Measuring the Level of Road Safety through Road Safety Audit and Star Rating Method – A Case Study from Himalayan Expressway

Abstract

Abstract National Highways (NH) carry the major portion of the total traffic in India. Road safety on NH is therefore of paramount importance. In the present study, a road safety audit has been performed for a 4-lane NH using Star Rating method. ViDA software developed by International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) is used for finding the Star Rating of the road sections. This safety rating has been determined for four road user types: Vehicle occupant, Motorcyclist, Pedestrian and Bicyclist. The purpose of the study is to measure the level of road safety and lower the severity level by proposing countermeasures. The case study is a five Kilometre (km) section of NH-5 from Sanwara toll plaza to Jabali in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. Encroachment on the land, roadside activities, insufficient infrastructure, imperfections in the geometric design, and non-motorized access were some of the severe safety flaws identified through the study process. The Star Rating results indicated that among all the road user types, the vehicle occupant is much safer than the others.