This literature review is the first of two planned publications of PIARC Task Force 4.1 “Road Design Standards” in the period 2020 – 2022. PIARC considered importance of comparison international road design standards to check their updated status and the degree of their readiness to face the forthcoming innovations in the road mobility.
The report presents a literature review in the field of road design standards based on reviewing reports, guidelines, and research papers on the subject matter. It is the first document since many years comparing road design standards in several countries. The document aims to identify similarities and differences between the approaches adopted in different countries and evaluates the possible need of their adaptation to the requirements of a rapidly changing world in the field of road transport systems: new technologies, changes in mobility modes (new propulsion techniques, new personal transport mode, and connected and autonomous driving) and availability of multiple diffused data sources (Big Data).
The comparison and conclusions were drafted basing on the answers received to the Questionnaire launched among the members of Task Force 4.1. Ultimately, the comparison covered 15 countries from around the world: Austria, Australia, Belgium (Wallonia), Canada (Quebec), Chile, China, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
The literature review focuses on reviewing the following topics: road classification, speed in road design standards, traffic composition and multimodal consideration in road design standards, design criteria, driving performance and human factors, design parameters considered in road infrastructure design.