TITLE:
A Novel Network Screening Methodology for Rural Low-Volume Roads
AUTHORS:
Ahmed Al-Kaisy, Sajid Raza
KEYWORDS:
Network Screening, Low-Volume Roads, Rural Highways, Traffic Safety
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Transportation Technologies,
Vol.13 No.4,
September
8,
2023
ABSTRACT: Low-volume roads (LVRs) are an integral part of the rural transportation
network providing access to remote rural areas and facilitating the movement of
goods from farms to markets. These roads pose unique challenges for highway
agencies including those related to safety management on the highway network. Specifically,
traditional network screening methods using crash history can be effective in
screening rural highways with higher traffic volumes and more frequent crashes.
However, these traditional methods are often ineffective in screening LVR
networks due to low traffic volumes and the sporadic nature of crash occurrence. Further, many of the LVRs are owned and operated by local agencies that may
lack access to detailed crash, traffic and roadway data and the technical
expertise within their staff. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and
practical network screening approaches to facilitate safety management programs
on these roads. This study proposes one such approach which utilizes a
heuristic scoring scheme in assessing the level of risk/safety for the purpose
of network screening. The proposed scheme is developed based on the principles
of US Highway Safety Manual (HSM) analysis procedures for rural highways and
the fundamentals in safety science. The primary application of the proposed
scheme is for ranking sites in network screening applications or for comparing
multiple improvement alternatives at a specific site. The proposed approach
does not require access to detailed databases, technical expertise, or exact
information, making it an invaluable tool for small agencies and local governments (e.g. counties,
townships, tribal governments, etc.).