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CHAPTER 06

TRANSPORTATION SAFETY &


ECONOMICS
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
INTRODUCTION
Highway safety is a worldwide problem; with over 500 million cars and trucks in use, more than
500,000 people die each year in motor vehicle crashes, and about 15 million are injured.

ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

Several issues are involved in transportation


safety. These include whether accidents should
be referred to as:

1. Crashes or Accidents

2. What Causes Transportation Crashes?

3. Factors Involved in Highway Crashes

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Crashes or Accidents

Accident is the commonly accepted word for an occurrence involving one or more transportation
vehicles in a collision that results in property damages, injury, or death. The term accident implies a
random event that occurs for no apparent reason other than “it just happened.”
The National Highway Tra c Safety Administration has
suggested replacing the word accident with the word
crash because crash implies that the collision could
have been prevented or its e ect minimized by
modifying driver behavior, vehicle design (called
“crashworthiness”), roadway geometry, or the traveling
environment. The word crash is not universally accepted
terminology for all transportation modes and is most
common in the context of highway and tra c incidents.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
What Causes Transportation Crashes?
The occurrence of a transportation crash presents a challenge to safety investigators. In every
instance, the question arises, “What sequence of events or circumstances contributed to the incident
that resulted in injury, loss of life, or property damage?”
In some cases, the answer may be a simple one. For example, the cause of a single-car crash may be
that the driver fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the highway shoulder, and crashed into a tree. In other
cases, the answer may be complex, involving many factors that, acting together, caused the crash.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes

While the causes of highway crashes are usually complex and involve several factors, they can be
considered in four separate categories: human factors (actions by the driver or operator), factors related to
the mechanical condition of the vehicle, factors related to the geometric characteristics of the roadway,
and environmental factors (the physical or climatic environment in which the vehicle operates).
• HUMAN FACTOR • MECHANICAL CONDITION OF VEHICLE • GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROADWAY • ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- The major contributing cause of many tra c crashes is driver error. The human errors leading to
highway crashes are related to the complex interaction of the driver’s psychological and
physiological conditions, the system design, and the existing environmental conditions.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- Driver actions that lead to errors include:

Driving at an inappropriate speed for the Driver inattentiveness Failure to yield the right-of-way
existing physical and/or environmental
condition.
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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- Driver actions that lead to errors include:

Wrongly negotiating curves the use of in-vehicle communication Roadway distractions


tools such as use of cell phone
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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- Driver actions that lead to errors include:

Driver weariness Driver information overload Driver Expectancy

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes

• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)


- For example, the rate at which an individual can
process information is limited. Therefore, although a
driver can quickly transfer his/her attention from one
information source to another, only a single source can
be attended to at a time. In order to compensate for this
limitation, drivers tend to subconsciously determine the
level of information load they can handle. When
conditions are such that this level of load is surpassed,
drivers tend to select the information they regard as
important and ignore the others. This may result in the
driver ignoring an important piece of information and
holding on to one that is less critical.
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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- Also, a stretch of road not designed in a consistent way may result in a driver losing the ability to
depend on experience gained, which may violate his/her expectancy. For example, if a freeway exit
is located on the left-hand side of the road, this causes confusion for drivers who are used to exits
being on the right-hand side of the road and may result in unnecessary weaving maneuvers.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- The main objective of the tra c engineer regarding human factors in highway safety is to
understand how these human factors in uence the driver, so that the probability of occurrence of
the associated safety consequences of these factors is reduced. For example, rumble strips are
placed at the side and medians of high-speed roads in rural areas to alert inattentive or sleepy
drivers when they are leaving the travel lane.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- Another example is the avoidance of information overload. The Highway Safety Manual (HSM),
which is a publication that gives a quantitative methodology to determine changes in crash
frequency as a function of safety treatment and cross-sectional features, gives the following
roadway design considerations to reduce information overload:
(a) Giving tra c information in a consistent way. For example, speci c colors and shapes are
assigned to speci c types of roadway signs.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
(b) Not giving many pieces of information at the same time, but presenting them one after the
other in an orderly way.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
(c) Providing clues to help drivers rank the importance of the di erent information.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors (Driver or Operator Action)
- When driver expectancy is taken into consideration in the design of roadways, the negative e ect
of the driver’s limitations in processing information is reduced. The HSM gives the following
examples of long- and short-term expectancies.
Examples of long-term expectancies: Examples of short-term expectancies:
• Freeway exits are located on the right- • A long section of roadway with gently winding characteristics
hand side of the road. is contiguous with a roadway section that has gentle curves.
• At an intersection of a major and minor • A long section of roadway that allows for high-speed driving
road controlled by a stop sign, the stop is contiguous with roadway sections that also allow for high-
sign is on the approaches of the road that speed driving.
appears to be the minor road. • Driving at a consistent speed along a well-coordinated
• At an intersection approach, a driver system of tra c signals on an arterial should not suddenly
wishing to turn left will be in the left lane lead to an isolated intersection with a signi cantly di erent
or on a through lane that allows left turns. cycle length.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors
- Examples of long-term expectancies: • At an intersection of a major and minor
road controlled by a stop sign, the stop
• At an intersection approach, a driver
wishing to turn left will be in the left lane or
• Freeway exits are located on the right-hand side of the sign is on the approaches of the road that on a through lane that allows left turns.
road. appears to be the minor road.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• Human Factors
- Examples of short-term expectancies:
• A long section of roadway with gently • A long section of roadway that allows for high- • Driving at a consistent speed along a well-coordinated system
winding characteristics is contiguous with speed driving is contiguous with roadway of tra c signals on an arterial should not suddenly lead to an
a roadway section that has gentle curves. sections that also allow for high-speed driving. isolated intersection with a signi cantly di erent cycle length.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Vehicle Condition
- The mechanical condition of an automobile can be the cause of highway crashes. Faulty brakes in
heavy trucks have caused crashes. Other vehicle conditions include failure of the electrical system,
worn tires, and the location of the vehicle’s center of gravity.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Vehicle Condition
- However, many vehicle manufacturers are now installing in-vehicle equipment that helps to reduce
the potential of the vehicles being involved in crashes and/or the severity of a crash when the
vehicle is involved in one. These include:
• Seat Belt Reminders • Antilock Braking Systems (ABS) • Reversing Warning Devices and Cameras

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Vehicle Condition
- However, many vehicle manufacturers are now installing in-vehicle equipment that helps to reduce
the potential of the vehicles being involved in crashes and/or the severity of a crash when the
vehicle is involved in one. These include:
• Speed Limiter/Intelligent Speed Adaption • Collision Avoidance Sensors • Alcohol Ignition Interlock

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- The condition and quality of the roadway, which includes:
• Pavement • Shoulder • Intersections • Tra c-Control System

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- Highways must be designed to provide adequate stopping sight distance at the design speed, or
motorists will be unable to take remedial action to avoid a crash.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- Tra c signals must provide adequate decision sight distance when the signal goes from green to
yellow and then to red.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- Railroad grade crossings must be designed to operate safely and thus minimize crashes between
highway tra c and rail cars.

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ISSUES INVOLVED IN TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- Highway curves must be carefully designed to accommodate vehicles traveling at or below the
design speed of the road.
V
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L M PT
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Layout of Simple Curve


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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- In addition, tra c and highway engineers use a “positive guidance approach,” which combines
human factors and tra c engineering principles to the design of highway facilities. This approach
uses the knowledge gained on human limitations in information processing as well as human
dependence on expectation to make up for these limitations. The basic principle that governs this
approach is that if a road is designed to incorporate the limitations and expectancies of the driver,
the probability of a driver reacting and making the right decision for a given condition is
maximized. On the other hand, when the positive guidance approach is not used in the design of
the roadway, it is likely that drivers will slowly respond and make wrong decisions when they are
overloaded with information or their expectancy is violated. An example of the positive guidance
approach is related to the way tra c-control devices are placed. In this case, the tra c-control
devices are placed in a way that emphasizes aiding the driver to process information in time and
correctly.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- The HSM gives the following guidelines for achieving this:
• Primacy - Signs should be placed based on the importance of the information contained in
them. Avoid placing signs at locations where they are not necessary or essential.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- The HSM gives the following guidelines for achieving this:
• Spreading - In situations where the necessary information cannot be placed on one sign or
several signs at a single location, the information should be given in portions along the road to
reduce the information load.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- The HSM gives the following guidelines for achieving this:
• Coding - Several small pieces of information should be organized into larger groups. Use
color and shape coding to accomplish this. For example, warning signs are yellow and
regulatory signs are white; also, stop signs are octagonal and yield signs are triangular.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Roadway Condition
- The HSM gives the following guidelines for achieving this:
• Redundancy - Repeat the same information in di erent forms. For example, indicate a “no
passing zone” by both pavement marking and signing.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Environment
- The physical and climatic environment surrounding an automobile can also be a factor in the
occurrence of highway crashes; the most common environmental factor is weather. Weather on
roads can contribute to highway crashes: for example, wet pavement reduces stopping friction and
can cause vehicles to hydroplane.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Environment
- Many severe crashes have been caused by fog because vehicles traveling at high speeds are
unable to see other vehicles ahead that may have stopped or slowed down; the result can be a
multi-vehicle pile-up.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Environment
- The level of lighting also has an e ect on the frequency and severity of crashes at some locations, particularly
at intersections. It has been shown that 40 percent of intersection fatalities take place during the late-night/
early morning hours, and that the probability of a fatal crash occurring is about three times greater during the
late-night/early morning hours than during the day. Poor intersection visibility is a major contribution to this as
drivers are restricted from having a clear view of con icting tra c and other users of the intersection.

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Factors Involved in Highway Crashes
• The Environment
- Geography is another environmental cause of automobile crashes. Flooded river plains, swollen
rivers, and mud slides on the pavement have caused railroad and highway crashes.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
In particular, safety concerns can be incorporated into the following major steps:

• Step 1: Establish multidisciplinary coordination with transportation and safety stakeholders.


• Step 2: Incorporate safety into the vision, goals, and objectives.
• Step 3: Develop safety performance measures and targets.
• Step 4: Collect and analyze crash data.
• Step 5: Analyze and evaluate transportation safety.
• Step 6: Make safety a decision factor.
• Step 7: Include safety in planning programs and documents.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 1: Establish Multidisciplinary Coordination with Transportation and Safety Stakeholders

Improving the safety of the transportation


system requires the participation and
involvement of many di erent groups and
organizations. In particular, a partnership is
needed between the safety and transportation
planning communities to support a continued
focus on safety in transportation planning.

Safety experts and modal experts who address


safety in their jobs can make key contributions
to the consideration of safety in planning
documents.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 2: Incorporate Safety into the Vision, Goals, and Objectives
Why is visioning important? If safety is not in
the vision/mission statements of the agencies
responsible for transportation and safety, then
it will not likely be re ected later in the
process. Every planning process, not just
transportation, begins with some form of
visioning. What are the desired characteristics
of the community in the future? How does
transportation t into this vision? A vision
might be nothing more than a generalized
statement of desired end states, but it
provides guidance for the rest of the planning
process.
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 2: Incorporate Safety into the Vision, Goals, and Objectives

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 2: Incorporate Safety into the Vision, Goals, and Objectives
The safety principle was “Creating a Safer Transportation System,” and subsequent actions were:

• Improve the safety of all users of all modes.


• Maintain a crash database for use in regional and local safety analysis.
• Focus on key emphasis areas derived from analysis and coordination with other agencies as an
e cient way to improve safety.

• Identify and seek funding for improvements to transportation infrastructure to increase safety.
• Facilitate coordinated emergency responses through incident management planning.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 2: Incorporate Safety into the Vision, Goals, and Objectives

• Incorporate future recommendations from the Regional Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) into
the Regional Transportation Plan.

• Promote and coordinate programs that educate people about and market safety.
• Address safety needs of environmental justice population segments, including elderly or disabled
people.

• Promote the use of and assist members with auditing services (e.g., road safety, walkable,
bikeable) for reducing crashes using low-cost improvements.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 2: Incorporate Safety into the Vision, Goals, and Objectives

• Support appropriate education and enforcement activities to improve safety. This includes
building knowledge for necessary legislative initiatives, supporting relevant professional
development for law enforcement sta , and educating members of the judicial branch of the
consequences of frequently reducing charges.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

One of the major changes in transportation safety Safety Goals and Objectives Hierarchy,
Minnesota DOT
Area TIP planning (and for that matter, all federally-
supported planning) occurred in 2012 with MAP-21
when safety performance measures were required as
part of the transportation planning and decision-
making process, similar to what was shown in Figure.

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

National Highway Tra c Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Governors’ Highway Safety
Association (GHSA) developed their own required list of performance measures (that must be
reported on by the state) that include 10 core outcome measures, one core behavior measure, and
three activity measures.

These measures are:

• Core Outcome measures


• Core Behavior measures
• Activity measures

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

• Core Outcome Measures - States will set goals and report progress on:

• Number of tra c fatalities (from Fatal Accident Reporting System—FARS): States are
encouraged to report three-year or ve-year moving averages as appropriate (when annual
counts are su ciently small that random uctuations may obscure trends). This comment
applies to all fatality measures.

• Number of serious injuries in tra c crashes (state crash data les).

• Fatalities/Vehicle Miles of Travel (VMT) (FARS, FHWA): States should set a goal for total fatalities/
VMT; states should report both rural and urban fatalities/VMT as well as total fatalities/VMT.

• Number of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant fatalities, all seat positions (FARS).
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

• Core Outcome Measures - States will set goals and report progress on:
• Number of fatalities in crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) of 0.08 and above (FARS).

• Number of speeding-related fatalities (FARS).


• Number of motorcyclist fatalities (FARS).
• Number of unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities (FARS).
• Number of drivers age 20 or younger involved in fatal crashes (FARS).
• Number of pedestrian fatalities (FARS).
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

• Core Behavior measures - States will set goals and report progress on:
• Observed seat belt use for passenger vehicles, front seat outboard occupants (survey).

• Activity measures - States will report progress on:


• Number of seat belt citations issued during grant-funded enforcement activities (grant activity
reporting).

• Number of impaired driving arrests made during grant-funded enforcement activities (grant
activity reporting).

• Number of speeding citations issued during grant-funded enforcement activities (grant activity
reporting).
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 3: Develop Safety Performance Measures and Targets

In addition, the plan established targets for each performance measure:

• Preventable transit accidents: 0 (ongoing).


• Number of crashes and crashes per VMT: Reduce by 50 percent by 2020.
• Number of serious injuries: Reduce by 50 percent by 2020.
• Number of fatalities and fatalities per VMT: 0; Reduce by 50 percent by 2020.
• Miles of bicycle lanes and percent completion of plan: 3–7 percent of plan implemented per
year.

• Miles of sidewalk and percent of plan completed: 3–7 percent of plan implemented per year.
[RTC, 2014c]
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

The safety problem in a particular jurisdiction can be de ned in many di erent ways and, in reality, it
is often a combination of many factors. Examining crash data serves as a point of departure for
understanding and articulating safety issues. This is usually an iterative process that begins by
looking at the overall number of crashes with special attention to severity—for example, fatalities
and disabling injuries. The next step is often to establish crash rates or the number of crashes using
an exposure measure such as VMT, number of vehicles entering an intersection, and the like. This
step leads to the identi cation of high-crash locations, road segments, and/or corridors (often
referred to as “hot spot” analysis).

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data
Possible Performance Measures for Safety-Related Planning Possible Performance Measures for Safety-Related Planning

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data
Possible Performance Measures for Safety-Related Planning Possible Performance Measures for Safety-Related Planning

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data
Portraying the Crash Rate on Key Highways in Hampton Roads, Virginia
Crash Tree of Fatal Crashes in the Phoenix Planning Area, 2008–2012

Source: HRTPO, 2013

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

Safety planning is a data-driven process; however, data quality and availability are often serious
challenges to the planning process for the following reasons.

• Underreporting - Minor crashes are seldom reported and investigated.


• Local Road - State DOTs collect crash data on state highways and other major roads; local roads
are often underrepresented in the crash database.

• Field Coding - Filling out police accident reports is often not a priority at crash scenes; o cers
are focused on treating the injured and returning tra c ow to normal.

• Reference System - Di erent geo-referencing systems are often used for locating crashes, even
among jurisdictions in the same state.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

Safety planning is a data-driven process; however, data quality and availability are often serious
challenges to the planning process for the following reasons.

• Inconsistencies - State databases contain di erent variables and are presented in di erent
formats.

• Timeliness - Data are often two to three years old, if not more.
• Accessibility - Some states and regions do not share data with other agencies for fear of liability.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

The minimum data elements for safety planning should include crash location, contributing factors,
driver characteristics and histories, the manner of collision, crash severity, type of vehicle, exposure
data (vehicle miles of travel), and use of safety devices. These data elements are usually found in the
following multiple locations:

• Congestion Management System/Process Data. Transportation management areas (TMAs) are


required to maintain a congestion management process (CMP) to evaluate transportation
investment alternatives. In many states the CMP includes an extensive database of roadway
classi cation, geometry, and overall tra c volumes and ows. This can be useful in calculating
crash rates or for other safety analysis.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Crowd Sourcing. Modern communication technologies allow planners to reach a large number of
individuals through smart phone apps. Crowd sourcing is a process of asking as many individuals
as are part of the network where safety problems exist. The input is not statistically signi cant
given the bias in terms of the narrow sample of the population who responds, but it does provide
some sense of where safety planners might want to look.

• Driver History. Driver histories are recorded for all licensed drivers and unlicensed drivers
involved in a crash. The les contain information on the demographics and license status/
restrictions, convictions, and sometimes the driver history of crashes. These data can be used to
scope and target programs on speci c types of driver violations (such as DUI, speeding, red light
running, and the like). These data provide only a recent snapshot because data on convictions
and crashes (if present at all) are often purged after some time period.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). FARS was established in 1975 to collect fatal crash
data. The system contains high-quality data on all vehicles and occupants involved in fatal
crashes. Queries can be run online and archival les can be obtained. City and county codes for
each county in the United States are recorded in the database.

• Police Crash Reports. The rst step in any safety analysis is examining police-reported crashes.
Crash reports provide a range of data concerning the speci cs of the incident, contributing
conditions, and status of those involved. Many states have adopted uniform report formats for all
crashes reported in the state; others still have police agency–speci c forms. One of the new
technologies that could improve the quality and timing of these data is the use of computers,
global positioning systems, and uplink capabilities in the police car at the crash site.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Population Census Files. The U.S. Census Bureau maintains les on gender, age, and ethnicity
within political subdivisions. The data can also be used as denominator or exposure data,
particularly for identifying road-user problems, for example, young drivers as a percent of the
population in comparison to percent of fatal and injury crashes.

• Roadway Speeds and Operating Performance. Many states and most major metropolitan areas
have tra c operations centers that provide 24-hour surveillance of road operations. Most of these
centers use video or imaging technology that permits the collection of real-time data. These data
can be used to identify tra c conditions when crashes occur, and, when archived, the data can
provide historical information on changing road performance on the network.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Roadway Inventory, State Highway System. In most states, the state DOT maintains a roadway
inventory database that contains data on road segments (for example, number of lanes and
shoulder width and type). A limited number of states have curve and grade information or an
intersection/interchange inventory. Many states use video logging for collecting such data, which
could also be used to conduct a safety audit along state routes. A federally required Highway
Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), which collects more complete inventory data on sample
sections on the state’s road network, could be used to get a good understanding of the safety
performance of di erent types of roads, especially if the sample size is expanded to include more
sample segments.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Truck Crash Statistics. The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) is managed
by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) with data fed into it by state agencies
and motor carriers. It is the most comprehensive truck safety database in the United States. The
les contain information on vehicle registration, crashes, roadside inspections, compliance with
federal regulations, and enforcement actions.

• Regional Travel Demand Model Data. MPOs located in air-quality nonattainment areas must
conduct an air-quality conformity analysis to show that investments in their plans do not
deteriorate air quality. This is usually accomplished through modeling e orts, resulting in
systemwide estimates of current and future tra c volumes and ows. Data could be used to
calculate crash rates or for other safety analysis.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Roadway Inventory, Local Jurisdictions. Local road inventory databases are generally less
complete than state databases, with the data elements often maintained by di erent departments
(public works, tra c, and maintenance). Local jurisdictions sometimes have supplemental data on
sidewalk and crosswalks, bike paths, and bus stops. The linkage between these data and the
road inventory data, however, is often not well established. Table 23-8, from the Highway Safety
Manual, shows the type of inventory data used to predict the safety bene ts of any particular
countermeasure implemented in a project. As can be seen, there are a lot of factors (and thus a lot
of data) that can be included in a safety analysis. See also Le er [2014] for a more detailed
discussion of the data collection activities of local agencies.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data

• Tra c Volumes. Tra c counts are usually available at many locations on the state highway
system, from which average annual daily tra c (AADT) is estimated. The collection of the data for
AADT estimates occurs at permanent (full-time) counters and short counts are done on a two- to
three-year cycle. Truck percentages and volumes are usually included in this database, but they
are generally based on fewer actual counts, so the data are not as extensive. In many states, the
number of permanent count stations is limited by budget considerations. There is a similar
problem with short counts, which may vary from year to year. Many agencies supplement counts
with volume estimates from either their travel-demand models or the roadway inventory
databases previously described. While the quality and accuracy of these estimates vary widely,
they do provide analysts with a more complete set of data on the roadway system.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 4: Collect and Analyze Crash Data
• Vehicle Registration Data. Registration data are recorded for every vehicle licensed in a state.
The le includes information on owners, vehicle types, vehicle identi cation numbers (VINs), and a
variety of other data related to the vehicle. Vehicle registration data are sometimes used as the
denominator or exposure data, for example, the number of crashes per total number of registered
vehicles.
• Other Safety Data. Some enforcement agencies maintain ticket citation (as opposed to
conviction) data. These data may be useful for problem identi cation and for monitoring the
degree to which the courts are following through with penalties and nes. Speed surveys are
maintained by some state and local agencies, and observed occupant restraint (shoulder belt) use
data have been collected by all states since 1998. NHTSA publishes year-by-year com- parisons
for each state, but the data only represent daytime and front-seat belt use. Land-use data can
also be used to identify places with special safety concerns, such as near schools, senior centers,
or parks.
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate Transportation Safety

Identify Safety Countermeasures or Projects

Safety projects can be standalone projects that are undertaken speci cally to “ x” a safety problem
(for which there are several federal and state funding programs), or more commonly, safety-oriented
actions can be taken as part of any project to enhance its safety characteristics. Safe movement of
people and vehicles is the most important criterion for facility design, and every design manual used
by transportation engineers begins by talking about safety. A large number of projects are eligible for
federal funding. For example, the following types of projects are eligible for Highway Safety
Improvement Program (HSIP) funding from the U.S. federal government:

• Intersection safety improvements.


• Pavement and shoulder widening.
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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023

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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate Transportation Safety

• Installation of rumble strips or other warning devices.


• Improving user awareness of and compliance with intersection and interchange tra c control
devices.

• Pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements.


• Safety improvements for people with disabilities.
• Rail-roadway grade crossing safety improvements.
• Tra c calming features.
• Roadside hazard elimination.
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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate Transportation Safety

• Installation, replacement, and improvement of highway signage and pavement markings.


• Emergency vehicle priority control.
• Installation of tra c control or other warning devices at high-crash locations.
• Transportation safety planning.
• Work zone safety.
• Installation of guardrails, barriers, and crash attenuators.
• Improvements for high-risk rural roads.

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate Transportation Safety

• Roadway geometric improvements.


• Road safety audits.
• Truck parking facilities.
• Any systemic safety improvements.

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 5: Analyze and Evaluate Transportation Safety

Analysis

The use of analysis tools for assessing the consequences of di erent actions is the core technical
component of the transportation planning process. However, analyzing the relative e ectiveness of
alternative safety strategies is challenging because of the di culties associated with crash data, as
discussed in the preceding section. In addition, many of the strategies that target changing driver
behavior do not have much evidence of their e ectiveness in actually changing behavior. It is
di cult, therefore, to estimate the bene ts of speci c actions.

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 6: Make Safety a Decision Factor

There are many examples of how safety can be incorporated into the evaluation and prioritization
process. The two most common approaches include conducting a bene t/cost analysis and
assigning points to each project according to the safety bene ts that are likely to accrue. The
bene t/cost analysis is straightforward and simply evaluates each project by assigning monetary
value to the reduction in crashes expected due to the implementation of countermeasures (the
bene ts) as compared to the expected capital costs of the project.

The second approach entails assigning points, out of a total sum of points available to a project, for
the project’s safety bene ts. For example, each project might earn 100 points corresponding to how
well it achieves the di erent planning goals. Of these 100 points, a maximum of 20 points could be
allocated for safety bene ts. Each project being considered for the TIP could have a maximum of 20
percent of its ranking due to safety bene ts. The following examples illustrate the range in
approaches available for establishing project priorities that include safety.
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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY & ECONOMICS


INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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INCORPORATING SAFETY INTO TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
Step 7: Include Safety in Planning Programs and Documents

Ongoing monitoring of the performance and condition of the transportation system feeds back into
goals, objectives, and performance measures. The feedback loop becomes an important input into
the next cycle of safety planning, as it not only provides a snapshot of performance at that particular
point in time but can also inform decision makers about the experience with previously implemented
actions. Monitoring should include the trends and absolute magnitudes of the transportation system
safety characteristics.

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
HIGHWAY AND THE ECONOMY
It is di cult to overstate the in uence
that highway transportation has on
the economy of nations. Highway
systems have a direct e ect on
industries that supply vehicles and
equipment to support highway
transportation and the industries that
are involved in highway construction
and maintenance. Highway systems
are also vital to manufacturing and
retail supply chains and distribution
systems, and serve as regional and
national economic engines.

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023
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END OF PRESENTATION

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INSTRUCTOR
CE412 - PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ENGR. CHRISTIAN PIMENTEL
02 JANUARY 2023

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