BLACK SPOTS MANAGEMENT - SLOVENIAN EXPERIENCE PhD Marko Renčelj, Assoc. Prof. Matjaž Šraml, University of Maribor, Faculty for Civil Engineering X International Symposium "ROAD ACCIDENTS PREVENTION 2010" Novi Sad, 21st and 22nd October 2010
Contents Introduction Theoretical background Methodology for eliminating black spots Practical examples
Why "traffic safety?" Road traffic crashes kill 1.2 million people a year or an average of 3242 people every day Road traffic crashes injure or disable between 20 million and 50 million people a year Road traffic crashes rank as the 11th leading cause of death and account for 2.1% of all deaths globally Half of all crash victims are vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists [1] WHO: Fact sheets from the World report on road traffic injury prevention, http://www.who.int/en/
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Current traffic safety situation 300 250 200 150 100 United Kingdom Sweden Netherlands Germany EU 27 (aver.) Hungary Slovenia Croatia 50 0
Traffic safety situation in Slovenia: motorways
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Traffic safety situation in Slovenia: motorways 800,00 Lenght of motorways and expressways in Slovenia [km] 700,00 600,00 500,00 400,00 300,00 200,00
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Correlation: new motorways vs. fatalities 180 160 140 120 Increasing Lenght length of of motorways and / expressways vs. in Slovenia fatalities: and decreasing number of road change deaths (in(fatalities): %) from 1994 change to 2009 (in %) from 1994 to 2009 Motorways and expressways Road fatalities 100 80 60 40 20 0
Highway safety management Primary goal: to reduce the number and severity of traffic crashes by [2]: identifying, implementing and evaluating opportunities to improve highway safety. Three motives of safety management [3]: economic effectiveness, professional and institutional responsibility and fairness. [2] Andrew P. Tarko, Mayank Kanodia: Effective and Fair Identification of Hazardous Locations, TRR 1897/2004. [3] Hauer, E.: Identification of Sites with Promise, TRR 1542/1996.
Efficiency of measures Survey among 25 EU states [4], [5] about estimating the most effective short, medium, and long term measures shown: high priority: measures related to Infrastructure Safety Management: High-Risk Site Management (Black Spot Management) Road Safety Audit Road Safety Inspection High-Risk Site Management is a short-term measure [4] CEDR (2006) Most Effective Short-, Medium and Long-Term Measures to Improve Safety on European Roads. Saving 25,000 Lives by 2010 A Shared Responsibility, Paris. [5] G. Breyer, V. Weiss, "Road Safety in Europe Today s situation and how to improve it", 8th Slovenian Road Congress, Portorož, Oct. 2006.
Definition of black spot After a definition, a black spot is a shorter section (l <300 m), where a larger number of accidents happens This is compared with the (a) average number of accidents, (b) consequences of accidents, (c) costs of accidents on other road sections of the same road category and in the same time period. Black spot could be: Inside / outside settlements (urban areas), On road sections / intersections.
Methodology for eliminating "black spots" in Slovenia 1. Identification phase 2. Data collecting phase 3. Analyses phase 4. Developing of countermeasures phase 5. Evaluation and implementation phase 6. Monitoring phase
1. Identification of black spots Identification of black spots represents the basis for traffic-safety analyses It is executed by the specialist service of Slovenian Roads Agency (DRSC) Locations of the above-average congestions of the road accidents are determined by the statistical methods - based on the data about road accidents from the Ministry of the Interior
2. Data collecting Detailed and exact data is needed There are differences in extent, accuracy and ways of data collecting The most frequently used data in Slovenia: data about traffic accidents, observing traffic (conflicts), hidden speed measurements, horizontal and vertical road elements, traffic signalization and traffic equipment, size and structure of traffic, other sources (e.g., an opinion of the responsible police station, maintainers etc.).
3. Traffic safety analysis Analysis of traffic safety includes further data processing in order to: obtain complete information about the discussed place, nature of accidents and consequently a systematic development of measures. Most of the researches contain two aspects that are connected with the analysis of traffic safety: identification of predominant accident types, analysis at accident spot with the investigation of road-traffic characteristics and driver's behavior.
4. Measures for eliminating black spots Each measure means a certain level of improvement (from less to more) Measures can be classified: temporal (short time measures), permanent (long term measures).
4. Measures for eliminating black spots We select measures according: technical feasibility; economic efficiency; traffic capacity; acceptability (acceptable for environment / local community); practicability; political and institutional acceptability; legality; compatibility.
5. Evaluation and implementation of suggested measures The evaluation most often contains: evaluation of economic efficiency of investment (cost-benefit analysis), evaluation of influences on environment, evaluation of achieving other goals. A result of analysis and evaluation presents a final list of all temporal and permanent measures that can eliminate black spot. Their implementation depends on the budget and priorities.
6. Observation and evaluation of the implemented measures Monitoring the efficiency of the implemented measures is necessary for establishing positive and negative spin-offs of the improvements It is also important to know whether certain measures increased the number of accidents for other reasons The results can be used as a feedback at future planning and implementation of measures Incorrect study results reduce reliability of the efficiency evaluation which can lead to false decisions in the future
Problems with black spots in Slovenia Appropriate information about road accidents: personal data protection, no access to drafts of road accidents or knowledge about direction of driving of a vehicle before collision etc. Implementation of measures: due to limited financial capacities of the state road manager, usually just short-term measures are taken, radical changes and larger works (reconstructions etc.) are seldom practiced. No studies that would check the efficiency of the implemented measures: such studies would give very important information about indicators of efficiency of implemented measures on individual locations
New traffic signs
Conclusion: where / why black spots? Road infrastructure: unapropiate planning, design, building or maintainance Traffic: e.g. traffic situation change significantly Drivers: obay speed limits, traffic regulations, road conditions, etc. Combination: infrastructure & drivers
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