Micro-simulation model of two-lane freeway vehicles for obtaining traffic flow characteristics including safety condition

Unidirectional two-lane freeway is a typical and the simplest form of freeway. The traffic flow char- acteristics including safety condition on two-lane freeway is of great significance in planning, design, and manage- ment of a freeway. Many previous traffic flow models are able to figure out flow characteristics such as speed, den- sity, delay, and so forth. These models, however, have great difficulty in reflecting safety condition of vehicles. Besides, for the cellular automation, one of the most widely used microscopic traffic simulation models, its discreteness in both time and space can possibly cause inaccuracy or big errors in simulation results. In this paper, a micro-simula- tion model of two-lane freeway vehicles is proposed to evaluate characteristics of traffic flow, including safety condition. The model is also discrete in time but continu- ous in space, and it divides drivers into several groups on the basis of their preferences for overtaking, which makes the simulation more aligned with real situations. Partial test is conducted in this study and results of delay, speed, volume, and density indicate the preliminary validity of our model, based on which the proposed safety coefficient evaluates safety condition under different flow levels. It is found that the results of this evaluation coincide with daily experience of drivers, providing ground for effectiveness of the safety coefficient.

Research on FAHP Method Based on Highway Bridge Safety

Basing on highway bridge construction technique and management features, this paper conducts analysis and establishment to construction safety risk factor, index system, etc. of actual engineering, after using vague synthetic judgment method, analytic hierarchy process, implement research via integrated evaluation method, makes out argument to different safety risk factors, establishes bridge safety risk factor collection via method of comprehensive assessment, confirms bridge safety risk incidence value, judges matrix by using MATLAB construction vagueness, finally calculates concrete risk gradation sort, and gets highway bridge construction safety risk grade. Through practice it has proved that the construction safety risk assessment method is based on the method of quantification, can find out biggest influence factors on the safety of Bridges in engineering, and can also reduce the misjudgment caused by subjective factors. The safety of the bridge has a positive practical significance.

Modeling Highway Traffic Safety for Developing Countries Using Delphi Technique and Bayesian Network： Case Study for Nigeria

Highway traffic safety is an issue confronting developing countries and those of industrialized nations. Nigeria, as a developing country, has been experiencing unusually high traffic related injury and fatality rates. In order to commence combating highway safety problems in Nigeria, the first task is to identify the major contributing factors; however, Nigeria has no reliable and comprehensive database of traffic accidents and casualties. Consequently, the Delphi technique was utilized in generating the required data such as number of registered automobiles, number of licensed drivers, and annual fatality count for modeling and forecasting accident rates in Nigeria. A Bayesian network model was developed and used, with the data obtained from Delphi process, to demonstrate possible traffic safety responses to different scenarios of changes in the Nigerian socio-political culture. Although the Delphi technique and the Bayesian network model only estimate the accident and safety data, those methods can be a realistic option when those data are not available, especially for the developing countries. As a result, the major accident contributors have been identified and the top three contributors-road condition, DUI （driving under the influence） and reckless driving-are policy related. The Nigerian traffic safety outlook would improve significantly if the existing laws and policies can be enforced, even at a very moderate level.

Safety Design Strategy for Highway Interchange Exit Ramp

Highway is an important type of road in China’s road network,and it also carries a larger portion of transportation task.Safety is the first indicator in the stage of its use,so it is necessary to carry out safety design focusing on the highway interchange exit ramp to effectively prevent traffic accidents.Therefore,in this paper,the important significance of the safety design of the highway interchange exit ramp and the key factors affecting its safety were discussed and studied in detail,and finally corresponding strategies were proposed for discussion and communication.

Analysis on Safety Influencing Factors on Highway Interchange Design

This paper briefly introduces the safety performance of the highway interchange design.The factors that influence the safety of the highway interchange design,was discussed in the paper based on the parts,which are the safety of the interchange location,the safety of interchange form,and the safety design of the main line in interchange.

Analysis of the Relations between Highway Geometric Design and Traffic Safety in Bangladesh,China,and America

Transportation plays a critical role in the economic sector in Bangladesh.Since its independence,infrastructure has been developing rapidly,includ-ing land,water,and air transportation.National economy is increasing at a relatively high rate,leading to the better-off of people’s lives.As the living standards keep improving,people are more concerned about safety issues in transportation.This article makes an analysis of the status quo of traffic safety in Bangladesh and compares the Bangladeshi code with American code AASHTO from the geometric aspects of horizontal and vertical align-ment,in an effort to provide reference to the highway design in Bangla-desh.Through a reasonable design,the traffic safety will be under control and accident rate as well as economic loss will be minimized.

Safety Management Strategies for Cross-railway Interchange Widening Project in Highway Reconstruction and Extension

Under the background of rapid social and economic development,the traffic volume of highways has increased,which has brought tremendous pressure to the old highways.In response to this situation,the original highway must be reconstructed and extended.It is necessary to focus on the analysis and exploration of the methods of interchange reconstruction and extension in current highway reconstruction and extension to avoid affecting normal traffic,as it will inevitably have an impact on the traffic operation environment.For this situation,it is necessary to analyze and understand the format and characteristics of traffic organization of the interchange operation area in time and propose corresponding safeguard measures.

Simulation research on collisions between highway corrugated beam guardrails and vehicles based on LS-DYNA

To explore the safety of highway traffic operations,the vehicle state and guardrail deformation during highway guardrail collisions are simulated and analyzed.The vehicle-guardrail collision is simulated by finite element software such as LS-DYNA and HyperMesh.The vehicle speed settings are 60,80,100 and 120 km/h,and the collision angles are 5°,10°,15°and 20°.The guardrail deformation,vehicle acceleration and energy changes under different collision speeds and angles are studied.The research results show that at the same collision speed,an increase in the collision angle causes more serious damage to the vehicle,a greater transverse displacement of the guardrail,and a greater range of car acceleration fluctuations.When the collision angle is the same,an increase in the collision speed causes greater lateral displacement of the guardrail,a greater vehicle acceleration fluctuation range,and more serious vehicle damage.The results of the study can provide a reference for demonstrating highway guardrail safety.

Exploration on Defect Prevention and Maintenance Methods of Highway Tunnel Structure

Highway tunnel traffic safety is an important part of traffic safety.With the aging of tunnels,increase in traffic flow,changes in the operating environment and traffic accidents,the many problems started to occur in tunnels,affecting the operational and structural safety.In this paper,we summarize and analyze the types and causes of defects found in the process of tunnel maintenance at home and abroad,and propose corresponding suggestions for the current maintenance of the main structure of highway tunnels.

An In-Depth Analysis of the Causes of Road Accidents in Developing Countries: Case Study of Douala-Dschang Highway in Cameroon

This paper is aimed at identifying the risk factors that mainly contribute to reckless driving and other related causes of road accidents along the Douala-Dschang highway of Cameroon. The research work started with the collection of accident reports for 2018 and 2019 from security officials in charge of road safety and the police stations of the different localities included in the sample of the study. Three hundred and eighty-two (382) road accidents reports were collected and analyzed using the 2020 version logit regression model of XLSTAT. From these analyses, it appears that, of the 382 accidents recorded during this period, six factors were identified and classified as follows: causes of accidents related to speed and carelessness, location of the accident, type of vehicle at fault, day the accident occurred, time of the accident and the age of drivers involved. These results could contribute to reduce the gravity of accidents along the Douala-Dschang highway and develop other policies in the program for road safety. In addition, this study can as much as possible equally contribute to reorienting road construction trends and development techniques in our environment.

Speed Reduction Mitigation Strategies on Rural Highways at Two-Way Stop Control Intersections and Curves

Studies conducted on crashes at rural intersections of state highways and local roads/streets with two-way stop control have proved that the problem was likely poor judgment by the stopped driver on the minor approach of the speed of an oncoming vehicle and/or safe gap in traffic on the major highway. Several mitigating strategies have been suggested and studied in various studies to improve safety at the two-way stop control rural intersections and at other rural highway segments. There are also several low-cost techniques used, mostly in foreign countries, to slow drivers on major highways as they enter small towns and villages, e.g., narrowing pavement lines, establishing visual gateways, etc. Lowered speeds would decrease crash severity. In this study, four strategies including solar speed display units, mobile speed trailers, optical speed bars, and colored pavement were tested and assessed in some locations in Kansas. The results of this research indicate that both solar speed display units and mobile speed trailers are effective in speed reduction at the desired points, but optical speed bars and colored pavements do not yield reliable results. Additional studies and longer term studies, should be conducted.

Application of MRWA RAP and ANRAM for Assessing Upgrades on the Great Eastern Highway

A methodology has been previously developed to provide the required data for the iRAP Star Rating 7 model using data sourced from MRWA database information(corporate inventory)and road 8 condition information supplemented by other data sources.This is referred to as MRWA RAP to 9 distinguish from data collected in accordance with iRAP protocols which provides data for AusRAP.10 The iRAP data is used by the Australian National Risk Assessment Model(ANRAM).This paper 11 describes the work done on updating MRWA RAP as well as the application of the ANRAM model 12 to assess proposed treatments on the Great Eastern Highway to improve road safety.

A Novel Network Screening Methodology for Rural Low-Volume Roads

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.).

Big Data Interprets US Opioid Crisis

Since 2010,there has been a new round of drug crises in the United States.The abuse of opioids has led to a sharp increase in the number of people involved in drug crimes in the United States.There is an urgent need to explore solutions to the drug crisis in the United States.In this paper,the model of in-depth analysis is established under the condition of obtaining the opioid data and the influence factor data of the large sample of five state[1].In the first part,we use the Highway Safety Research Institute model based on the differential equation model to predict the initial value,find the initial position of the drug transfer,and obtain the curve of the number of different groups over time by fitting the data,so that the curves can be predicted the changing trends of the groups in the future.It was found that in Kentucky State,the county’s most likely to start using opioids were Pike and Bale.In Ohio,the county’s most likely to start using opioids are Jackson and Scioto.In Pennsylvania State,Mercer and Lackawanna are the counties most likely to start using opioids.Martinsville and Galax are the counties where Virginia State is most likely to start using opioids.Logan and Mingo are the counties where West Virginia State is most likely to start using opioids.In the second part,the gray prediction model is used to further analyze the time series of each factor,the maximum likelihood estimation method is used to obtain the weight of each factor,and the weight coefficient matrix is used to simulate the multivariate regression equation,and the factors that have the greatest influence on opioid abuse are educational background and family composition.In the third part,the hypothesis test model of two groups(the data type is proportional)is used to verify the difference between the influence factors(including the predicted values)in the first two parts of the states,thus verifying the feasibility between them.At the same time,we put forward a few suggestions to combine the current situation in the United States with the CDC data.We believe that in order to address the opium crisis,the U.S.government needs to strengthen not only oversight of doctors'prescriptions,but also make joint efforts of all sectors of society to fundamentally reduce the barriers to the use of opioids.

Big Data Interprets US Opioid Crisis

Since 2010,there has been a new round of drug crises in the United States.The abuse of opioids has led to a sharp increase in the number of people involved in drug crimes in the United States.There is an urgent need to explore solutions to the drug crisis in the United States.In this paper,the model of in-depth analysis is established under the condition of obtaining the opioid data and the influence factor data of the large sample of five state[1].In the first part,we use the Highway Safety Research Institute model based on the differential equation model to predict the initial value,find the initial position of the drug transfer,and obtain the curve of the number of different groups over time by fitting the data,so that the curves can be predicted the changing trends of the groups in the future.It was found that in Kentucky State,the county's most likely to start using opioids were Pike and Bale.In Ohio,the county's most likely to start using opioids are Jackson and Scioto.In Pennsylvania State,Mercer and Lackawanna are the counties most likely to start using opioids.Martinsville and Galax are the counties where Virginia State is most likely to start using opioids.Logan and Mingo are the counties where West Virginia State is most likely to start using opioids.In the second part,the gray prediction model is used to further analyze the time series of each factor,the maximum likelihood estimation method is used to obtain the weight of each factor,and the weight coefficient matrix is used to simulate the multivariate regression equation,and the factors that have the greatest influence on opioid abuse are educational background and family composition.In the third part,the hypothesis test model of two groups(the data type is proportional)is used to verify the difference between the influence factors(including the predicted values)in the first two parts of the states,thus verifying the feasibility between them.At the same time,we put forward a few suggestions to combine the current situation in the United States with the CDC data.We believe that in order to address the opium crisis,the U.S.government needs to strengthen not only oversight of doctors'prescriptions,but also make joint efforts of all sectors of society to fundamentally reduce the barriers to the use of opioids.

Pavement markings:identification of relevant covariates and controllable factors of retroreflectivity performance as a road safety measureáã

In this paper we present relevant contributions and important features related to the study of the retroreflectivity performance of pavement markings.The contribution of this paper is threefold.First,we propose an artificial scheme to allow some randomization of the treatments owing to several restrictions imposed on the choice of the experimental units.It is an experiment involving one fixed factor(three types of materials)in a randomized block design executed on a high-traffic-volume highway.Under this condition,the traffic volume works as a stress factor and the degradation of the retroreflectivity of pavement markings is faster than the degradation on rural roads or streets.This is related to the second contribution:the possibility of a reduction of experimental time.The current experiment spent 20 weeks to collect the data.And finally a mixed linear model considering three random effects and several fixed effects is fitted and the most relevant effects pointed out.This study can help highway managers to improve road safety by scheduling the maintenance of pavement marks at the appropriate time,choosing adequate material for the pavement markings and applying the proposed artificial scheme in future studies.

An investigation of influential factors of downgrade truck crashes:A logistic regression approach

Truck crash occurrence causes extensive damage to lives and property. Truck crashes on downgrades exacerbate these costs due to the likelihood of a runaway being involved.Highway agencies have continuously sought engineering measures to reduce the incidence of such crashes. However, most past studies on truck crashes have focused on level roadway sections of highways without considering the effects of downgrades. The difference in geometric characteristics of downgrades and the mechanics of truck operations on such sections mean different factors may be at play in contrast to level roadway sections.This paper investigated the factors influencing truck crashes on downgrades; an attempt to fill in some of the research gaps. An empirical analysis of factors affecting truck crashes on two-lane downgrade roadways in Wyoming was carried out using a binary logistic regression technique. After calibrating the model, the effect of each significant variable was determined using theoretical concepts established in previous studies and engineering intuition. Crash factors including driver gender and age, weather, lighting and road conditions, number of crest curves, crash type, number of driveways, day of week and posted speed limit were found to be significant. The results of the study offer new understandings into how the identified factors influence truck crashes on downgrades.