Traffic Engineering and Vehicle Safety
Led by Associate Professor David Logan, the Traffic Engineering and Vehicle Safety team’s engineering background provides a unique lens when researching the cornerstones of road safety: safe vehicles, safe roads, and roadsides. Expertise includes road safety strategy modelling and development, road safety infrastructure, and light and heavy vehicle safety, including automated vehicles.
They translate research into practice and collaborate extensively with government and industry partners. Contributing to key road safety strategies in Australia, the team's work builds upon the Safe System and Vision Zero road safety philosophies.
Major projects
In 2024, the team delivered a range of impactful projects. Notably, working with the TAC Road Safety team to conduct 16 in-depth investigations into fatal crashes as part of the Safe System Crash Investigation Program pilot. Findings were shared with Victorian stakeholders and local councils to guide localised safety improvements.
Team milestones
Internationally, the team supported Anglo American’s procurement of safer light vehicles across operations in Africa and South America - regions where safety standards can be difficult to meet - helping protect workers and raise awareness of safer vehicle technologies.
Domestically, their evaluation of New South Wales’ Pedestrian Protection Program highlighted the program’s success with a 45% reduction in pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries following signal modifications at intersections. They also contributed safety recommendations to the Office of the Chief Investigator (Transport Safety) following the 2023 Exford bus crash.
A standout collaboration with MUARC’s Emergency Services Research team investigated risks to rural firefighting vehicles from falling trees and limbs in NSW, resulting in the development of a tailored vehicle performance testing program.
Impact
They are a frequent collaborator with other MUARC teams, sharing their engineering expertise to a diverse range of safety and injury prevention projects, and with Monash university colleagues within the Monash Institute for Transport Studies and the Faculty of IT. Their work was supported by diverse funding sources, including TAC, the Australian Automobile Association, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Austroads, and Anglo American.
The Traffic Engineering and Vehicle Safety team draws on research expertise in civil, mechanical and transport engineering to conduct world-class research which works towards the elimination of death and serious injury on Australian roads through the provision of robust, evidence-based findings.