Safety Performance of T-junctions on High Speed Rural Roads: Stage 1 – Seagull T-junctions

The NSW Centre for Road Safety is currently conducting a study to evaluate the safety performances of various unsignalised T-junction configurations on high speed rural roads in NSW. This paper summarises the results of the Stage 1 study involving Seagull T-junctions only. The findings were that two types of crashes, Right Near and Right Through, were predominant among all the crashes, and those that result in casualties. Driver impairment, speeding behaviour and road environment conditions were a factor in a small percentage of these crashes. Of the deemed to be at-fault male drivers, almost two thirds were at and above the age of 67. However, for each of the other age groups below this, there was a higher incidence of female drivers than male drivers involved in Right Near crashes. The former is consistent with other studies on older male drivers. Consistent with the RTA’s “safe system approach”, key solutions include substantially reduced speeds for through traffic and removal of critical side impact crash types. This may require further investigation prior to implementation.