Papers by Keyword: Road Safety

Abstract: Road traffic crashes are a global concern, disproportionately affecting developing countries. Namibia, with a road fatality rate exceeding regional averages, faces significant economic and social losses due to FSI crashes. This study examined fatal and serious injury (FSI) crashes on Namibian’s national rural roads from 2012 to 2016 to identify trends and correlations with temporal and demographic factors. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted using data from the National Road Safety Council, with post-hoc tests revealing significant differences across variables. The average driver age was 28, with males at a significantly higher risk, particularly those ages 21 to 35. The temporal analysis revealed higher crash occurrences during peak traffic hours, weekends, holidays, the second week after pay week, holiday months (April-May, August and December), and the first and third quarters of the year. These findings indicate a substantial negative impact on economic development due to the high rate of serious injuries and fatalities among young and adult drivers. The study highlights the need for targeted, data-driven interventions to enhance road safety, recommending stricter traffic regulations during high-risk periods, public awareness campaigns focused on young male drivers, and improved road infrastructure in identified hotspots.

Abstract: Road defects are inevitable in the infrastructure of any city but its effects on the safety of road users and overall economy vary. There are several factors which contribute towards the magnitude and frequency of such defects and how much human and financial loss they incur. Finding suitable solutions to these road defects which are cost effective as well as sustainable are necessary. This study aims to explore the various common road defects, their cause and possible sustainable solutions. Different localities in the city of Karachi were selected for estimating the average frequency and magnitude of common road defect types. It was found that on an average there were 2.8 potholes, 1.5 ditches, 1.68 speed breakers, 1.3 open manholes, and 0.16 open nullahs per kilometer in Karachi. All together they constitute about 59,436 road defects in the city of Karachi. The most hazardous of them are the open manholes which account for day to day fatal and severe injury accidents. Some of the solutions evaluated for the repair of these road defects were concrete debris, aggregate mixture (gherha), earthen backfill, and used rubber tire strips based manhole cover.

Abstract: The major goal of this smart helmet is to reduce the number of people who die in bike accidents. Unless the ignition system is turned off, it is mandatory to wear a helmet. For this using the Raindrop wiper mechanism technology, Alcohol sensor and also going to use light indicators which gives an automatic indication when the rider turns left or right. All these activities will be monitored and each status will be updated in the web page using IOT. This helmet can decrease the number of deaths on the road and can provide a safe ride.

Abstract: The noise pollution is an important factor for people living near roads. The road traffic noise is endangering the health of these residents and the quality of their lives. The tyre / road noise became the most significant source of the road traffic noise due reduced noise emissions from the vehicle propulsion system by the automotive industry. An important recent trend is increasing the traffic safety by improving anti-skid properties of roads in critical locations. Experts have concluded that some anti-skid modifications may increase the noise pollution. Because the usage of such pavements is predominantly in urban areas, problems may occur. This paper deals with the noise level of the safety anti-skid modification of the road surface used in the urban areas. Based on the presented measurement values it can be said that the Rocbinda^TM safety anti-skid modification does not achieve any increased acoustic performance compared to the asphalt pavement.

Abstract: The majority of traffic safety evaluations in the world generally have been conducted by colecting historical accident data. The data will then being analyzed using risk prediction models or before-after study that required an exact and reliable data. Meanwhile, the availability of accident data is rare where the rest actually consist of near-crashes and abnormal behaviour, which is mostly underreporting and lack of detail concerning the behavioural and situational of the event. Therefore, traffic conflict technique, is needed to assess traffic safety as another approach rather than waiting for several years until a number of accidents happen in a certain area. Hence the aim of this study is to make a safety evaluation towards a specific intersection in Hasselt Belgium using traffic conflict technique. The observation of conflict (near crashes) was carried out in intersection of Manteliusstraat – Dorpsstraat – Thonissenlaan in the Hasselt, Belgium. In order to differentiate slight conflict and serious conflict, the TA-value (Time of accident) was defined based on the estimated speed of the road user and estimated distance from the road user when conflict occurred. From the observation, it was found that the conflicts between car and pedestrian were the most frequent conflict, with 50% of the total conflict, and that the conflict between car with car and the conflict between car with cyclist were high in terms of severity level based on the TA-value. By taking these into consideration, it can be concluded that unsafe crossing for pedestrian and cyclist, different speed, and peak hour traffic were the causes of conflict. Therefore, it was concluded that traffic conflict technique can be used to assess and measure traffic safety in a certain road segment. Furthermore, in term of safety, the Manteliusstraat – Dorpsstraat – Thonissenlaan intersection should be modified with some alternatives; signalized intersection with toucan crossing and traffic control devices improvement

Abstract: Road safety outcome is a complex issue involving high number of risk factors and indicators that contributes to road accidents and their severity related to human-vehicle–road interactions. This requires a multi-dimensional model in order to fully understand the road safety situation especially among commercial bus drivers. This study identified some of the risk factors with the objective of establishing the relationship between them through a model for assessing the road safety outcome. The model was developed using data collected from 465 commercial bus drivers in Johor, Malaysia. The estimated model yielded significant relationship between the risk factors (Drivers, Vehicle and Road) and road safety outcomes. The statistical analysis of these risk factors shows that the model has significant fit to the data. The results therefore, yielded a road safety output guideline formula suitable for road safety performance indicator for safety practitioners and stakeholders. The study pointed out three critical risk factors (e.g. Drivers, Vehicle and Road) with their various levels of risk contributions as influence on road safety among commercial bus. Six recommendations based on this finding were made in an attempt to reduce commercial bus accidents.

Abstract: This thesis introduced the origin and function of traffic calming measures in solving road safety problem and reducing vehicle speed to make the environment more secure, also introduced several different types of basic traffic calming measures. Facts showed that using traffic measures can improve the safety of traffic environment, reduce vehicle speed and decrease accidents and pollutions. Therefore, traffic calming measures should be highly valued by governments and policy makers in constructing a city with harmony and prosperity.

Abstract: The article presents experimental validation of the numerical model of a testing platform impact on a support structure mast. Numerical analysis of explicit type was performed in LS-Dyna environment. Experimental tests of crash test type were conducted on testing track. Comparison of values of deformations measured at selected mast characteristic points with the values of deformations specified during numerical analyses was performed.

Abstract: Road accidents are a major problem in both developed and developing countries, although related to different historical reasons and circumstances. The clear, common feature is the impact caused by three major factors: use of the automobile, road infrastructure and the road users (human factor), this has generated interest from researchers and academia. Most research has been limited in scope, while some researchers used secondary data, some use official reports, experimental investigation through system approach. The inability to recognize the complexity of factors that affect this issue may explain why we have conflicting results obtained by different researchers. The purpose of this paper was to develop a sustainable road safety model that is based on concurrent research, including: Human factors, Vehicle factors and Road factors. A sustainable approach was taken in evaluating relationships among the various factors and indicators thereby proposing a model that can serve as a tool for benchmarking and policy decision. Keywords: Road Safety; performance; Indicators; Human Factors; Sustainability

Abstract: Increasing number of fatalities caused by road accidents involving heavy vehicles every year has raised the level of concern and awareness on road safety situation in developing countries like Malaysia. This study attempts to explore the influences of vehicle dynamics characteristics such as vehicle weight and travel speed on its safety braking distance. This study uses a kind of complex virtual prototyping software to simulate vehicle dynamics and its braking performance characteristics. The software was used to generate braking distance data for various vehicle types under various loads and speed condition. The generated data was grouped according to GVW and then analyzed by two-way ANOVA to evaluate its relationship to braking distance. The finding of this study implies that the speed and GVW of various vehicle classifications has a significant effect to the heavy vehicle braking distance.