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Southeastern Transportation Center |
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Research |
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Accidents on Secondary Highways and
Their Counter-Measures
STC COORDINATOR:
Dr. Arun Chatterjee, Professor of
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee-Knoxville,
(423) 974 - 77145
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Accident rates for secondary or
low volume highways are higher than those for roads of higher
functional class. These accident rates for southeastern states
appear to be higher than the national average. Research is needed
to identify the causes of these accidents and to develop low cost
counter-measures that would reduce the accident rates. The underlying
goal of this research is to identify counter-measures that can
be applied systemwide for this category of roadway and the various
identified problems.6
RESEARCH PROPOSED
The research will begin with the development of a reliable working data base. The data will include existing accident rates and the characteristics of the accidents (single or multiple vehicle, occurrence times, vehicle types, locations and related geometrics, etc.). This data will be obtained through a series of literature reviews, examinations of existing accident data records, and personal interviews with DOT officials. In addition to the development of a working data base, this initial part of the research will also help identify the scope of this research and provide guidelines to use such as roadway location (rural versus suburban) and selection criteria (functional class versus traffic volume).
As part of this review, the procedures used by state and federal highway agencies to calculate accident rates for secondary roads will be examined thoroughly to identify any weaknesses that may be present that could affect the research. These weaknesses could include such issues as accuracy or age of traffic volume data and lack of single jurisdiction for accident investigation. Recommendations for actions for improving the accuracy of such accident rate calculations for this type of highway will be made.
Using the developed data base, various analysis techniques will be used to search for similarities and patterns within the accident data. Using these identified issues, specific accident reports will examined on a more micro level. This will possibly include field visits to the accident sites, interviews of those at the scene, and further reviews of the accident reports. Any additional factors identified from these reviews will then be included in the research analysis.
From this research, the major accident-related
issues identified will be described and counter-measures will
be proposed. For the proposed measures, a cost-effectiveness
analysis will be conducted. Issues involving the implementation
of the most promising counter-measures will be examined. Finally,
guidelines for highway engineers to use to select and implement
the various measures will be developed.7
BUDGET
$700,000-$1,000,0008
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