NEWSLETTER N°75
September 2018

Dear readers,

The next World Road Congress will be held in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) from 6 to 10 October 2019. The preparation is progressing fast. Indeed :

• The call for papers has already attracted hundreds of abstracts; these are being evaluated by the Technical Committees and Study Groups of the Association;
• Eight prizes will be awarded to the best communications;
• Our partner organizations have proposed about thirty topics for Special Sessions or Workshops; this will be examined by the Executive Committee of the Association at the end of October, during the statutory meetings which will be held in Yokohama (Japan)
• The United Arab Emirates is preparing a series of topics for the ministers' session that will open the Congress

>> Further information

Discover the upcoming seminars organised by PIARC 

October and November 2018

During the months of October and November 2018, PIARC is organizing ten International Seminars covering the main topics related to road and road transport. These will take place in Durban, Beijing, Kiev, Petaling Jaya, Cape Town, Hanoi, Arusha and Tunis. They are organized with the assistance of PIARC Technical Committees and Task Forces, which include more than 1,200 experts. Discover the list of topics covered by upcoming seminars and register to attend!

>> Find out more

Meeting of the Steering Committee of the PIARC Road Safety Manual (RSM)

Geneva (Switzerland), 2-3 October 2018

The Steering Committee meeting is organised by PIARC to present the preliminary results obtained by the PIARC Technical Committees on Road Safety (TC C.1 and TC C.2) with a view to update and improve the Road Safety Manual (RSM). New features will be shared with stakeholders, including case studies to be implemented, other language versions, etc. Round tables will be held to obtain comments on the use of the Road Safety Manual. These will be relevant for the update and future opportunities for improvement.

>> Find out more about TC C.1 - National Road Safety Policies and Programs
>> Find out more about TC C.2 - Design and Operations of Safer Road Infrastructure

PIARC was present at the workshop on Road Safety in Cameroon

Yaoundé (Cameroon), 23-24 August 2018

In support of the launch of the Road Safety Review Report by UN Special Envoy Jean Todt, PIARC Technical Committee C.2 "Design and Operations of Safer Road Infrastructure", together with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Ministry of Transport of Cameroon, organized a two-day workshop on safety audit, inspection and evaluation.The workshop, facilitated by Team Leader John Barrell (UK), featured presentations on PIARC's Road Safety Manual (RSM), Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Road Safety Inspection Guidelines for Roads, as well as iRAP evaluation practices.This workshop, attended by about 100 participants, was held in parallel with the Data Collection workshop, in order to provide a comprehensive approach to develop effective road safety management in Cameroon.Delegates also conducted a technical visit to highlight various aspects of road safety inspection.

>> Find out more about TC C.2 - Design and Operations of Safer Road Infrastructure

The 6th Meeting of PIARC Technical Committee D.3 "Bridges" will be held during the 14th Slovenian Congress on Traffic and Traffic Infrastructure

Portorož (Slovenia), 24-26 October 2018

The 14th Slovenian Congress on Traffic and Traffic Infrastructure, formerly the Slovenian Road Congress, will be held in Portorož from 24 to 26 October 2018. It will bring together about 600 experts from Slovenia and neighbouring countries. It will be preceded by the 6th meeting of PIARC Technical Committee D.3 "Bridges". Five members of the Committee will present their contributions and the conclusions of the work of the Technical Committee at the international plenary session, sponsored by the Slovenian National Committee of PIARC.

>> Find out more about TC D.3 - Bridges

Final meeting of PIARC Task Force C.1 - Infrastructure Security

Ljubljana (Slovenia), 19-20 September 2018

The PIARC Task Force C.1 on Infrastructure Security met in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 19 and 20 September 2018 for their final meeting. Members discussed the draft of the final report "Road Infrastructure Safety" in a round table with a group of experts before adopting the final version of the technical report.

>> Find out more about TF C.1 - Infrastructure Security

Meeting of the German PIARC National Committee

Erfurt (Germany), 12-14 September 2018

The Forschungsgesellschaft für Straßen und Verkehrswesen (FGSV), or Association for Road and Transport Research, recognised as the German National Committee of PIARC, has convened its Road and Traffic Congress. Claude van Rooten, President of PIARC, was invited to speak at the meeting, where he highlighted the close links between Germany and PIARC and the major contribution it makes to the life of the Association. Every two years, the German Road and Traffic Congress brings together more than 1,500 participants and visitors, including representatives of federal, regional and local administrations, design offices, universities and companies. 

>> Find out more about PIARC National Committees

Issue of Routes/Roads magazine N° 378 

The latest issue of PIARC's Routes/Roads magazine is available. It is devoted to road tunnels (30-page main dossier) as part of the first international conference on this subject, jointly organised by PIARC. Technical Committee D.5 and the French National Committee of PIARC, which will be held in Lyon (France) from 3 to 5 October 2018. It also reviewed PIARC's news and special projects, and honoured Mexico with the Communication on the International Framework for Adaptation to Climate Change for Road Infrastructure, and the National Committees' Forum on AMIVTAC (Mexico).

>> Display Routes/ Roads issue online

The PIARC technical report "Assessing and Improving Safety in Existing Road Tunnels" is now available in Spanish 

This report contains recommendations for setting up a step-by-step process for the development of a program to upgrade the safety of existing road tunnels, ensuring that the required safety levels are achieved. A five step methodology is proposed for the development of safety upgrade works. The presentation of this structured methodology is complemented in appendices with examples of the identification of weak spots for existing tunnels and of case studies of tunnel safety improvement programs.

>> Display the technical report

The PIARC Best Practice Guide for the Maintenance of Concrete Roads is now available in Turkish 

Following the request to PIARC from the Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (TCMA), which promotes the use of concrete roads in Turkey, a Turkish version of the report prepared by PIARC Technical Committee D.2 "Road Pavements" has just been published by TCMA. The guide first examines the different modes of deterioration of concrete pavements. It then describes pavement maintenance techniques by specifying precisely the products to be used and the method of implementation. Three appendices complete the guide.

>> Consult the guide

United Nations Road Safety Collaboration

October 3-4, 2018

Geneva (Suitzerland)

Annual meeting of the Swiss PIARC National Committee

November 28, 2018

Bern (Switzerland)