Developing a model for prioritising high crash road segments

Abstract

A traffic accident results from the combination of various factors each of which plays a role in its occurrence. It is logical that accidents with different causes should not be considered together as accident cause is one of the most important factors for prioritising high crash road segments. In the present study, the main cause of an accident in a high crash road segment were identified and then the accidents in each segment was classified based on their cause. A new model was developed for prioritising high crash road segments based on the causes of accidents. This model is different from the current models and renders different and more accurate prioritisation results. According to the developed model, a segment may be compared with another and identified to be highly accident-prone with the same cause, whereas, the total number of accidents that occurred in the former may be less than that in the latter. The model was evaluated based on real data collected from highway segments in Tehran.