Application of an Intelligent Transportation System in a Travel Time Information System: Safety Assessment and Management

Abstract

The research presented here evaluated road safety on the road sections included in the Intelligent Traffic Control System of the Podhale Region (ISSRRP) in Poland. This travel time information system consists of a remote traffic microwave sensor, cameras, as well as automatic plate number recognition on national roads with variable message signs and a mobile app to suggest alternative routes in the regional road network. The study analyzed changes in safety caused by transferring traffic volume from national to regional rural and suburban road networks. The assessment of the safety performance was performed with an empirical Bayes study, with periods of three years before and after the implementation of ISSRRP. No changes were identified in the safety performance of the national road network after to the introduction of ISSRRP. However, when the overall network is considered, a potential increase in the number of crashes may be expected, depending on the volume of traffic transferred from national to regional roads, and rural or suburban areas. Therefore, a new approach for system management was proposed, taking into account not only improvement in traffic flow, but also safety performance.