Course Core /

Code
Course Title Elective
Road Safety Engineering Elective
OE 781 CE Contact Hours per Week CIE SEE Credits
3 30 70 3

Course Instructor
R. Ravi Kumar
[email protected]

1
 Unit-1

Introduction of course contents, Need, Purpose of COURSE

Road Accidents Causes, scientific investigations and data collection,
Analysis of individual accidents to arrive at real causes
statistical methods of analysis of accident data, Basic concepts of Road accident statistics,
Safety performance function: The empirical Bayes method Identification of Hazards road location.
Application of computer analysis of accident data

2
 Need of the Course

► s/o NTR
• Diana, (Princess of wales)
► s/o N Harikrishna
• Paul William Walker IV (Hollywood Actor)
► s/o Kota Srinivasa Rao
• Abhimanyu Ramanandan (Tamil Actor)
► s/o Babumohan
• Shivani Bhatia (Singer)
► s/o Azaharuddin
• Balakrishnan (Champion swimmer)
► s/o Narayana (Ex Min. of AP)
• Balabhaskar (Violinist)
► s/o Komatreddivenkatreddy
• Erranaidu (Politician)
► b/o Ravi Teja 3
 Need of the Course

Road injury is one of those man-made problems that we have the ability to solve

Driving on Indian roads is much more different than driving else at some other place,

Safe road transport must be a key foundation stone of modern society,

More than 100 governments committed at the UN to support the goal of the Decade of
Action

According to the WHO, in the years 2008-2011 thirty-five Countries, with a total
population of 680 million, introduced new road safety laws.
4
 Need of the Course

The rapid development and expansion of the road network, along with an increase in the number of
registered motor vehicles, led to a substantial rise in levels of both passenger and freight movement.

The improvement in Transportation system has also lead to an increase in the number of crashes
leading to an increased focus on road safety.

Constantly, the number of road crashes and fatalities have increased at an alarming rate

The fatalities in road crashes was documented as the 8th leading cause of deaths, worldwide, in 2018.

Over 1.35 million people were killed, worldwide, in road crashes during 2016.

5
 Need of the Course
The economic losses associated with road crashes exceed $250 billion, annually, just in developed countries such
as the United States

Road traffic crashes in most countries cost 3% of their GDP. They have emerged as an important public health issue
that kills approximately 1.50 lakh people every year especially the young one. This needs to be tackled by a
multi-disciplinary approach.

Road traffic crashes can be prevented by suitable engineering and management techniques.

Road safety engineering has become an important aspect and relevant to all engineering disciplines in the present
scenario.

Thus study of Road Safety Engineering plays an important role to prevent or reduce .

6
 Course Objectives

Introduction to various factors considered for road safety and

management
Explain the road safety appurtenances and design elements

Discuss the various traffic management techniques

7
 Course Outcomes

Understand reasons for accidents and accident data base, analyse accidents using statistical
CO1
methods, examine investigation reports and application of computer analysis of accident data

Explain principles of roadway geometric design, driver and vehicle characteristics that influence
CO2
safety also able to infer about the principles of road safety audit and good practices

Understand and classify traffic signal systems, road signs and road markings and also able to infer
CO3
about road delineators and other safety furniture
Discuss various traffic management technique and latest tools used for road safety. Also examine
CO4
various issues and measures for road safety including accident cost
Elaborate traffic incident management through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and
CO5 appraise best practices in incident management. Understand the importance of restoring
transportation system after disasters 8
 Suggested Readings

• Principles and Practice of Highway Engineering by L.R. Kadiyali and N. B.

Lal
• Traffic Engineering, Roger P. Roess, Elena S. Prassas, William R. Mcshane
• Guidelines on Design and Installation of Road Traffic Signals,IRC:93.
• Road Delineators, IRC:79
• Road Signs, IRC:67
• Specification for Road Traffic Signals, IS: 7537-1974.

9
Road Safety Engineering (RSE)

• The road safety engineering (RSE) function has the overarching aim of
reducing the risk of collisions on the road network.
• Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to
prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road
users include: pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers,
horse-riders and passengers of on-road public
transport (mainly buses and trams)

10
Unit-1 ROAD ACCIDENTS
• Causes, scientific investigations and data collection, Analysis of individual
accidents to arrive at real causes,
• Statistical methods of analysis of accident data,
• Safety performance function: The empirical Bayes method
• Identification of Hazards road location
• Application of computer analysis of accident data
• Approaches to Highway Safety

11
Road traffic accident
• The definition of a road traffic accident occurs when a vehicle that is
moving along a roadway collides with another vehicle or object.
• A road accident refers to any accident involving at least one road
vehicle, occurring on a road open to public circulation, and in which
at least one person is injured or killed.

12
WHAT are the Causes of Road Accidents?

13
 Factors Involved in Transportation Crashes

• Driver or Operator Action:

• Major contributing cause of many crash situations is the performance of the driver of one or both
• Vehicle Condition:
• Mechanical condition of a vehicle can be the cause of transportation crashes
• Roadway Condition:
• The condition and quality of the roadway, which includes the pavement, shoulders, intersections, and the
traffic control system, can be a factor in a crash
• Environment:
• The physical and climatic environment surrounding a transportation vehicle can also be a factor in the
occurrence of transportation crashes

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 ROAD ACCIDENTS
Terminology
1. Fatal traffic accident is one which involves a person who dies as a result of an injury sustained in
the accident (usually within 30 days); it excludes confirmed suicides
2. Serious accident involves a person who is detained in hospital as an in-patient, or who suffers
any of the following injuries: fractures, concussion, internal injuries, crushings, severe cuts and
lacerations, or severe general shock, that require medical treatment
3. Slight accident is one involving a person who is only slightly injured, e.g. a person who sustains a
sprain, bruise or cut, which is not judged (by the police) to be severe, or slight shock requiring
only roadside attention
4. Damage-only accident does not involve people who sustain personal injuries

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 ROAD ACCIDENTS
Facts

70% of the fatal road accidents in India occurred in the eight States only

UP 12%; TN 11%; AP+TS 10%; MH10%; KA 8%; RJ & MP 7% each state and GJ 5%

1/3rd of road accidents occurs on NHs only whereas the percentage share of NHs in the total road network
in India is merely 2% (1.7%)

45% of the road accidents LMVs involved and 55% of road accidents attributed to HMVs

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 ROAD ACCIDENTS
Facts

Over 80% vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, users of two wheeler/auto) are killed in road
accidents in India

Nearly 90% of the road accidents are attributed to the drivers (human) fault leaving only 10% due to
other factors like poor road geometry, lack of safety elements, poor conditions of the vehicles and bad
weather etc.

about 50% road accident victims age group of less than 40years

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18
19
20
 Different Collisions
• Head-on collisions
• Left turn head-on collisions
• Right angled collisions
• Rear end collisions
• Pedestrian-Vehicle collisions

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Head-on collisions
• A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two
vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when
travelling in opposite directions

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 Left turn head-on collision

• Unless the driver has the right-of-way, the vehicle making a left-hand
turn must yield to other vehicles. This is why, in most cases, the driver
making the turn will bear liability for the accident. ... Speeding out in front
of an oncoming vehicle is a risk that could result in the driver's fault for a
collision.

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 Rear end collisions

• A rear-end collision (often called simply rear-end or in the UK a shunt)

occurs when a vehicle crashes into the one in front of it. Common factors
contributing to rear-end collisions include driver inattention or
distraction, tailgating, panic stops, and reduced traction due to wet
weather or worn pavement.

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 Right angled collisions

• In the United States and Canada this collision type is also known as
right-angle collision or T-bone collision; it is also sometimes referred to
by the abbreviation "AABS" for "auto accident, broadside". ... After the
collision, the involved vehicles may be stuck together by the folding of
their parts around each other.

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Types of Crashes- Probable Causes

26
Types of Crashes- Probable Causes

27
 Types of Crashes- Probable Causes

Considerable proportion of accidents occur on relatively short sections called Black

Spots or Black sites 28
 BLACK SPOT

• At certain sites, the level of risk of road accidents is

higher than the general level of risk in surrounding
areas
• Crashes tend to be concentrated at these relatively
high-risk locations. These locations with an
abnormally high number of crashes are generally
described as black spots.

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30
• 120 black spots are identified across our city and
suburb of Hyderabad, where 26 were located in
GHMC limits.

• Areas included Yousufguda checkpost, chilkalguda

crossroads, RTC cross roads, NTR Garden Road etc.
in the year 2019 for the month of July as per
Telangana Today, Times Now report.

• Rectifying works were made at these identified

spots with a cost of 1.50 crore by the municipal
corporation of Hyderaabd.

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32
 Accident Evaluation and Black Spot
Investigation
• The accident data collection involves extensive investigation which
involves the following procedure:
Reporting: It involves basic data collection in form of two methods:
• Motorist accident report - It is filed by the involved motorist involved
in all accidents fatal or injurious.
• Police accident report - It is filed by the attendant police officer for
all accidents at which an officer is present. This generally includes
fatal accidents or mostly accidents involving serious injury required
emergency or hospital treatment or which have incurred heavy
property damage. 33
 Accident Evaluation and Black Spot Investigation
At Scene-Investigation: It involves obtaining information at scene such as measurement of skid
marks, examination of damage of vehicles, photograph of final position of vehicles, examination
of condition and functioning of traffic control devices and other road equipment.
Technical Preparation: This data collection step is needed for organization and interpretation of
the study made. In this step measurement of grades, sight distance, preparing drawing of after
accident situation, determination of critical and design speed for curves is done.
Professional Reconstruction: In this step effort is made to determine from whatever data is
available how the accident occurs from the available data. This involves accident reconstruction
which has been discussed under Section No.7 in details. It is professionally referred as
determining “behavioral” or “mediate” causes of accident.
Cause Analysis: It is the effort made to determine why the accident occurred from the data
available and the analysis of accident reconstruction studies

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 Investigative approaches used to develop
accident reduction programmes
• There are four main investigative approaches used to develop accident reduction programmes. These are
described as:
1. Single site schemes
2. Mass action programmes
3. Route action programmes; and
4. Area action programmes.
All involve four major planning steps:
(a) Data collection, storage and retrieval,
(b) Identification of hazardous locations for further study
(c) Diagnosis of the accident problem(s), and
(d) The final selection of sites to be included in the remedial implementation programme

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 Scientific investigations and data collection

• For each type of accident, three questions should be asked:

1. What driver actions lead to the occurrence of such accidents?
2. What existing conditions at the site could contribute to drivers taking such actions?
3. What changes can be made to reduce the chances of such actions taking place?

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 ACCIDENT STUDIES AND RECORDS

• COLLECTION OF ACCIDENT DATA

• ACCIDENT REPORT
• ACCIDENT RECORDS
• LOCATION FILES
• SPOT MAPS
• CONDITION DIAGRAMS
• COLLISION DIAGRAMS

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 Collection of Accident Data

• The accidents occur infrequently and at unpredictable times and locations, they cannot be directly
observed and studied in the field (if CC cameras not fixed)
• All accident data comes from secondary sources-primarily police and motorist accident reports
• The information is needed for a wide variety of purposes, including:
1. Identification of locations at which unusually high numbers of accidents occur.
2. Detailed functional evaluations of high-accident locations to determine contributing causes of
accidents.
3. Development of general statistical measures of various accident-related factors to give insight into
general trends, common causal factors, driver profiles, and other factors.
4. Development of procedures that allow the identification of hazards before large numbers of accidents
occur.
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 Collection of Accident Data

• As in most countries, traffic police are the source of official government statistics related with road
traffic injuries in India.
• The main sources of traffic crash data at the national level are the annual reports published by the
National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs, and the annual publication of the
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) titled Road Accidents in India. The basic information
for both these reports comes from all the police stations in the country based on the cases reported to
them
• https://data.gov.insectors/Transport-9383
• The International Road Traffic and Accident Database (IRTAD) is a data collection maintained by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International
Transport Forum (ITF) in Paris, covering safety data in countries within and outside of Europe

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 Accident Reports

• An incident report needs to include all the essential information about the accident or near-miss.
The report-writing process begins with fact finding and ends with recommendations for preventing
future accidents.
• You may use a special incident reporting form, and it might be quite extensive. But writing any
incident report involves four basic steps, and those are the focus of today’s post.

1. Find the Facts

To prepare for writing an accident report, you have to gather and record all the facts.
For example:
• Date, time, and specific location of incident
• Names and accounts of witnesses

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 Accident Reports

• Events leading up to incident

• Exactly what the victim was doing at the moment of the accident
• Environmental conditions (e.g. slippery surface, inadequate lighting, noise,
etc.)
• Circumstances (including tasks etc.)
• Specific injuries (including part(s) of body injured and nature and extent of
injuries)
• Type of treatment for injuries
• Damage to infrastructure etc.

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 Accident Reports

2. Determine the Sequence

Based on the facts, you should be able to determine the sequence of events. In your report, describe
this sequence in detail, including:
• Events leading up to the incident. Was the victim taling, chatting over phone, drunk, enjoying music
etc
• Events involved in the incident. Was the victim struck by or caught in/on/between objects? Did the
victim fall on the same level or from a height? Was there lack of breathing air, had the central lock
failed, in case of car. etc

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Accident Reports
3. Analyze
Your report should include an in-depth analysis of the causes of the accident.
Causes include:
• Primary cause (e.g., a spill on the floor that caused a slip and fall)
• Secondary causes (e.g., victim was not wearing helmet, seat belt or other
precautionary gear required to control the extent of damage)
• Other contributing factors (e.g. Fog, smoke inside the car which resulted in
fire or blocked the vision of the driver etc).

43
 Accident Reports

4. Recommend
Recommendations for corrective action might include immediate corrective action as well
as long-term corrective actions such as:
• Drivers following safe work practices.
• Preventive maintenance activities that keep roads in good operating condition.
• Evaluation of procedures with a recommendation for changes
• Conducting a hazard analysis to evaluate the task for any other hazards and then train
common people on these hazards through various societal welfare programs.
• Engineering/technical changes that make the task safer or administrative/policy changes.

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45
 ROAD ACCIDENT RECORDING FORM

A. Accident Details
B. Road Related Details
C. Vehicles Involved in the Accident
D. Driver Details
E. Persons Other Than Drivers Involved in the Accident
• https://iith.ac.in/~dspawar/Accident_form/accident2.php

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ACCIDENT RECORDS
• LOCATION FILES
• To keep check on location, identify point of high accident incident
• SPOT MAPS
• Spots, pins on map with scale and legends (fatal / non fatal etc…)
• CONDITION DIAGRAMS
• Drawing to scale with imp. Physical features, road way limits, curves, bridges, trees,
signals etc.
• COLLISION DIAGRAMS
• Diagram to show approximate path of vehicle/pedestrian involved in accident. Used to
see accident pattern before and after the remedial measures.

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48
Collision diagrams
• Collision diagrams are used to display and identify similar accident
patterns.
• They provide information on the type and number of accidents
• including conditions such as time of day, day of week, climatic
conditions, pavement conditions, and other information critical to
determining the causes of safety problems.

49
Construction of Collision Diagram

• Sketch the location diagram for either an intersection or roadway section using
a standard form, such as, shown on the following page.
• 1. The sketch need not be to scale.
• 2. Show the path of each vehicle involved in the accident with
adequate room for information.
• 3. Place a north arrow for orientation and any other descriptive information:
• a. Location identification
• b. Period of analysis
• c. Label the roads

50
Contd..
• Sketch the path of each vehicle to show vehicle maneuv
er,
type of collision and accident severity and
• Time of day
• Day of week
• Date lighting condition
• Pavement condition
• Other imp information Eg: alchohol involvement

51
 DIAGNOSIS OF ROAD CRASH PROBLEMS

Six steps in the diagnosis phase

1. Study detailed crash reports
2. Data sorting to determine groups of accident types and the locations
at which they occur
3. Data amplification by detailed on-site investigation (perhaps including
conflict studies)
4. Detailed analysis of all data
5. Identification of dominant factors and/or road features
6. Determine nature of the crash problem,

52
 Office and On-site Analysis

• an in-office analysis, identifying • an on-site analysis involving

predominant vehicle manoeuvres, and observation of road and driver
summarising the accident types which characteristics; this may be
are occurring; this aims to reveal the supplemented by extra studies, such as
type of countermeasure needed (e.g. a speed studies, traffic counts, turning
disproportionate incidence of night time manoeuvres, conflict analysis, etc.
crashes implies a need for delineation,
lighting, etc).

53
 Problem analysis- Relevant questions to be
answered
• Are crashes associated with a physical condition of the road, and can this situation be
eliminated or corrected?
• Is visibility adequate, and can this be corrected, or if not is there adequate warning?
• Are the existing signs, signals, and pavement markings doing the job for which they were
intended? Are replacements needed?
• Is traffic properly channelled to minimise the occurrence of conflicts?
• Would crashes be prevented by prohibition of a specific movement (e.g. a right turn), or by
giving it priority (e.g. exclusive phase)?
• Can some of the traffic be diverted to other streets where the crash potential is not as great?
• Are night time crashes out of proportion to daytime crashes - indicating the need for special
night time protection (lighting, delineation, etc)?
• Do conditions show the need for additional traffic law enforcement?

54
 Statistical methods of analysis of accident
data
• Accident statistics are measures (or estimates) of the number and severity of accidents. They
should be presented in a way that is intended to provide insight into the general state of
highway safety and into systematic contributing causes of accidents. These insights can help
develop policies, programs, and specific site improvements intended to reduce the number and
severity of accidents
• Accident statistics generally address and describe one of three principal informational elements:
• Accident occurrence
• Accident involvements
• Accident severity

55
Accident statistics
• Accident occurrence relates to the numbers and types of accidents that occur, which are often
described in terms of rates based on population or vehicle-miles travelled.
• Accident involvement concerns the numbers and types of vehicles and drivers involved in
accidents, with population-based rates a very popular method of expression.
• Accident severity is generally dealt with by proxy: the numbers of fatalities and fatality rates are
often used as a measure of the seriousness of accidents

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Accident Analysis
common types of analyses include:

• Trends over time

• Stratification by highway type or geometric element

• Stratification by driver characteristics (gender, age)

• Stratification by contributing cause

• Stratification by accident type

• Stratification by environmental conditions

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Accident Analysis
• Accident analyses allow the correlation of accident types with highway types and specific
geometric elements, the identification of high-risk driver populations, quantifying the extent of
DUI/DWI influence on accidents and fatalities, and other important determinations.
• Many of these factors can be addressed through policy or programmatic approaches
• Changes in the design of guardrails have resulted from the correlation of accident and fatality
rates with specific types of installations

58
Accident Analysis
• Changes in the legal drinking age and in the legal definition of DUI/DWI have resulted
partially from statistics showing the very high rate of involvement of this factor in fatal
accidents.
• Improved federal requirements on vehicle safety features (air bags, seat belts and
harnesses, energy-absorbing steering columns, padded dashboards) have occurred
partially as a result of statistics linking these features to accident severity

59
Accident data Analysis- statistics
Accident Rate/km (R): Accident hazard is expressed as a number of accidents of all
types per Km of each highway and street classification.
R=A/L.
Where, A= Total no. of accidents in one year.
L= Length of control section in kms.
Contd….

Accident involvement rate: It is expressed as number of drivers of

vehicles with certain characteristics who are involved in accident per
100million vehicle kilometers of travel.
R= (N/V) X 100000000
Where N= Total no.of drivers of vehicles involved in accidents during the
period of investigation.
V= Vehicle-kms of travel on road section during the period of
investigation.

61
Death rate based on population: Traffic hazard to life in a community is expressed as
the no. of traffic fatalities for 100000 population. This reflects
the accident exposure for entire area.

R= (B/P) X 100000.
Where, B= Total no.of accident deaths in one year.
P= Population of the area.

Death rate based on registration: Traffic hazard to life in a community can also be
expressed as the no. of traffic fatalities per 10,000 vehicles registered. This rate reflects
the accident exposure for entire area and is similar to death rate based on population.

R=(B/M) X 10,000
Where, B= Total no.of traffic death in one year.
M= no.of motor vehicles registered in the area.
 Accident rate based on vehicle-Kms of travel: The accident hazard is expressed as
the no.of accidents per 100 million vehicle- Km of travel. The true exposure to
accident is nearly approximated by the miles of travel of the motor vehicle than
the population or registration.

R=(C/V) X 100000000.
where, C= No.of total accidents in one year.
V= Vehicle-kms of travel in one year.
 Prob1:
The mortar vehicle consumption in a city is 5.082millions litres there were 3114 mortar
vehicle fatalities 355799 mortar vehicle injuries 6,721,049 mortar vehicle registrations and
an estimated population of 18,190,238 km of travels per litre of fuel is 12.42 km/lit. calculate
registration death rate, population death rate and accident rate per vehicle km.
Sol:
appox vehicle km of travel =total consumption of fuel*Km of travel per litre of fuel
= 5.08x109x12.42
= 63.01x109 Km.
1.Registration death rate
R= (B/M) X1000 =( 3114 / 6721049) X10000 = 4.63
2. Population death rate R = (B / P)x100000
= (3114 / 18190238) X10000
= 17.1
3. Accident rate per vehicle Kms of travel R = (C/V) X 100000000.
R = ( 3114 / 63.1 X 109) )x 108
R= 4.93
Statistical methods for Analysis of Accident data

• Qualitative methods of analysis of accidents can provide a deep view in to the

causes that contribute to the accident and
• can often help to identity the blackspots on this Highway/street system.
• In recent times the application of statistical techniques in planning and analyzing
experiment resulted in producing more effectiveness in accidental preventive
measures.
Contd…

The no.of statistical methods are currently being applied in accident

research include:
Regression methods
Poisson distribution
Use of chi-squared test for comparing accident data
Quality control method

66
Poisson distribution in accident
analysis
• Poisson distribution is appropriate for accident study because accidents are prone
by the loss if chance and the occurrence of accidents.
• It is a rare event in time or in distance or amongst drivers.
• The mathematical formula for Poisson distribution is:
P( r)= (e-m mr)/r! Equation-1
Where, P(r)= probability of occurrence of r events.
m= Average rate of occurrence of events.
e= Base of Napierian logarithms.
p
Applying the above formula to determine the probability of a driver causing an
accident.
m= PM
Where,
M= kilometers driven by each driver.
P= probability of having of an accident per kilometer travelled.
m= Average rate of occurrence of accidents in a travel of M kilometers
length.

The probability of a driver having r accidents ,

P( r)= (e-m mr) / r! Equation-2
68
Contd…
Also the no.of drivers having “r” accidents
P( r)=N ( (e-m mr) /r! ) ..…Equation-3
Where N= no.of accidents
In the above formula value of P is very small and the value of N is very
large.
equation-2 can be used to determine the probability of accidents occurring
in a given time span.
Let m be the average no.of accidents occurring in a year at a given
location.
Then, P( r)= (e-m mr) / r!. 69
Prob:2

• It is observed that on an average a vehicle driver drives 5000km driving the course
of a year. The probability of having an accident is 100 per 200 million vehicles kms .
What is probability of driver having at least 2 accidents during his driving carrier
extending to 25 years.

Sol: no.of accidents = 100 per 200 million vehicle Kms

P = 100/ 200000000 = 0.0000005
Probability of having an accident per km travelled P= 0.0000005.
Kms driven by each driver M = 5000X25 = 1,25,000 km
m = PM = 0.0000005 x 125000 = 0.0625
P(r) = {e-m. mr / r! } = e -0.0625 ( 0.0625)r / r!
contd

P(r= at least 2 accidents ) P(r>2) = 1-p (r<2) = 1 –( p(r=0)+p( r=1)

= 1-p(r=0)-p(r=1)
= 1-p(r=0)-p(r=1)

= 1- { (e-0.0625x 0.0625o / 0! )-( e -0.0625(0.0625)1) / 1! ) }

=1- e -0.0625 – e-0.0625 x 0.0625
= 1-e -0.0625( 1-0.0625)
= 1- e-0.0625 x 0.9375
= 0.119301.
Prob:3

The accident records of three consecutive years at an uncontrolled

junction indicate the following no.of accidents.
year no.of accidents
1972 3
1973 6
1974 9
Calculate the probability of 4 accidents occurring per year at the site
:r=4 accidents m= Average rate of occurrence of accidents
m = 3+6+9 / 3 = 6
p(r) = {e –m m r / r! }
p(4) = e-6 * 64 / 4!
= 0.133
 Safety Performance Function (SPF)

• SPF is an equation used to predict the average number of crashes per year at a location as a
function of exposure and, in some cases, roadway or intersection characteristics (e.g., number of
lanes, traffic control, or median type) (1). For highway segments, exposure is represented by the
segment length and annual average daily traffic (AADT) associated with the study section
• Application: SPFs are used to predict crash frequency for a given set of site conditions. The
predicted crashes from the SPF can be used alone or in combination with the site-specific crash
history (i.e., Empirical Bayes method) to compare the safety performance of a specific site under
various conditions.
• The Empirical Bayes method is used to estimate the expected long-term crash experience, which
is a weighted average of the observed crashes at the site of interest and the predicted crashes
from an SPF

73
Nonparametric Method
• The nonparametric approach is simple to apply and only assumes a Poisson
distribution for the accidents.
To estimate the number of accidents, ak expected to occur in an equivalent after
period on a system that had k accidents in the before period, we need
Nk = number of systems with k accidents, and
Nk+1 = number of systems with (k+1) accidents.
Now, ak =(k+1)*N(k + 1) / Nk

74
Empirical Bayes Method
• The empirical Bayes method assumptions are (1) a Poisson distribution for the
accidents, and (2) a Gamma distribution for the distribution of the averages in
the population of systems.
• With these two assumptions, the number of systems with k accidents must obey
the negative binomial distribution. The expected number of accidents, a’ k, in the
after period on a system that had k accidents in the before period is
a'k =(k+1)*N’(k + 1) / N’k

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 Identifying High-Accident locations

• A primary function of an accident record system is to regularly identify locations

with an unusually high rate of accidents and/or fatalities
• Accident spot maps are a tool that can be used to assist in this task
• Computer record systems can also produce lists of accident locations ranked by
either total number of accidents occurring or by defined accident or fatality rate.
It is useful to examine both types of rankings, as they may yield significantly
different results.
• Some locations with high accident numbers reflect high volumes and have a
relatively low accident rate. Conversely, a small number of accidents occurring at
a remote location with very little demand can produce a very high accident rate.
• Statistical rankings give the engineer a starting point, judgment must still be
applied in the identification and selection of sites most in need of improvement
during any given budget year
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Application of computer analysis of accident data
• TEAAS-Traffic Engineering Accident Analysis System: a Software used to analyze
the accident data ( North Carolina)
• FARS (Fatality Analysis Reporting System) and GES (General Estimates System) UK
• Road Accident Data Management System (RADMS) India

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Approaches to Highway Safety

Strategies that may be employed to improve highway traffic safety

1. Exposure control

2. Accident prevention

3. Behavior modification

4. Injury control

5. Post-injury management

6. Road Safety Audit

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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Exposure control
• Reduce the travel by motorists
• Efforts to reduce auto use and travel cover a wide range of policy, planning, and
design issues.
• Policies and practices that attempt to reduce Auto/Vehicle use include:
• Diversion of travel to public transportation modes
• Substitution of telecommunications for travel
• Implementation of policies, taxes, and fees to discourage auto ownership and use
Reorganization of land uses to minimize travel distances for various trip purposes
• Driver and vehicle restrictions through licensing and registration restrictions

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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Accident prevention

• Accident prevention involves a number of policy measures, including

• Driver and pedestrian training
• Removal of drivers with “bad” driving records and
• Provision of better highway designs and control devices that encourage good driving practices
and minimize the occurrence of driver error
• Risk control, or reduction of severity, often involves the design and protection of
roadside and median environments
• Proper guardrail and/or impact-attenuating devices will reduce the impact energy
transferred to the vehicle in an accident, and can direct the path of a vehicle away
from objects or areas that would result in a more serious collision

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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Behavior Modification
• Behavior Modification is an important component of strategies for Accident prevention and
Exposure reduction
• Providing very high-class and convenient public transportation alternatives
• Implementing policies that make public transportation a much more attractive alternative
than driving
• Driver and pedestrian training programs
• Very effective strategy in behavior modification is enforcement

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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Injury control
• Seat belts and shoulder harnesses, and laws to enforce their use
• Child-restraint seats and systems, and laws requiring their use
• Anti-burst door locks
• Padded instrument panels
• Energy-absorbing steering posts and crumple zones
• Side door beams
• Air bags
• Head rests and restraints
• Shatterproof glass
• Forgiving interior fittings
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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Post-injury management

1. 50% of traffic fatalities occur with in few minutes of accident

2. 35% with in 1-2hours of accident
3. 15% with in 30days in hospital
• There is little that can be done for deaths occurring during the accident or immediately thereafter

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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Post-injury management

Biggest opportunity for improvement is in the 2nd category, Deaths within 1-2 hours
of an accident can be reduced by
• Speedy emergency medical responses
• High-quality emergency care at the site and during transport to a hospital
• Speedy notification of emergency services
• Fast dispatch of appropriate equipment to the site
• Well-trained emergency medical technicians attending to immediate medical needs
of victims, and
• well staffed and equipped trauma centres at hospitals
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 Approaches to Highway Safety
Road Safety Audit (RSA)

• RSA is the formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or

intersection by an independent, multidisciplinary team
• It qualitatively estimates and reports on potential road safety issues and identifies
opportunities for improvements in safety for all road users
The aim of an RSA is to answer the following questions:
• What elements of the road may present a safety concern: to what extent, to which
road users, and under what circumstances?
• What opportunities exist to eliminate or mitigate identified safety concerns?

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 5Es to Road safety

Road safety is result of effective measures and their integration

in the areas of
1. Engineering (Roads)
2. Engineering(Vehicles)
3. Enforcement
4. Education
5. Emergency

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5Es to Road safety
• Engineering (Roads)
Road Design and Maintenance
Segregation of traffic
Lighting system
Speed
Double white lines
Alignment
Road Surface
Margins
• Engineering (Vehicles)
Vehicle Design and maintenance

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5Es to Road safety
• Enforcement
• Speed control
• Traffic control
• Training and supervision
• Medical check
• Compulsion to wear Helmet, seat belt
• Education
• Road users (pedestrians, drivers) training, education
• Traffic rules, traffic safety week programs etc.
• Emergency
Rs 14,000 cr to be spent to cut road accidents-11.07.2019
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References
1. Traffic Engineering by Roger Roess, Elena and McShane 3rd Edition
2. Traffic and Highway Engineering by Garber and Hoel 4th Edition
3. Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering- CA O'Flaherty

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