RPS shares Vehicle Restraint Innovations at Swedish Road Safety Conference
Sweden, which remains at the forefront of road safety, is now looking to Irish innovation to inspire new pragmatic approaches to road safety measures - specifically vehicle restraint systems (VRS), or safety barriers in short. They are responding to continuing pressure to ensure safety standards for transport infrastructure keep pace with evolving travel habits and vehicle capabilities.
RPS was recently invited to speak at the Swedish Safety Barrier Association’s conference on road network safety. Hosted by the Swedish Safety Barrier Association (SVBRF) and the Swedish Road Workers Safety Association (SVSB), the conference heard from a wide range of speakers, from the Swedish Road Administration, Swedish Transport Agency, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration among others.
The event, titled ‘A safer traffic environment for those who use or work on the road’, covered a breadth of aspects from barrier integrity and driver psychologies to connected and autonomous vehicles. The variety of topics ranged from bridge parapet containment for inter-urban coaches, to road user behaviour in work zones from a psychological perspective, to preparations in Sweden for connected and autonomous vehicles. The event attracted over 150 delegates, mainly from Scandinavia.
Rowan O’Callaghan, RPS Technical Director from Galway, shared the innovation RPS applied in our design solution for Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s dynamic N58 pilot project. This featured the country’s first tests of vehicle impacts on road safety barriers using innovative screw and pin bracing to secure them on less stable ground.
By pushing the boundaries of enquiry and commitment to securing the best safety results, RPS has demonstrated leadership in VRS engineering design, achieving:
- Sole consultant sitting on the Executive Committee of the Irish Barrier Association
- Leading VRS design consultant for 22 local authorities
- Key advisor to Transport Infrastructure Ireland
- Trainer for the Engineers Ireland VRS design course
About RPS
Founded in 1970, RPS, A Tetra Tech Company (RPS) is a leading global professional services firm of 5,000 consultants and service providers. Operating in 125 countries, working across six continents we define, design and manage projects that create shared value to a complex, urbanising and resource-scarce world.
RPS delivers a broad range of services in six sectors: property, energy, transport, water, defence and government services and resources. Services provided across RPS' six sectors cover twelve service clusters: project and program management, design and development, water services, environment, advisory and management consulting, exploration and development, planning and approvals, health, safety and risk, oceans and coastal, laboratories, training and communications, creative and digital services.
RPS stands out for its clients by using its deep expertise to solve problems that matter, making them easy to understand. Making complex easy.
For further information, please visit www.rpsgroup.com.