Development of procedures for identifying high-crash locations and prioritizing safety improvements

96005153379180PDFTech ReportKTC-03-15/SPR 250-02-1FKYSPR-250-02Accident prone locationsProceduresImprovementsBenefit cost analysisSoftwareDynamic programmingKentuckyAgent, Kenneth R.O'Connell, LenGreen, Eric R.Kreis, DougPigman, Jerry G.Tollner, NeilThompson, EricUniversity of Kentucky Transportation CenterKentucky. Transportation CabinetNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyUS Transportation CollectionThe objectives of this study were to review and analyze the current procedures for identifying high-crash locations and evaluating and prioritizing roadway safety improvements at high-crash locations, and to recommend improved methods. Several tasks were undertaken to accomplish these objectives, including the following: 1) Review of program guidelines and procedures used by other states to prioritize improvements at high-crash locations; 2) Review and documentation of Kentucky's current procedures; 3) Update of Kentucky's Crash Buildup Program software to be compatible with the 2000 crash report form; 4) Development of new software to assist in estimating the benefits and costs of potential projects for inclusion in the Hazard Elimination Program; and, 5) Conversion of the dynamic programming software from mainframe to PC. Results from the study include improved methods for identifying high-frequency crash locations and prioritizing those locations after preliminary analyses indicated a need to consider improvements at a crash site. Software was developed to produce a generalized estimate of the benefits and costs of potential projects for inclusion in the Hazard Elimination Program. To use the software, the user must input the improvements to be made, the current level of crashes for the highway segment, and the estimated project costs. Adjustments can also be made for key factors such as discount rate and projected traffic growth. Features include a menu of types of improvement projects and related reduction factors, and benefit-cost comparisons for each project. Revisions were recommended for updating and enhancing the Crash Buildup Program to achieve compatibility with the current crash data report form and for translating the dynamic programming module from a mainframe operation to a PC-based system. It appears that an increased level of functionality has been achieved as a result of the series of modifications and improvements