International Road Assessment Program
Encyclopedia
The International Road Assessment Programme or iRAP assesses roads all over the world and aims to significantly reduce road casualties by improving the safety of road infrastructure.
iRAP was formed in 2006 as an umbrella organisation for EuroRAP
EuroRAP
European Road Assessment Programme is a non-profit road safety organisation which aims to reduce death and serious injury on Europe's roads...
, usRAP and AusRAP and also to facilitate work in middle and low income countries.
In 2006 and 2007 four pilot studies in Malaysia, Chile, Costa Rica and South Africa have been undertaken. These studies showed that road assessment is also helpful in developing countries. High-risk roads where large numbers are killed or seriously injured are inspected and affordable programmes of safety engineering
Safety engineering
Safety engineering is an applied science strongly related to systems engineering / industrial engineering and the subset System Safety Engineering...
are identified. As the percentage of vulnerable road users, like pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and two-wheelers among the road deaths is high in those countries, iRAP focuses on measures to improve road design especially for these users.
The pilot studies have been supported by national motoring organisations, authorities and by teams that have been formed as part of EuroRAP
EuroRAP
European Road Assessment Programme is a non-profit road safety organisation which aims to reduce death and serious injury on Europe's roads...
, usRAP and AusRAP.
Initial results from the pilot studies are due in September 2007
Pilot projects
ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- 46% of road deaths are pedestrians and 10% are cyclists (2004) source: iRAP
- usRAP http://www.usrap.us team coordinates the work in ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
- regional team consists of ACCHI (Chilean Automobile Club), AAAFTS (American Automobile AssociationAmerican Automobile AssociationAAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
Foundation for Traffic Safety), MRI (Midwest Research InstituteMidwest Research InstituteMRIGlobal is an independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri....
) http://www.mriresearch.org, ISU (Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
) http://www.iastate.edu, RACC (Spanish Automobile Club) http://www.seguridadvial.es - 2500 km of roads have been inspected (18% of paved national roads)
- inspections included 6 of 13 regions in Chile
Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
- 57% of road deaths are pedestrians (2005) source: iRAP
- usRAP http://www.usrap.us team coordinates the work in Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
- regional team consists of ACCR (Automobile Club Costa Rica), AAAFTS (American Automobile AssociationAmerican Automobile AssociationAAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
Foundation for Traffic Safety), MRI (Midwest Research InstituteMidwest Research InstituteMRIGlobal is an independent, not-for-profit, contract research organization based in Kansas City, Missouri....
) http://www.mriresearch.org, ISU (Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
) http://www.iastate.edu, RACC (Spanish Automobile Club) http://www.seguridadvial.es - project supported by Cosevi (Road Safety Council) and by the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation
- 2500 km of roads have been inspected (58% of paved national highway network).
- parts of the Pan American Highway (Routes 1 and 2) from NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
to PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
has been included in the inspections
Malaysia
- 66% of road deaths are motorcyclists (2006) source: iRAP
- AusRAP http://www.ausrap.com team coordinates the work in Malaysia
- regional team consists of AAM (Automobile Association Malaysia), JKJR (Road Safety Department), AAA (Australian Automobile AssociationAustralian Automobile AssociationThe Australian Automobile Association was established in 1924; it supports and coordinates the activities of its constituent motoring clubs, and aims to represent the interests of Australian motorists both nationally and internationally....
) http://www.aaa.asn.au, ARRB Group http://www.arrb.com.au - project supported by Ministry of Works and Ministry of Transport, JKR (Public Works Department), LLM (Malaysian Highway AuthorityMalaysian Highway AuthorityThe Malaysian Highway Authority or Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia is a government agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Works...
), MIROS (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research), JPJ (Malaysian Road Transport DepartmentMalaysian Road Transport DepartmentThe Malaysian Road Transport Department ' ' is a government department under the Malaysian Ministry of Transport...
), Royal Malaysian PoliceRoyal Malaysian PoliceThe Royal Malaysia Police is a part of the security forces structure in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organization with responsibilities ranging from traffic control to intelligence gathering. Its headquarters is located at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The police force is led by an...
, PLUS & MTD (Toll road operators), UPM (Universiti Putra MalaysiaUniversiti Putra MalaysiaUniversiti Putra Malaysia , or UPM, is a leading research intensive public university located in central Peninsular Malaysia, close to the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. It was formerly known as Universiti Pertanian Malaysia or Agricultural University of Malaysia...
), IKRAM (Institut Kerja Raya Malaysia) - over 3000 km of roads have been inspected (5% of Malaysia's paved roads)
- Express Tollway (E1, E2, E8) and Federal Roads (F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F8, F67, F68, F76) have been inspected
South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- 42% of road deaths are pedestrians (2006) source: iRAP
- EuroRAPEuroRAPEuropean Road Assessment Programme is a non-profit road safety organisation which aims to reduce death and serious injury on Europe's roads...
http://www.eurorap.org team coordinates the work together with ADACADACThe ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911... - regional team consists of AASA (Automobile Association South Africa), TRL (Transport Research LaboratoryTransport Research LaboratoryTRL is a British transport consultancy and research organisation based at Wokingham Berkshire with approximately 500 staff. TRL is owned by the Transport Research Foundation , which is overseen by 80 sector members from the transport industry. TRL also own small UK regional offices situated in...
) http://www.trl.co.uk, ADACADACThe ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
http://www.adac.de and SWECO http://www.sweco.se - 2100 km of roads in Kwazulu-NatalKwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
have been inspected (4% of South Africa's paved roads)