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Overview

Course Prescription

Advanced planning, design, operation and safety management of predominantly two way two lane highways, including: passing and overtaking models analysis and treatments, collision modification and mitigation, roadway design, skid resistance, delineation, temporary traffic control, evaluation methods, and environmental management measures. An independently applied research project will use advanced analytical skills to critically evaluate factors which impact highway safety.

Course Overview

This 15 point Masters paper is designed as an extension from undergraduate courses in Transportation Engineering and primarily focuses on the Road Safety and the Traffic Operational aspects of Two-Lane Highways. It is designed for personnel within industry and to those wanting to enter the transportation industry with a much better understanding of the factors and principles involved in planning, designing, operating and maintaining ‘safe’ highways and the at grade intersections with rail systems. It is a special course in the Masters programme in Transportation Engineering as it will be guest lectured by Professor Emeritus John Morrall, of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, Canada.


The course takes a Safe Systems approach and begins by understanding the human vulnerability to physical forces, reviews operational problems on Two-Lane Highways and Level of Service Measures and then looks specifically at the planning, designing and maintaining of highways from the pillars of the New Zealand Safe Highway System. Road Safety strategy documents from recent Government settings and their updates will be considered (eg. Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) Road to Zero Strategy). The course will also consider future highway systems and their safety implications and specific Highway Safety issues that will include the evaluation of Passing and Turning Improvements, Two-Lane Highway Consistency, Crash prediction modelling and Collision Mitigation measures and the at grade integration of road and rail engineering systems. Highway Pavement surfacing characteristics and Skid Resistance, materials and engineering test methods will also be evaluated to ensure safe pavement surface designs and operations. A range of ‘real-life’ examples will be used for the purposes of integrating theory with professional practice – this will include case studies and project work.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in. 

For this course, you can expect 32 hours of lectures, 12 hours of tutorials, 50 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 56 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Course Prerequisites, Corequisites and Restrictions

Prerequisite

Locations and Semesters Offered

LocationSemester
City

Teaching and Learning

Campus Experience

The course will be taught in “block mode” so that practicing engineers are able to attend. This will consist of tree teaching blocks of two days during the first semester of 2025. 

Attendance is expected at scheduled block day activities including labs/tutorials to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other block course learning activities including tutorials will not be available as recordings.
The course will include live online events including tutorials.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Additional Information on Learning Resources

A detailed schedule will be supplied separately at the beginning of the course. This will set out the topics of the lectures and tutorials, dates, venue and details on the assessments. Lectures will cover the main information and principles including the issue of notes, however additional reading will be required for this course. Tutorials will be used principally for questions and discussion, the project, presentations, revision, and a summary test. Reading reference material will be sent out approximately two weeks prior to the beginning of the first block course. This material is background material and will be expected to have been read and understood prior to the beginning of the course.
Additional materials will be provided to provide additional reading. There are many texts on the web or in the library that provide useful additions including - TEXTBOOKS AND REFERENCES: The main texts are as follows – others will be advised. 

  • Two-Lane Highway Traffic Operations, John R. McLean. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1989. 
  • Austroads Guide to Road Safety (Part 1 - Intro and Safe System, Part 2 - Safe Roads, Part 3 - Safe Speed, Part 4 - Safe People, Part 5 - Safe Vehicles, Part 6 - Road Safety Audit, Part 7 - Road Safety Strategy and Management), 2021
  • Austroads Guide to Road Design - Part 3 - Geometric Design (Chapter 9 Auxiliary Lanes), AUSTROADS, 2021. 
  • Overtaking Lane Practice in Canada and Australia, Research Report ARR 144, Australian Road Research Board, 1986. 
  • Road Safety Manual, Recommendations from the World Road Association (PIARC), PIARC, 2015.
  • Highway Capacity Manual 2000, Chapter 20, Two-Lane Highways, Transportation Research Board, 2000. 
  • Safer Roads: A guide to Road Safety Engineering, K.W.Ogden, Ashgate Publishing 1996.
  • Designing Safer Roads, Special Report 214, Transportation Research Board, 1987.

Copyright

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.


You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

Health and Safety

Students must ensure they are familiar with their Health and Safety responsibilities, as described in the university's Health and Safety policy. 
Specific Health and Safety procedures will be discussed in class for a technical site visit to a transportation infrastructure construction site.  

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

  • Honesty - in all aspects of research work
  • Accountability - in the conduct of research
  • Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
  • Good stewardship – on behalf of others
  • Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
  • Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.


Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO #OutcomeProgramme Capability Link
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Assessments

Assessment TypeAssessment PercentageAssessment Classification

Additional Information on Assessment

A passing mark is 50% or higher, according to University policy.

Students must sit the exam to pass the course. Otherwise, a DNS (did not sit) result will be returned.

Late submissions will not be accepted/allowed for the exam, tests, and online quizzes. It is possible to submit late for the assignments and projects, and the late submission penalty schedule will be included in the assignment and project handouts.

Assessment to CLO Mapping

Assessment Type12345678

Student Feedback, Support and Charter

Student Feedback

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Additional Information on Student Feedback

This course was not offered last year - it was last offered in 2023 and very positive feedback was received.   No significant changes were considered necessary, however updated Safe Systems content will be included. 

Class representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Wellbeing

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Student Academic Complaints and Disputes

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.