Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways
This paper presents an evaluation of risk factors for highway crashes under mixed traffic conditions. The basis of selecting study sites was abutting land use, roadway, and traffic characteristics. Accordingly, the study selected thirteen segments on the existing highway network in the state of West...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | IATSS Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111222000516 |
| _version_ | 1811314851162619904 |
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| author | Sujata Basu Pritam Saha |
| author_facet | Sujata Basu Pritam Saha |
| author_sort | Sujata Basu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents an evaluation of risk factors for highway crashes under mixed traffic conditions. The basis of selecting study sites was abutting land use, roadway, and traffic characteristics. Accordingly, the study selected thirteen segments on the existing highway network in the state of West Bengal of India, covering a wide spectrum of such road attributes. A systematic investigation based on site-specific accident data to capture the highway sections' safety features revealed that the crash rate has steadily increased for years with traffic regardless of roadway category and conditions. A number of risk factors that affect road accidents were identified; they are mid-block access, pavement and shoulder conditions, vehicle involvement, time of day, and road configuration, i.e., two and multi-lane. The empirical observation indicates that the crash rate is relatively lower on multi-lane highways; however, the severity of any crash on such a road is relatively high. Notably, the crash frequencies on such roads are less during daylight hours due to the lane-based unidirectional traffic movement. This is quite the opposite during nighttime when drivers exhibit an inability to meet traffic contingencies, thereby increasing crash risk. The majority of crashes on two-lane highways are, on the other hand, due to unsafe driving manoeuvers. The study also observed that frequent mid-block accesses and poor shoulder conditions reduce scopes to rectify driving errors and increase crash risk as a consequence. The paper subsequently suggests proactive approaches to identify safety deficits at the time of planning and designing. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:19:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4cc6dba9383d41e1a86214232baf30fd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0386-1112 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:19:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IATSS Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-4cc6dba9383d41e1a86214232baf30fd2022-12-22T02:48:52ZengElsevierIATSS Research0386-11122022-12-01464559573Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highwaysSujata Basu0Pritam Saha1Corresponding author.; Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah 711103, IndiaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah 711103, IndiaThis paper presents an evaluation of risk factors for highway crashes under mixed traffic conditions. The basis of selecting study sites was abutting land use, roadway, and traffic characteristics. Accordingly, the study selected thirteen segments on the existing highway network in the state of West Bengal of India, covering a wide spectrum of such road attributes. A systematic investigation based on site-specific accident data to capture the highway sections' safety features revealed that the crash rate has steadily increased for years with traffic regardless of roadway category and conditions. A number of risk factors that affect road accidents were identified; they are mid-block access, pavement and shoulder conditions, vehicle involvement, time of day, and road configuration, i.e., two and multi-lane. The empirical observation indicates that the crash rate is relatively lower on multi-lane highways; however, the severity of any crash on such a road is relatively high. Notably, the crash frequencies on such roads are less during daylight hours due to the lane-based unidirectional traffic movement. This is quite the opposite during nighttime when drivers exhibit an inability to meet traffic contingencies, thereby increasing crash risk. The majority of crashes on two-lane highways are, on the other hand, due to unsafe driving manoeuvers. The study also observed that frequent mid-block accesses and poor shoulder conditions reduce scopes to rectify driving errors and increase crash risk as a consequence. The paper subsequently suggests proactive approaches to identify safety deficits at the time of planning and designing.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111222000516Highway safetyMixed trafficRisk factorsCrash incidentImpacts |
| spellingShingle | Sujata Basu Pritam Saha Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways IATSS Research Highway safety Mixed traffic Risk factors Crash incident Impacts |
| title | Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways |
| title_full | Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways |
| title_short | Evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic: Case study on Indian highways |
| title_sort | evaluation of risk factors for road accidents under mixed traffic case study on indian highways |
| topic | Highway safety Mixed traffic Risk factors Crash incident Impacts |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111222000516 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sujatabasu evaluationofriskfactorsforroadaccidentsundermixedtrafficcasestudyonindianhighways AT pritamsaha evaluationofriskfactorsforroadaccidentsundermixedtrafficcasestudyonindianhighways |