“IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATIVE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES IN HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT”

Civil Engineering

There is a growing public demand for safer streets and highways. In response to this demand, state and national transportation agencies have developed safety programs that emphasize public education, accelerated highway renewal, community-sensitive street systems, and innovative technology to facilitate safe highway design. Historically, information about the safety effect of a design component has been supported by anecdotal evidence, laws of physics, before-after studies, or comparisons of site safety (i.e., sites with and without the planning component). However, the accuracy of this information is suspect thanks to the inherent random nature of crash data and thus the various factors (some of which pertain more to the drive and therefore the vehicle than the roadway) which will cause a crash at a selected location. As a result of this uncertainty, engineers have traditionally come to believe design standards and policies to guide them within the design process, with the underlying premise that compliance with warrants and controls will yield a “safe” roadway.

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