Aim and Objectives
The road safety is very important for the travelling through the transport since it is the common activity that people undertake daily, though sometimes for many reasons the accidents happen. To undertake the engineering investigation of the road safety, the accident sites selected named the Hosur road. The Hosur road is the urban arterial road and located in the Bangalore suburb near the station. Over the last five years, the total of five accidents has occurred on this road. The site of the crash is at the intersection of the center road and the Hosur road and also the speed limit for the road was gotten to be 60km per hour [1].
This report is divided into different parts, the first section all the data collected in the regard of the past accidents occurred for the last five years is analyzed by making the collision diagram and the factor matrix. The main causes of the accidents in the areas of the study were selected also determined based on the data collected and the investigation of the crash site. Some of the countermeasures are given to reduce the rate of accidents along with the calculation of the reduction of the crash because of the implementation of the recommendations. The treatment plan was provided and the cost analysis of the recommendation selected is undertaken by calculating the benefit-cost ratio and the net present value [2].
- To select two sites for studying conditions of the road safety
- To collect all the data needed for the locations selected like base maps and the photographs
- To perform the risk assessment
- To analyses the gathered information to find the accident causes
- To propose the countermeasures and perfume the cost analysis
Geotechnical engineering is the branch of the civil engineering that deals with the engineering behavior of the earth materials. It also has the application in the mining and petroleum. It uses the principles of the soil mechanics and the rock mechanics to investigate the conditions of subsurface and materials. Ground control is the branch of the geotechnical engineering that deals with keeping the mines more productive and safer. The main function of the ground control in the context of mining is to ensure that the excavations made through soil and rock are kept stable and safer all the time. It is applied in the geotechnical engineering to minimize risk during the construction of the tunnel, securing slopes and road building projects.
Methodology
Collection of the data is the very important step in the engineering investigation of the road safety since the whole research was based on the data and the countermeasures were selected based on the data. Hence, if the data collected is the fault, the countermeasures will also be faulty or not effective. In addition, the selection of the data source is usually important in the collection of the data. Data was collected for the last five years of the locations of the crash selected. For the last years, the total of the five crashes gotten and all were the crashes caused by the vehicle-pedestrian accidents [3]. In addition, among the five accidents, four caused very serious damages and injuries and only one of the accidents was found to cause the normal injury and no fatality was gotten in these accidents. Most of the victims involved in the accidents were aged 45 and above meaning that the older people are the sufferer of the road crashes.
Ground Control in Geotechnical Engineering
Most of the data were collected from the Hosur road website and some of the data gotten while visiting the site selected. The area of the study was visited many times including both the night and day conditions more so at the moment when the accident happened, to get the causes of the crashes and environmental conditions that surround the road [4]. The location of the selected crash that is Hosur road had four lanes that are not divided where the two available lanes at every lane and a total width of the road are 11.5m. Sidewalk was also given to the pedestrians and there was no lane of the bicycle in the area and bicycle riding on the footpath is also prohibited. Aligned parking is available on the roadside and the zone speed for the road was found to be 60km per hour [5].
Trip generation
Determining the trip generation source of the crash site is very important for the case study of the road crash. It shows important factor associated with the crashes and accidents and provides the valuable information to select the recommendations. The data of the trip generation shows the peak time of the locations and the factors affecting the trips. Hierarchy map of the road use of the Bangalore is presented below. It shows the priority mode of every area and the type of activity in the dissimilar locations [5]. The surrounding area of the Bangalore station is shown as the main activity in the area and the priority is given to the pedestrians. The Hosur road is very busy because of the surrounding restaurants, supermarkets, and the shops and also this place is normally crowded with the pedestrians.
The data regarding the conditions of the pavement was gotten on the Hosur road website from the research that was performed some years back. They include:
- Category of the roughness; good (for 3.5IRI)
- Category of the HATI; poor (for the 2.2 HATI)
- Category of the texture (LWP); good (for the 1.3MM)
- Category of the texture (BWP); good (for the 1.3mm)
- Category of the rutting; good (for 10mm)
- Category of the cracking; poor (for the 10%)
To understand the traffic behavior, some of the traffic data were collected from the Hosur road website and include;
- Flow; northbound
- Trucks AADT; 830
- All the vehicles AADT; 8900
- Two-way AADT; 20000
- All the peak of vehicles(AM); 600
- All peak of the vehicles (PM); 700
From the data above. It is seen that the road is in the best condition and there is no problem with the pavements’ roughness. In addition, the data of the traffic shows that Hosur road is very busy and the peak of PM time is the busiest in the locations’ traffic [6].
The table 1 above shows the crash data from the Hosur website
Analyzing crash types (DCA codes)
DCA code represents the types of the crashes in the road locations accident and the different country has different codes of DCA. As the selected crash site in the Bangalore location in India, the DCA types of the codes followed by the Hosur road is taken into account. There were three noted types of the codes of DCA gotten among the five accidents that happened in the area selected. The figure below shows the type of the accident that happened most [6]. Those DCAs codes mean that the accidents happened between the pedestrian and the vehicle. Also, the types of DCA codes of 101and 102 were gotten to have many crashes. Those codes of the DCA means that the crash happened because the pedestrians emerged from in the front of the vehicle parked and the far side pedestrian hit by the vehicle from the side of the left respectively. The codes of DCA of the 107 crash happened while the pedestrian on the footpath stuck by the leaving vehicle to a driveway and only one accident happened within this crash type meaning that other crashes were related with the aligned parking adjacent to the traffic lane [7].
Methodology
The figure 1 above shows the types of the accidents that occurred most
Factor matrix
Even though the DCA codes shows the types of the crash, it cannot represent all the factors that affect the crash. To know the pattern of the accidents a factor matrix was made and presented below. The factor matrix was made according to the Indians ‘guide to the road safety’. The factor matrix summarizes the data of the crash and explained the pattern of the crash and every factor that is associated with the accidents [8].
The table 2 above shows the factor matrix
After the evaluation of the factor matrix. Some of the factors that are associated with the road accidents happened in the area of the study selected are;
- Most of the accidents happened in the year 2015.
- Highest accidents number occurred in the northbound lane.
- All the crashes happened in the dry periods of the road surface except the one that occurred at night.
- All the crashes occurred on the weekdays
To get more knowledge about the pattern of the crash, the diagram of the collisions was developed and presented below. The diagram of collisions is a representation of the crashes of the road according to the data from the factor matrix and it does not show the features of the road. [8]
The figure 2 above shows the collision diagram
Cause of the road accidents
After the analysis. Some of the major causes of the road accidents were outlined below:
Angle parking: this was the main cause which was associated with the most accidents. This parking that is available adjacent the road and leads the pedestrians into the road and causes the vehicle-pedestrian accident. The angle parking is very close to the vehicle operating the road. This angle parking normally reduces the visibility for the pedestrians and the drivers. Many of the people usually put their shopping goods in the space of the back boot vehicle and when they approach their boot, they have to move very close to the operating vehicles in the road space and this increases the chances of getting hit by the vehicle [9].
Vehicle speed: the speed limit of the vehicles in the selected area was gotten to be 60km per hour, for the activity of the pedestrians in the Hosur road, this speed type is not allowed. In case of the Hosur road where the activity of the pedestrian is more because of the shipping centres, the speed of 60km per hour will be hard for the drivers to hit break when the pedestrian comes in the vehicle front suddenly [10].
The behavior of the pedestrian: during the research, it was noted that the pedestrians in the selected site of the crash usually cross the road without using the pedestrian crossing. Also, the pedestrian crossing demand is distributed linearly in the area where the activities of the pedestrians are intense as in the shopping center. The nearest crossing available is in the intersection and hour road being the very busy, a driver got the preference in the signal time and the waiting time of the pedestrian when they cross in the middle of the road.
Results
Age of the pedestrian: out of the five accidents, four of them occurred in the crash location within the pedestrian aged above 45. It’s true that most of the victims were the older people and this factor worsen the location as the severity of the accidents is more with the older people at the time of the investigation, many of the older people were found in the site [2]. They came to meet friends, relatives, have lunch and also jobs. The reaction time of the older people is very high compared to the mid-aged or young people [1].
Recommendations
Speed reduction: to reduce the crash of the vehicle-pedestrian, it is important to reduce the speed limit of the vehicle. 60km per hour is not good for the place like hour road where the trip generation of the pedestrian is above the average. The reduction of the speed will reduce the rate of the crash and reduce also the severity of the accidents happened [5].
The figure 3 above shows the death risk verse collision speed.
The figure above shows the probability of the death risks from the collision increased by around 40 percent while the speed is increased from 40 to 50 km per hour. 40 km per hour should be the best and safest speed for the pedestrians.
Convert angel parking into parallel parking: angle parking should be removed besides the road because of the poor visibility by the drives while reversing out. The parallel parking will reduce the parking capacity and solve the crash issue of the pedestrians due to angle parking. Parallel parking will also increase the visibility of the drives and pedestrians and also the gap between the parking vehicle and the operating vehicle will be increased.
Signs of warning or speed advisory: warning signs give the drive the information about the upcoming problem and it is cheaper than other recommendations. The signs will help the drives to reduce the speed, gives them cautious about the upcoming pedestrians, and also help the driver to expect the behavior of the pedestrian like crossing the road without the crossing pedestrians [4].
Calculation of the total crash reduction
The formula is CRFt=1-(1-CRF1) (1-CRF2) (1-CRF3+…..
CRF is the total crash reduction and CRFx is the individual crash reduction
The possible crash reduction is 20%, 40%, 40%, and 15% for the treatment of the reduction of speed.
CRFt= 1-(1-0.2) (1-0.4) (1-0.4) (1-0.15)
= 75% reduction in the crashes
The figure 4 above shows the treatment plan
Cost analysis
This step shows how the recommendations are economically sustainable. There are two types of this report like net present value and benefit-cost analysis [7].
Cost estimations; the element needed for the selected recommendation are the convex mirror, change of parking, and speed limit signs. The value costs are shown below;
Two warning signs=2*$1000= $ 2000
1 convex mirror= 1*$1000=$1000
4 new speed limit signs=4*$1000=$4000
Change of parking=$20000
Total is $27000
The method to make the equivalent future value with the value of the present day is known as the discounting. The rate of the discount is calculated by the equation [8];
P=R [(1+i) n-1/i (1+i) n]
Where P is the present worth, R is the annual sums, n is the appraised periods, i is the discount rate.
Net present value; this is the difference between the net present value and the net present benefits. The NPV for the recommendations selected is ($500000-$25000) =$475000. The value of NPV is positive hence the treatment is worthwhile economically [8].
Benefit-cost ratio; this is the ratio of the net present benefit and the net present value. So the BCR for the project was 16.6/ and was greater than I which proves that the project treatment is worthwhile economically.
Conclusions
In this project report, a road safety study for the selected crash site was presented. Some of the causes of the accidents that were identified are: speed of the vehicles, parking angle and behavior of the pedestrians etc. The most important factor was the angle parking adjacent to the way of the carriage. The combinations of the recommendations to reduce the crash of the roads in the area selected were given and after the analysis of the cost of the recommendations implement cost. It was realized that total of the 75 percent crash will be reduced if the given recommendations are implemented in the area selected.
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[4] H. Holst, Transportation, Traffic Safety and Health — Human Behavior, Chennai: Springer Science & Business Media, 2004. Vol 5. P[174-214]
[5] A. Bagchi, Road Safety Analysis, Calcutta: Springer, 1998. Vol 1. P[87-121]
[6] J. Heymann, Road Safety in India, Hyderabad: OUP India, 2001. Vol 3. P[136-157]
[7] W. Permanent International Association of Road Congresses, International Seminar on “Road Safety”, Ahmedabad: The Congress, 1997. Vol 2. P[158-171]
[8] X. Godard, Road Safety In India, Perth: CRC Press, 2003. Vol 1. P[257-278]
[9] M. Merson, International Roads, Mumbai: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2006. Vol 3. P[187-197]
[10] S. Trainers, National Conference on Traffic Engineering and Road Safety in India, Perth: Traffic Engineers & Safety Trainers, 1994. Vol 4. P[154-165]
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