group

Established in 1960 by Australian and New Zealand

Road Authorities as the Australian Road Research
Board
Publicly owned research and consulting not-for-profit
organisation with a major focus on increasing traffic
safety

research | consulting | technology

www.arrb.com.au
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Introduction cont.

ARRB has been assisting the resource industry by:

conducting site-based road safety audits
auditing heavy vehicles routes (public roads)
developing traffic management plans
undertaking crash investigations

Presenter: Traffic safety engineer with mining

background and experience in traffic risk assessments

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 RISK

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Why are road safety and traffic management
important?

Form part of an overall risk management strategy

Minimise injury and property damage
Ensure people travel safely while at work and on their
journeys to and from work
(Reduce downtime, cost and inefficiency)

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 Regulatory framework

Mines Safety and Inspection Act 1994

Promote and improve the safety and health of persons at mines
Onus is on the employer to ensure that, as far as is practicable,
employees are not exposed to hazards or do not do hazardous work
without appropriate personal protective equipment and equipment as is
practicable to protect them against those hazards, without any cost to the
employees

Each person who works on a mine is responsible for:

their own safety
the safety of others affected by their actions or inactions

A motor vehicle used as part of work is considered to be a workplace

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 What is risk?

RISK = Exposure x Likelihood x Severity

Exposure = traffic volumes

Likelihood = length x general & relative risk x influencing factors

Severity = historical average of a crash types severity (consequences)

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How can we reduce risk?

Reduce exposure
Access control
Reduce likelihood
Road design (alignment, cross section, etc.)
Maintenance and repair of roads
Training / permits
Segregation between vehicle types
Reduce severity
Speed management
Vehicles standards (ROP, FOP, load restrains, etc.)
Clear zones and barriers
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 ROADS

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 Road design

Alignment
Width
Gradients
Profile
Construction practices
Unsealed roads
Competency and operator training (design manuals, standards,
practices)
Lifecycle economics

Drainage

Dust suppression

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Intersection design

Sight distances / visibility (consideration for different

vehicle types and surface conditions, remove road side
objects obscuring visibility)
Alignment (preference to intersections at right angles)
Right of way controls (Give Way / Stop signage)
Conspicuousness (advance warning signs, lighting,
hazard board markers at the terminating leg)
Preference for T junctions over four-way crossovers

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Right-of-way rules

Consistent with normal road conditions and Australian road

rules
Intersections should be posted with Give way or Stop
signage
No differentiation between vehicle types
Only exception emergency vehicles
Alternative right of way arrangements require a risk
assessment

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Pavement design and road surface condition

Poor pavement design practices lead to cracks, rutting,

potholes and other failures
Roads should be kept free of loose material
Regular / as-required clean ups (sweeping)

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Clear zones

Horizontal width of space on the side of a road that

should be free of hazards (i.e. should be safely
traversable by errant vehicles)
Width depends on the speed and geometry (1 metre to
about 3 metres)
Where clear zone cannot be achieved:
Hazards should be signed and marked
Protected by barriers

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Safety barriers

Can become hazards themselves

Should be installed to applicable standards and specs (e.g.
minimum effective length 28 metres, 600 mm deflection)
A list of approved W-beam barriers for use in WA can be
obtained from Main Roads WA
No barrier has been tested on heavy vehicles
Should have approved end treatments
Reflectors

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Separation of heavy and light vehicles

Pedestrians, heavy vehicles and light vehicles should be

separated wherever possible (or interaction minimised)
Physical separation (semi)permanent barriers,
separate road networks, parking facilities
Time separation management process aimed at
restricting access to certain vehicles into certain areas at
certain times (i.e. no deliveries during shift change
hours, activities restricted to night shifts where traffic
volumes are generally lower)
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 Lighting

Common problems
Glaring
Dark spots
Inadequate lighting of pedestrian
facilities
Inadequate lighting of parking
facilities

Regular inspections and reporting

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 PEDESTRIANS

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Pedestrians desire lines and route planning

Walking is always present and safe walking

should be encouraged
Identify main desire lines and match with
appropriate infrastructure (footpaths, crossings)
Separation and protection from vehicles
Monitor usage

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Footpaths

1.5-2.0 metres wide

Ideally raised (kerbed)
If level with roads, mark footpaths with paint
Provide lighting
Marked crossings (zebras) only at locations with high
pedestrian activity. Most crossings should be unmarked
but signposted

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Footpaths cont.

No parking on footpaths allowed

Protect pedestrians with safety guardrail
Pedestrians should be encouraged to use footpaths
Assess and address tripping hazards
(High visibility) PPE should be worn at all times

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 DELINEATION

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Delineation colour coding

Delineation of areas of specific activities (walkways,

laydown, working, hazards, etc.)
Should be standardised and consistent across operations

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 Delineation guide posts

Delineate the road formation

Red on the left, white on the right
Installation:
Roads: 150 metres on straight section, two pairs should be

visible at all times (depends on the speed), about

1.5metres from road formation
Haulage roads: 50 metres on flat roads, and 30 metres on
curves; 1.5-2 metres height, 0.5-1 metres from edge of
road
Auditing of guide post condition (cleaning, repairing, replacing)
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 TRAFFIC SIGNS

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Traffic signs

Principles for installation:

Familiarity

Consistency

Meet expectation

Relevancy

Follow relevant standards (AS 1742, Main Roads WA

guidelines, Road Rules)

Reflectivity (AS 1906 as a minimum, high reflectivity
materials for dusty conditions)
Use Size B or Size C signs
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Use of non-standard signs

Road users respond best to standard traffic controls

Minimise the use of non-standard signs
Graphical representation

Up to 5 words on up to 5 lines

Font size depends on speed

Replace non-standard signs

Implement an approval system for installing signs

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Issues with traffic signs

Issues
Faded, damaged, non-reflective signs

Dirty

Obscured by vegetation

Missing

Small size

Obsolete

Signage clutter

Implement a regular monitoring and maintenance program

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Speed signs

Should be in multiplies of 10 km/h

Installed on the left side of the road
Ideally on both sides of the road
On long stretches of road, repeater signs installed
at spacings of 500 metres

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Speed management

Appropriate speed limits

Consistency
Practicality
Relevancy
Limit the number of speed limits to three or four (e.g. 10, 20,
40 and 60 km/h)
Prepare speed zone maps

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 Speed management cont.

Monitoring and enforcement

Consideration for changing environment
Unsealed roads dust, rain, wind
Always drive to conditions

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 PARKING

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Parking facilities

Parking permitted in designated areas only

Constructed on flat areas
Alternatively use wheel block, V drains, etc.

Separation between light vehicles, heavy vehicles and

pedestrians
Provision for pedestrian corridors
Lighting as appropriate
Reverse parking might not be the best solution for all
locations
Install protection for objects or pedestrians behind
vehicles

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 REMEDIAL ACTIONS

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 Remedial actions

Increase site safety awareness culture

Hazards, incidents and near misses reporting
Documenting
Undertake remedial actions and provide feedback

Auditing
Internal (operation / organisation)
External
- Road safety auditing (Austroads)

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 Remedial actions cont.

Regular reviews of traffic management documentation

Change management
Communication of change

Training

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Queries

Damir Vagaja
Manager Mining and Resources
ARRB Group Ltd
191 Carr Place
Leederville WA 6007

08 9227 3024 or 0404 057 066

damir.vagaja@arrb.com.au

www.arrb.com.au

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