The cornerstone of most safety management programs consists of a “collision-prone location” program, where significant collision history must exist and be identified before improvements are recommended. Often, these programs are solely dependent on collision records and thus program success is governed by the data quality. Unfortunately, in many jurisdictions in North America, the quantity and quality of collision data have been degrading for several years. This growing problem is jeopardizing the success and continuance of many road safety programs. To help mitigate this problem, it is believed that a subjective evaluation technique could be developed that does not rely on collision statistics and that could be used to identify and diagnose problematic areas. The development and application of a risk index used for road safety evaluation are described. The risk index is developed as a driver-based, subjective assessment of the potential road safety risks for in-service roadways. The objective of developing the safety risk index is to produce a technique to support road safety analysis that does not rely on deteriorating collision data. The road safety risk index was developed and tested to ensure consistency between observers in their subjective assessment of safety. In addition, the results from the risk index were compared with results from objectively derived road safety measures to evaluate the success of the road safety risk index. The comparison indicates that there is a statistically significant agreement between the results of the risk index and the objectively derived road safety measures.
Enforcing traffic signal compliance in urban areas can be a difficult task, as the process is often limited by police resources and by traditional enforcement methods. Therefore, conventional traffic enforcement should be supplemented with advanced technologies, such as intersection safety cameras. Intersection safety cameras, often referred to as red light cameras (RLCs), are being used increasingly to help communities enforce against deliberate red light running. Since the 1970s, Europe, Australia, and North America have been using photo enforcement technology to improve safety at intersections. The City of Edmonton, Canada, has used automated photo enforcement as part of the overall traffic enforcement activity. The Intersection Safety Camera Program started as a pilot project in 1998, which quickly expanded into a comprehensive program for the entire city. Because a significant period had elapsed since the inception of the program, the Edmonton Police Commission wanted a study to determine the overall safety effect of the photo enforcement program. This paper describes the evaluation of Edmonton's Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) program. The paper describes the methodology used in the evaluation, the data collection–compilation effort required for the evaluation, and, finally, the results of the program measured in relation to reducing the number of collisions at the intersections that were treated with photo enforcement cameras. Also included is a summary of the literature associated with the deployment of RLCs.
All too often, engineering strategies aimed at improving road safety are reactions to existing problems that occur after a road has been designed and built. Targeting problem locations and developing plans to reduce collisions are vital and have proven to be very successful. Transportation professionals, however, should also take a proactive approach to address road safety before problems emerge. This paper describes an evolving need of how to deal with road safety in a proactive manner. Although a proactive approach should improve the overall safety performance, there is currently a poor understanding of how to proactively plan for road safety. Several logistical and technical obstacles hinder the effective planning for road safety. Each of these obstacles is presented in detail, followed by a description of the opportunity to overcome each obstacle. The paper also includes the results of a case study used to demonstrate the proposed process. A proactive approach to road safety complements traditional, reactive methods currently in use. Significant progress will be realized once safety professionals shift their focus from fixing existing problems to helping plan roads that attempt to be problem free. The net result should be a safer road system. Résumé :Trop souvent les stratégies techniques visant à améliorer la sécurité routière sont en réaction à des problè-mes existants survenant après la conception et la construction d'une route. Le ciblage des endroits problèmes et le développement de plans afin de réduire les collisions s'est avéré très efficace. Cependant, les professionnels des transports doivent aussi adopter une approche proactive envers la sécurité routière avant que les problèmes n'émergent. Cet article décrit le besoin évolutif de savoir comment traiter la sécurité routière de manière proactive. Bien qu'une approche proactive doive améliorer le rendement général de sécurité, on voit présentement une mauvaise compréhension de la manière proactive de planifier la sécurité routière. Plusieurs obstacles logistiques et techniques nuisent à une planification efficace de sécurité routière. Chaque obstacle est présenté en détail, suivi d'une description de la manière de surmonter chaque obstacle. Cet article comprend également les résultats de l'étude de cas utilisé pour démontrer le procédé proposé. Une approche proactive à la sécurité routière complète les méthodes traditionnelles et réactives actuellement utilisées. Un progrès important sera réalisé une fois que les professionnels auront déplacé leur objectif de régler les problèmes existants vers la planification de les routes possiblement libres de tout problème. Le résultat final devrait être un système routier plus sécuritaire.Mots clés : sécurité routière proactive, audits en sécurité, planification de la sécurité, évaluation de la sécurité, amélio-rations à la sécurité.
The Intersection Safety Camera Program (ISCP) in British Columbia, Canada, has proved effective in reducing the frequency of collisions at locations where intersection safety cameras (red light cameras) have been deployed. Postimplementation evaluations of ISCP conducted by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia detected a 14% reduction in collisions resulting in injuries 18 months after the program was implemented. A follow-up study conducted 36 months after ISCP implementation examined the safety performance of ISCP and found that the rate of collisions resulting in injuries was reduced by 6.4%. Given the ongoing and long-term success of ISCP at reducing collisions, it was decided that the program should be expanded. To support ISCP expansion, it was necessary to examine how the program had been implemented and to learn from the results of the previous program evaluations. A critical element of ISCP is the selection of sites to be targeted for deployment of intersection safety cameras. The sites selected should have a demonstrated safety problem, such that the site will offer significant potential for improvement after an intersection safety camera has been installed. In addition, sites should be selected such that the life-cycle cost of deployment of the intersection safety camera will be less than the safety benefits that will accrue from reduced numbers of collisions and the associated costs. This paper presents the process and methodology that were used to select candidate sites for the deployment of an expanded ISCP in British Columbia.
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