On high speed roads, head-on and loss of control crashes can occur when drivers try to overtake other vehicles. Overtaking lanes provide a safe opportunity for one direction of traffic to overtake and can improve traffic flow.

Traffic congestion, especially in developing countries, is recognized as a challenge. Building additional lanes to increase road capacity is costly, but lanes can be added to short lengths of road to improve traffic flow and provide safe opportunities for overtaking at less cost. If provided with regular safe opportunities for overtaking, drivers will be less likely to make dangerous overtaking attempts.

Overtaking lanes are generally used on high-speed arterial roads where there is a mixture of slow and faster moving traffic. In mountainous terrain some vehicles (especially heavy vehicles) will be limited to low speeds. An extra lane on steep descents (descending lanes) or up-hill sections (crawler or climbing lanes) can be used by other vehicles to pass safely.

Another option is slow vehicle turnout lanes. These are short sections of paved shoulder or added lane where slow vehicles can pull over safely and be overtaken. Slow vehicle turnouts may be more appropriate than overtaking lanes where traffic volumes are low or where an overtaking lane would be too costly.

Case Studies related to Safer Vehicle Treatments

Related Case Studies	Project Leads	Description
Best Practice for Urban Road Safety: Case Studies	Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona (ASPB), City of Buenos Aires, City of Fortaleza, City of Rotterdam, New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT), OECD International Transport Forum (ITF), Transport for London (TfL)	These case studies from Bogotá, Barcelona, New York City, Buenos Aires, Fortaleza, Rotterdam and London illustrate the diversity of approaches available to better understand and prevent serious road crashes in cities. They also include experiences of developing reliable traffic injury data, enforcing speed limits, implementing safer street design, and predicting and preventing road crashes. Each case study exemplifies best practice in one or more of the areas examined.
Collection of reports on the investigation of severe road crashes in the web site of France’s Bureau of Investigation for Accidents of Surface Transports	Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau	The land transport accident investigation bureau (BEA-TT) performs technical investigations into serious crashes to prevent similar occurrences.
Making Vehicle Inspections Count in Cameroon	Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF)	The Assessment of Vehicle Inspection Systems (AVIS) project is undertaken by GRSF and CITA with a view to upgrade vehicle inspections. The main objective of the project is to identify systems for vehicle inspection and approval, and to propose an improvement strategy to make vehicles safer and travel more efficient. Global objective of the AVIS projects is to carry out audits of vehicle inspection systems in various countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon is the second country to benefit from such an audit.
Mumbai – Pune Expressway Road Accident Study	JP Research India (JPRI)	JP Research India (JPRI) undertook a detailed 12-month crash investigation study on Mumbai – Pune Expressway in India. During the 12-month study period, in-depth investigations 214 crashes on the 94km expressway were conducted in a scientific manner involving detailed examination of the crash scene, crash vehicles and the injuries sustained by the victims. The study revealed that 63% of crashes on the expressway involved trucks. Cars and trucks are the most affected road user types in the collisions.
Sakhalin Seatbelt Campaign, Russia	Sakhalin Road Safety Partnership	Seatbelt campaign through publicity and enforcement in Sakhalin Island, Russia has shown significant improvement in compliance. Campaign used media outlets such as television, radio, billboards, internet etc. along with enforcement. Success measurement using video sampling revealed that seatbelt wearing rate increased from 3-4% to 80%.