MPC
Research Projects (2009-10)
Identifying Number
MPC-317
Project Title
Development of Safety Screening Tool for High Risk Rural Roads
University
South Dakota State UniversityProject Investigator
Xiao Qin, PhD, PE
E-mail: xqin@cae.wisc.edu
Description of Project Abstract
Roughly 83 percent of America's land mass is classified as rural. Although the geographic size of rural area is enormous, rural counties, towns, and villages are less likely to have resources dedicated to road maintenance and safety, making them more vulnerable to crashes. There are significant differences between urban and rural contexts when assessing risks associated with highway safety. Urban transportation infrastructure normally requires higher design standards that can accommodate larger traffic volumes, while rural highways may incorporate lower design standards due to less volume, with the exception of high seasonal or recreational traffic. Urban areas are better suited to develop quick incident response times, which can be partially credited to easy access for emergency services. Rural areas and distant locations, however, have to face the reality of inferior communication conditions and emergency response times, both caused, and further complicated by a lack of localities, the culture of alcohol consumption and low seat belt usage. . Consequently, despite lower volumes and fewer safety conflicts on these rural highway systems, more than 61 percent of all fatal crashes occurred on rural roadways compared to about 39 percent or less on their urban counterparts (1).
The fact that rural roads carry less than half of America's traffic but account for over half of the nation's traffic fatalities is unacceptable. Focusing on the differences between rural and urban travel environments and features, the US DOT has championed a $287 million rural safety initiative with emphasis on five focus areas: safer drivers, better roads, smarter roads, better trained emergency responders, and improved outreach and partnerships (2). With raised public awareness of rural safety and relaxed funding constraints, decision-makers have vowed to take action against rural crashes and their severities. However, a few issues need to be resolved before an improved rural highway safety status can be guaranteed. These issues include, but are not limited to: how to collect crash information on rural highway systems, how to locate the areas exhibiting severe safety needs, and how to select and implement appropriate countermeasures to maximize safety benefits.
Project Objective
The objective of this research is to develop a data-driven, solution-based traffic safety screening tool for rural highways using a collection of computer and GIS techniques (3). In the context of rural road networks, an approach to effectively and accurately identify rural crash locations will be developed and a comprehensive safety index will be generated to prioritize rural locations based on their safety performance.
Research Approach/Methods
The research approaches required to successfully meet these objectives are described as follows:
Literature review
A literature review will be performed on existing practices, procedures, program, methodologies, and countermeasures related to rural highway safety throughout the United States. The literature review will include some significant National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) studies such as NCHRP Report 500 series: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan, and other published research.
Identify Study Area on South Dakota Highway System
The purpose of the study is to identify rural areas located in off-state systems that exhibit a need for safety improvements. Therefore, the study area has to be defined precisely so that limited resources can be smartly and effectively invested to achieve maximum benefits. The project PI will facilitate the discussion of a rural area definition with stakeholders and finalize the geographic boundary of the study area in South Dakota. The criteria for selecting the study area includes, but is not limited to: population density, highway functional classification, AADT (if available), state highway system (yes or no), county highway system (yes or no), and municipality code such as town, village, etc.
High Crash Risk Location Identification in Study Area
The research team will develop a safety screening tool that can identify high risk rural highway locations based on their safety performance. The criteria for selecting "sites of promise" will not only be consistent with current practices, but also will be customized to suit South Dakota rural crash conditions and safety program requirements. Some criteria for this tool include, but are not limited to: crash count, crash rate, crash severity, and crash type. Temporal crash trends and spatial patterns will also be considered to enhance the selection of "sites of promise" for safety improvement.
It is understood that traffic volume or vehicle miles traveled (VMT) information may not be available for local intersections and segments. Instead, surrogate measures such as the number of licensed drivers and registered vehicles as well as population may be used as alternative traffic exposure measures. The list of "sites of promise" will supplement the South Dakota 5% report and will potentially be considered for safety improvements through the High Risk Rural Roads Program.
MPC Critical Issues Addressed by the Research
- High-Risk Rural Roads
- Rural Transportation Operations
- Effective Safety Management
- Safety of Unpaved Roads
Contributions/Potential Applications of Research
All of the information generated from the screening tool, including crash maps, a ranked site list, and crash statistics, can be used to conduct safety reviews and plan, program and prioritize safety improvement projects. The safety screening tool will provide an efficient, timely, tangible, and data-driven solution to a complicated rural safety issue.
Technology Transfer Activities
The safety screening framework can be transferred to other rural states that have the same needs. The flexibility of the tool allows it to be modified to accommodate the different priorities of other agencies.
Time Duration
July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010
Total Project Cost
$66,990.00
MPC Funds Requested
$27,245.00
TRB Keywords
Safety, Rural Transportation, Transportation Systems, GIS
References
Highway Safety. Federal and State Efforts to Address Rural Road Safety Challenges. United States General Accounting Office. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04663.pdf . Accessed March 1, 2008.
Rural Safety Initiative, the U.S. Department of Transportation. http://www.dot.gov/affairs/ruralsafety/ruralsafetyinitiativeplan.htm . Accessed July 1, 2008.
Qin, Xiao; Laracuente, Luis; Noyce, David A; Chitturi, Madhav Vijaya. "Systemwide Intersection Safety Priority: Development and Assessment", Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009, Washington D.C.
