Details:

Creators:
Tarko, Andrew P. ; Azam, Shafiul Md ; Thomaz, Jose ; Romero, Mario
Tarko, Andrew P. ; Azam, Shafiul Md ; Thomaz, Jose ; Romero, Mario Less -
Corporate Creators:
Purdue University. Joint Transportation Research Program
Corporate Contributors:
Indiana Department of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
Indiana Department of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration Less -
Subject/TRT Terms:
[+]
Computer Programs Computer Tool Highway Safety Risk Assessment Road Safety Roads Screening Safety Safety Factors Safety Management Safety Needs Safety Programs Software Traffic Safety Transportation Safety
Publication/ Report Number:
FHWA/IN/JTRP-2012/02
Resource Type:
Tech Report
Geographical Coverage:
Indiana
Corporate Publisher:
Purdue University. Joint Transportation Research Program
Abstract:
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) manages road safety in Indiana through safety emphasis areas, identification of

safety needs within these areas, and development and implementation of transportation interventions that address the safety

needs. Indiana applies system-wide performance screening to state roads using the somewhat limited, non-integrated tools

available to date. A site-specific countermeasure development and evaluation process (scoring) is being used to determine essential

project intent and merit or cost-effectiveness. This projects addresses the need for a unifying approach to data-driven identification

of safety emphasis areas and safety improvement projects via a systematic evaluation of safety needs in the Indiana road network.

Such a method must utilize a database that integrates the Indiana state network, traffic, road inventory, and crash data.

A method for safety screening of state roads in Indiana was developed with the following screening tasks in mind: (1) Identification

of high crash locations (segments, intersection, ramps and bridges), corridors, and areas in terms of high crash frequency, crash

rate, or proportion of a particular crash type. (2) Facilitate program-based screening (e.g., shoulder widening, median improvement,

etc.). (3) Facilitate special programs and projects (e.g., five percent report)

In order to ensure the versatility of screening tasks and the data maintenance, four components are included in the screening tool:

(1) data management, (2) standard screening, (3) roads clustering and special studies, (4) results presentation. The data

management includes updating the existing data by utilizing renewable sources for data, reformatting the source data to meet the

standards of the master database, integrating these data into tables that meet certain specifications, and replacing the existing

data. The data management procedures include ArcGIS geo-processing and VBA-implemented and Model Builder codes that are not

packaged as a single module but which are used separately as needed to maintain flexibility of the data management process.

A window-based user interface, query editor, facilitates selection of criteria for safety screening. To help the user build a query, the

selection criteria have been grouped into four categories: geographical scope (state, county, etc.), element (segment, township,

etc.), crash criteria, and road criteria. The query is translated to SQL and sent to the screening engine. The results include safety

performance measures such as crash frequencies, rates, and proportion together with basic statistical indicators. Road segments

and intersections that exhibit an excessive number of crashes may be concentrated along longer road sections. Clustering these

elements may reveal large scale safety issues that otherwise might be overlooked if the screening analysis is focus on individual

spots. The geo-coded results can be sorted in a table or displayed on GIS maps with Google Earth or ArcGIS to visualize the spatial

distribution of the identified high-crash roads.


Format:
PDF
Funding:
SPR-3315
Collection(s):
US Transportation Collection
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:f7d12a6c4d443269b0409aa65cac10ab228dee7cc1923474f7b4a37bea4829b4
Download URL:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/24087/dot_24087_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• No Additional Files

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