Australian Road Research Board

Expansion of power network has led to the construction of multiple transmission and distribution lines within constrained spaces inevitably resulting in them being mutually coupled. This introduces a new set of challenges to protection engineers to accurately determine the reach of conventional protection schemes like differential, distance and directional earth fault with carrier aided schemes, making accurate protection grading a complex task. Protection settings without meticulous investigation have led to maloperation of the relays which degrades the overall power system reliability. Zero-sequence impedance-based tripping logics have shown operational issues under such mutual coupling of power lines, whereas secondary tripping logic, such as negative sequence protection has warranted an accurate fault recognition. In this paper, the usability of negative sequence protection of such instances is extensively analysed to mitigate the nuisance tripping of such mutually coupled transmission lines. A realworld case study of relay maloperation is analysed using detailed PSCAD modelling of the network under different fault conditions with protection scheme applied. The results of the case study have revealed that the proposed scheme successfully eliminates the instances of incorrect tripping, ensuring precise fault identification across various fault scenarios, while maintaining compatibility with the existing protection coordination of mutually coupled lines.

Highly automated driving (HAD) vehicles are predicted to have several societal benefits, including reduced accidents and fatalities, reduced congestion, efficient traffic networks and improved productivity. However, the adoption of technology is dependent on the willingness of people to adopt the technology. For a smooth transition to driverless vehicles, it is essential to investigate the public perception of driverless vehicles. This paper presents the multi-year survey data on public opinion on driverless vehicles in Australia and New Zealand. The survey has four rounds undertaken over a period of six years that can provide insights about the sentiment of Australians and New Zealanders over time. The data presented in the paper can be used in research studies that can benefit vehicle manufacturers, policy makers and researchers responsible for and interested in the safe and successful deployment of automated and driverless vehicles on Australian and New-Zealand roads in the future. Additionally, the last round of the survey also consists of Covid-19 questions and can be used to investigate Covid-19's effect on mobility.

Pedestrian safety is a significant concern for transportation professionals, especially the risky behaviour of pedestrians using mobile phones, such as entering a road crossing illegally or entering the crossing with a delay. While several investigations have highlighted the significance of mobile phone distraction while walking and interventions developed to mitigate this risk, the effectiveness of such interventions remains unaddressed. This research, therefore, investigated the effects of two distraction warning strategies, in-ground flashing lights and phone app, in a simulator-based virtual reality environment (N = 26). The study was conducted with a repeated measure design where participants participated in three scenarios (two with interventions and one without) while conducting a visually distractive task on a mobile phone. Twelve road intersections in the Brisbane CBD (Australia) were replicated and equipped with in-ground flashing lights or a phone app where the mobile phone screen edge colour changes based on traffic light signalling. A control condition of no intervention was also used. Each intervention was assessed to be beneficial based on reaction time and behaviour. Results showed the reaction time while using in-ground flashing lights as an intervention to be shorter compared to the mobile phone app and the control condition. The impact of in-ground flashing lights is greater in reducing the number of intersections where pedestrians do not comply with traffic signals and undetected green cycles compared to the mobile app. However, in considering traffic lights status checks and gaze toward traffic before crossing, in the mobile phone app condition participants checked traffic lights and road traffic before crossing in more intersections than with in-ground flashing lights. This study has shown that both intervention techniques can be suitable to improve pedestrian awareness at intersections when distracted by a mobile phone. In an environment where reducing the use of mobiles is unlikely, these interventions could be implemented to decrease risky behaviours and should therefore improve pedestrians’ safety. Finally, this research highlighted that in-ground flashing lights could be an effective option to implement in the real-world and inform policymakers of the most effective intervention to implement and contribute to the development of evidence-based policies.

Achondroplasia is the most common form of skeletal dysplasia. In addition to altered growth, children and young people with achondroplasia may experience medical complications, develop and function differently to others and require psychosocial support. International, European and American consensus guidelines have been developed for the management of achondroplasia. The Australian focused guidelines presented here are designed to complement those existing guidelines. They aim to provide core care recommendations for families and clinicians, consolidate key resources for the management of children with achondroplasia, facilitate communication between specialist, local teams and families and support delivery of high‐quality care regardless of setting and geographical location. The guidelines include a series of consensus statements, developed using a modified Delphi process. These statements are supported by the best available evidence assessed using the National Health and Medicine Research Council's criteria for Level of Evidence and their Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE). Additionally, age specific guides are presented that focus on the key domains of growth, medical, development, psychosocial and community. The guidelines are intended for use by health professionals and children and young people with achondroplasia and their families living in Australia.

A Raised Safety Platform (RSP) is a relatively new physical road safety intervention at major intersections. They aim to enhance road user safety by reducing vehicle speeds at intersections using an acute vertical deflection to the vehicle path. This study measured the change in speed at selected high-volume intersections treated with an RSP. It was a 12-month study based on a controlled before-and-after-treatment design, with speed and other measures assessed at six treated and five control intersections. Statistically significant and meaningful reductions in speeds were observed given the treatment and adjusted for the control group. A 15.6% reduction in the central tendency of speed was found overall. The odds of a vehicle exceeding nominal Safe System speeds of 30 km/h, 40 km/h, and 50 km/h also reduced markedly, with greater reductions observed at the higher speed thresholds (46%, 69%, and 80%, respectively). The change in speed corresponded to an estimated aggregate-level injurious crash-reduction benefit of around 26% and a reduction in the likelihood of a serious injury given a crash of between 38% to 57% depending on the crash type. It was concluded that RSP is an effective Safe System treatment to reduce speeds at major intersections to levels similar that at roundabouts. The results suggest that well designed RSPs at signalised intersections are an effective and sustainable Safe System treatment.

This work is motivated by the high rate of private car use by commuters in Australian cities. Considering the various benefits of public transport (PT), it is imperative to analyze the shortcomings of the PT networks in comparison to car travel. For this purpose, this work focuses on analyzing the travel time difference between PT and car journeys. This paper presents a methodology to analyze the relative mobility of a PT network in comparison to car travel. The key component of this methodology is the use of two complementary relative mobility metrics that are developed to determine the portions of PT journeys that are inefficient (time-wise) in comparison to car trips. The first metric is the point-to-point relative mobility used to perform spatial distribution analysis, and the second is the PT line relative mobility that evaluates the performance of the PT routes. A demonstration of the methodology is presented by using a case study from Melbourne (Australia). The results of the case study show some inefficient segments of the PT services in several areas, and within the Port Melbourne area in particular. Therefore, this information can be used to assist decision makers to prioritize PT improvements to encourage mode shifts to PT.