ANALYSIS ON TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD ACCIDENTS: A CASE STUDY ON SELECTED ROADS IN MUSCAT, OMAN

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1 International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET) Volume 9, Issue 2, February 2018, pp , Article ID: IJCIET_09_02_039 Available online at ISSN Print: and ISSN Online: IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed ANALYSIS ON TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD ACCIDENTS: A CASE STUDY ON SELECTED ROADS IN MUSCAT, OMAN Dr. G.Venkata Ramana Professor & Head of the Department, Civil Engineering, Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Dundigal, Hyderabad, India Dr. N.Srinivasa Reddy Urban Transport & Infrastructure and Traffic Safety Expert, Mumbai. Former Faculty at Caledonian College of Engineering, Glasgow University Muscat, Oman D.M.V.Praneeth Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Dundigal, Hyderabad, India ABSTRACT Highway safety is of serious concern not only to the Highway Authorities but also to the whole Nation, as they involve in loss of property and human life. Increase in vehicular growth and there by the traffic on Muscat roads is of serious concern. Even though the accidents growth rate is declaiming over the last ten years, but the number of accidents is of serious concern to the Authorities. The reasons for accidents are many folds and among them, high speeding of vehicles is the major factor contributing to the accidents. This study aimed at conducting an investigation to understand the causes of accidents for improving highway safety in Muscat. The methodology involved is discussions with the Authorities elicit the opinion of Royal Oman Police (ROP) and collection of data from ROP and field road inventory data. Also operating speeds of the vehicles during peak and non-peak hours are collected on the selected roads to validate the hypothesis. Data collected from primary and secondary sources, analysis of vehicular speed data and accident statistical data facilitated to draw conclusions for the traffic safety concerns. Key words: Highway Traffic Safety, Highway Accidents, road accident factors, analysis of accidents. Cite this Article: Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth, Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 9(2), 2018, pp editor@iaeme.com

2 Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth 1. INTRODUCTION In Sultanate of Oman, economic development and modernization coupled with infrastructure development brought structural changes in people s life styles and vehicular growth over the last four decades. Increased vehicular ownerships is the major causative factor for road accidents and is a problem of serious concern to authorities, the Royal Oman Police (ROP). Muscat population has been increased from 0.7M in the 2006 to 1.3M in the year 2015 showing an annual growth rate of 6.0% over the last decade. Whereas the vehicle registrations in the country for the same period were recorded as 0.3M to 0.7M showing an annual compound growth rate of 8.8%. Muscat being the capital city of Oman most of the vehicles are operated in the capital city region. According to official reports of the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Oman, highway and road accidents is of serious concern as they are resulting in maximum number of premature deaths and disability(moh, 2009). The World Health Organization(WHO) has also ranked Oman at fourth place among the Arabian Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states and57th worldwide as far as the occurrence of traffic accidents and resulting injuries and deaths are concerned (WHO, 2009). The incidence of high accident rates on Muscat Roads in Oman, require a scientific study to take preventive measure to reduce the accident rates. The reason for the occurrence of accidents is multifold, involving human factors, vehicular factors and the road way factors. In this research paper an investigative study is carried to establish accident causative factors and their quantification. Also indicators for the measurement of accidents is developed to assess the trends in occurrence of accidents which will help the policy makers to take decisions. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) defines safety as the crash frequency and/or crash severity and collision type for a specific time period, at a given location, and for a given set of geometric and operational conditions. Safety is defined in similar terms by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. More number of accidents are being reported in developing countries compared to developed countries.baniket.al(2011) reported that road traffic accidents in developing countries is worse and of serious concern due to the facts under reporting of accidents and use of scrapped vehicles which are not removed from the records. Nantulya (2002) reported that in developing countries poor people are the vulnerable section mostly affected by road accident and crashes. In 1998, more than 85 percent of deaths and 90 percent of disability occurred due to road traffic accidents occurred in developing countries.budania. M. et al, (2014)., concluded that regular checks on fitness of the vehicles and checks at all the stages of road execution like planning, construction, operation and maintenance is required to achieve accident free roads. Chelugo&Chepchieng et al, (2015)., collected accident information from the police stations in Nairobi and also elicited the opinion of road users on highway safety and developed indicators for accident frequency and accident crash rate. Farag,S.Ibrahim et al, (2014)., analyzed accident data at signalized and un signalized intersections and roundabouts in Dhofar Governorate, Oman and concluded most of the accident are occurring at T-Intersections. And concluded rear-end accidents are the most frequent occurring accident types at urban intersections. Sumaila & Abdul Ganiyu Femi (2013)., carried a study in Nigeria on trends in road crashes and gave a critical review of current road safety approaches with a view to identifying their defects and deficiencies in tackling the traffic accident problem in the country. Montello (2009) evaluated highway geometric design parameters for the effectiveness of highway safety. It is reported that all the curves are characterized by low radius and high editor@iaeme.com

3 Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman deflection angle, limited sight distance, and limited super elevation. Measures for improvement of horizontal curves are suggested.vorgelegt et al (2013) investigated the effects of route familiarity and driving conditions (open road vs. car following) on visual scanning patterns of experienced drivers. Their results revealed that the driver's visual scanning systematically depends on the task to be performed. Occurrence of accidents on highways is a result of many complex factors such as highway geometry, driver behavior and human factors, speed limits, vehicle functions, and environmental conditions (Hashim, I.H. (2006)). Effective analysis and understanding of the accident causative parameters facilitate to improve highway safety performance. Al-Maniri et al (2013) carried statistical analysis of the data on road traffic fatalities in Oman between1995 to 2009 and concluded that overall, mortality increased by around 50%. There was a significant increase in the proportion of deaths and death rates among individuals aged years, males, Omani nationals, and drivers.a.s. Hakkert et.al.,(2002) estimated accident rates at different at grade intersections as a function of average daily traffic volumes. 3. AIM AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to understand the causes of road accidents and thereby to suggest preventive measures for the improvement in highway safety in Muscat. Specific objectives of the study include: To collect road accident data for the last few years and analyze the reasons for the causes of accidents. To collect speed data on selected roads during peak and non-peak hours to examine the role of speed in accidents. To categorize causes of accidents in to various groups, human, highway geometry, vehicle condition, environmental etc. To identify the causes of accidents and thereby to suggest preventivemeasures for accident reduction. 4. METHODOLOGIES 4.1. Data Collection Accident data from Royal Omani Police (ROP) and the other data on population, length of roads in Muscat is collected from National Center for Statistics & Information (NCSI).The collected data is collated to establish indicators and the trends in accidents over the last few years. Personal interviews from the officials of ROP helped the investigators to understand the reasons for the occurrence of accidents and ongoing accident preventive measures. Also operating speeds of the vehicles captured on the selected roads, analyzed and collated to draw conclusions that high speed is the major causative factor responsible for road traffic accidents (RTA) 4.2. Data Analysis Accident data collected from various notified agencies is collated analyzed and presented in the form of tables and graphs for comprehensive understanding editor@iaeme.com

4 Number of Accidetns per 1000Population Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth Table 1 Accidents Trends in Muscat Year Population NO. Accidents Accidents rate per Thousand Population Source: Collated data from ROP and NCSI 2016 Road Traffic Accidents in Muscat Year y = x R² = Accidents rate Per 1000 population Linear (Accidents rate Per 1000 population ) Figure 1 Road traffic accident trends in Muscat Table 2 Trends in growth of Road length, accident and Accidents per km road length in Muscat Year Single Double Paved Total Cumulative Accidents Accidents Lane Lane Road Road Length Per Km Source (ROP, 2016) editor@iaeme.com

5 Accidents Per Km Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman Table 3 Trends in growth of Road length, accident and Accidents per km road length in Muscat Year Single Double Paved Total Cumulative Accidents Accidents Lane Lane Road Road Length Per Km Source (ROP,2016) Accidents Per Km Road Length in Muscat , Year y = x R² = Series1 Linear (Series1) Figure 2 Trends in accidents per km length. Table 4 Causes of Accidents in Muscat governorate* Accidents/Years Fatigue Neglects Drunk Driving Overtaking Weather condition Sudden Stopping Safety Distance Improper Act Vehicle Defects Road Defects Total Source (ROP,2016) editor@iaeme.com

Praneeth Accident Causitive Factors 44 4 246 466 1024 0 2 31 39 0 245 Fatigue Neglects Drunk Driving Overtaking Weather condition Sudden Stopping Safety Distance Improper Act Vehicle Defects Road

6 Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth Accident Causitive Factors Fatigue Neglects Drunk Driving Overtaking Weather condition Sudden Stopping Safety Distance Improper Act Vehicle Defects Road Defects Figure 3 Accident causative factors From the figures presented in the TABLE-3 and further analysis it is observed that the three major factors responsible for RTA are: High ing of vehicles (49%) Wrong decision and improper judgment of the driver while driving (25%) Negligent driving not following the rules (10%). Operating speeds of the vehicles are captured on two selected roads namely the Express Highway and service road for the peak and non-peak hours. Two road mid-block segment were selected for capturing vehicle speeds on Express Highway which is located in Muscat, Al-Hail region between Airport to Al-Hail and a service road, which is also from the AL Hail South region adjacent to the Express highway. Mid-block traffic volume counts and operating speeds are captured with the radar speed gun were collated and analyzed. Summary of the analysis is presented below tables. Table 5 Operating speeds on Express highway Operating s Captured During Morning Peak 7.00AM-8.00AM On Express Highway Number of Mean Vehicle Recorded editor@iaeme.com

7 Cumulative Frequency Frequency Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman Table 6 Operating speeds on the Service Road Operating s Captured During Morning Peak 7.00AM-8.00AM On Service Road Number of Mean Vehicle Recorded Frqency Dsitribution of Vehicle s on Express Highway During Morning 7.00AM-8.00AM in Kmph 100% Figure 4 Vehicle speeds distribution on express highway Cumulative Frequency Distribution of Opearting s on Express Highway During Morning Peak 7.00 AM-8.00AM 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Opearting in Figure 5 Cumulative frequency distribution of speed on express highway editor@iaeme.com

8 Cumulative Frequency Fequency No Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth Frqency Dsitribution of Vehicle s on Service Lane During Morning 7.00AM-8.00AM Kmph Series1 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% Figure 6 Vehicle speeds distribution on service road Cumulative Frequency Distribution of Opearting s on Service Line During Morning Peak 7.00 AM-8.00AM 0% Kmph Figure 7 Cumulative frequency distribution of speeds on service road Classified vehicle traffic volume counts(cvtvc) for the peak hour duration also have been collected Summary of the Traffic Volumes and operating speeds analysis is presented below. Sl.No Table 7 and traffic Volume on Express highway and Service Road Peak Hour data (7.00AM-8.00AM) Peak hour Traffic Volume PCU Design Mean 85th Percentile. Description of the Road Lane Configuration 1 Express highway 6 Lane Divided Service Road 2 Lane Undivided Non-Peak Hour Data(11.00AM-12.00PM) Sl.No Non-Peak hour Traffic Volume Design Mean 85th Percentile. Description of the Road Lane Configuration 1 Express highway 6 Lane Divided Service Road 2 Lane Undivided editor@iaeme.com

9 Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman 4.3. Interview with ROP officials Opinion of the ROP officials (15, 16, 17) were elicited to obtain their views on, ongoing traffic safety awareness programs and safety measures for the reduction of accidents. In this connection various issues pertaining to traffic safety, such as the role of vehicle, the road, the human elements in RTA, use of mobile while driving, safety of school children, sense of responsibility and traffic discipline, knowledge of driving rules, road maintenance and finally the strategies of ROP to reduce fatal accidents have discussed with the ROP. The discussions gave a comprehensive understanding of RTA issues and preventive measures adopted which in turn helped the authors to draw conclusions. 5. DISCUSSIONS From the secondary data collected, discussions with the ROP officials and analysis of traffic and speed characteristics, inferences are drawn. Consistent efforts by the authorities and ROP, it is seen the trends in accidents are continuously declaiming. From the analysis of RTA data, it can been seen that the major factors responsible for accidents are, high speeding, negligent driving and improper judgment. In Muscatthe Express highways are designed for 120Km/hr and the service roads are designed for 60 Km/hr The speeds captured on the express highway and service road reveal the mean and 85th percentile speed are 65Kmph and 75 respectively, which are higher than the normal designated speeds. The service road is a secondary road where it is having direct access to multiple land uses and residential areas and also the roads are designed for very high accessibility, where the driver is supposed to maintain low mobility. At the moment high availability of mobility and accessibility on service roads is also one of the factors responsible for making these roads more vulnerable to RTA. Primary roads the Express highway and are designed for high mobility and low accessibility with a designed speed of 120Kmph. Normal expected level of service (LoS) on the express highway would be A. But during the peak hours the level of service falls (LoS- C and D) due to high traffic volumes than the designed capacity. It is recorded that during the peak hour the traffic volumes are more than the designed capacity and the mean speed is 57Kmph and 85 th percentile speed is 67Kmph. The 85 th percentile speed is comparatively high for the level of service C and D, during the peak hour prevailing conditions. Also the most vulnerable locations on the express highway are at-grade intersections and Y- Junctions where the service lanes are merging with express highway. It is reported that rear end collisions are also most common feature on the express highway which is result of wrong assessment and improper judgment by the driver. To monitor the operating speeds, ROP has installed cameras all along the expressway to capture the vehicles which are exceeding the speed limits. All such captured vehicle drivers are penalized by heavy fines which is automatically done using Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies. Also use of mobile on express highway is strictly prohibited, but some drivers are violating the rules. The use of mobile while driving is resulting in improper assessment of situation and wrong judgment by the driver making him to commit accidents. Even though the accident rate is declining, still the situation is alarming, other secondary factors contributing for high RTA is: high vehicle ownerships, vehicle low occupancy rate and low dependency on public transport 6. CONCLUDING REMARKS In this technical paper the causative factors responsible for the RTA in Muscat is reviewed. Proposed hypothesis, high speeding of vehicles is the major contributory factor for the RTA is validated through the field studies editor@iaeme.com

10 Dr. G. Venkata Ramana, Dr. N. Srinivasa Reddy, D.M.V. Praneeth Consistent efforts by the ROP over the last one decade could bring down the accident rates significantly from 3.8 to 1.6 per thousand population which is highly commendable. Sultanate of Oman aim at bringing of the accident rates below 0.5 in the years to come. Constant monitoring of operating speeds and imposing heavy penalty on high speeding vehicles would help in accident reduction significantly. Also there is need to monitor the use of mobile use while driving, which would significantly improve accident reduction. High vehicle ownerships low occupancy and low dependability on public transport are the other reasons for RTA. Through policy changes and by offering incentives, it would be possible to bring changes in the mindset of its citizens to go for car pooling and use of public mode of transport, which would greatly reduce traffic congestion and accidents on Muscat roads. REFERENCES [1] Ministry of Health (MoH), Annual Health Report Muscat (Oman): Ministry of Health. [2] World Health Organization (WHO), Global status report on road safety: Time for action, Department of Violence & Injury Prevention & Disability. WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. Www. who.int/violence_injury_prevention_safety/2009 [3] Royal Oman Police (ROP), Traffic Statistics Sultanate of Oman: Directorate General of Traffic, ROP. [4] AASHTO. American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials. Highway Safety Manual, Washington, DC, 2010 [5] Banik, B. Chowdhury,M. Hossain, E.Mojumdar,B., Road Accident and Safety Study in Sylhet Region of Bangladesh. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology. 6 (4) p [6] Budania,P. Choudhary,M. Kumar,S. Anand,V. Highway Safety in India A Case Study. Skit Research Journal An International Journal of Engineering, Science, Humanities And Management. 4 (2), 2014.p [7] Chelugo,N. Chepchieng,C.Gariy,A.Josphat,M. Effects of Road Improvement on Safety: A case Study of Nairobi-Thika Superhighway.American Journal of Civil Engineering. 3(6), 2016.p [8] Farag,S.Ibrahim,H.Saad,H., Analysis and Assessment of Accident Characteristics: Case Study of Dhofar Governorate Sultanate of Oman. International Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering. 3(4), P [9] Sumaila.,Femi, A..Road crashes trends and safety management in Nigeria Journal of Geography and Regional Planning.6 (3), 2013.p [10] Montello,M..Effects of Road Improvement on Safety: A Case Study of Nairobi- ThikaSuperhighway.American Journal of Civil Engineering.3 (6), 2015, p [11] Vorgelegt,v.& Kai.P.,Burglengenfeld..Human Factors as Causes for Road Traffic Accidents in the Sultanate of Oman under Consideration of Road Construction Designs. Institute of experimental Psychology & University of Regensburg.2 (3), 2013, p editor@iaeme.com

11 Analysis on Traffic Safety and Road Accidents: A Case Study on Selected Roads in Muscat, Oman [12] Hashim, I.H. "Safety and the Consistency of Geometric and on Rural Single Carriageways". PhD Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom,2006. [13] Abdullah Ali Nasser Al-Maniri, Hamed Al-Reesi, Ibrahim Al-Zakwani, and MuazzamNasrullah, Road Traffic Fatalities in Oman from 1995 to 2009: Evidence from Police Reports. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2013 June; 4(6), ISBN: [14] A.S. Hakkert&dr. L. Braimaister, The uses of exposure and risk in road safety studies. Road users: the relation between behaviour, surroundings and accidents. SWOV, Leidschendam, 2002, [15] Amer.A,.The adequacy of traffic awareness in schools and the role of the family and the media. [Interview].2nd November [16] Bader.A,Safety tips for motorist.[interview].5th November [17] Salim.C,.Ways to reduce traffic accidents. [Interview].28th October editor@iaeme.com

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN (Print), AND TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET)

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET), ISSN (Print), AND TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET) INTERNATIONAL ISSN 0976 6316(Online), Volume JOURNAL 5, Issue 6, June (2014), OF pp. 16-24 CIVIL IAEME ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (IJCIET) ISSN 0976 6308 (Print) ISSN 0976 6316(Online) Volume 5, Issue