Abstract

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic and Safety Division continues to advance the safety of roadway sections throughout the state. To aid UDOT in meeting their goal the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) has worked with the Statistics Department in developing analysis tools for safety. The most recent of these tools has been the development of a hierarchical Bayesian Poisson Mixture Model (PMM) statistical model of traffic crashes and safety on UDOT roadways statewide and the integration of the results of this model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. This research focuses on the enhancement of the framework for highway safety mitigation in Utah with its six primary steps: 1) network screening, 2) diagnosis, 3) countermeasure selection, 4) economic appraisal, 5) project prioritization, and 6) effectiveness evaluation. The framework was enhanced by developing a methodology for accomplishing the steps of network screening, diagnosis, and countermeasure selection. This methodology is titled, "Hot Spot Identification and Analysis." The hot spot identification and analysis methodology consists of the following seven steps: 1) identify problematic segments with safety concern, 2) identify problem spots within the segments, 3) micro analysis of problematic segments and spots, 4) defining the segment, 5) defining the problem, 6) evaluation of possible countermeasures, and 7) selection and recommendation of feasible countermeasures. The methodology is to help in the identification of hot spots with safety concerns so that they can be analyzed and countermeasures can be identified to mitigate the safety issues. Examples of how the methodology is to function are given with specific examples from Utah's state roadway network.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology; Civil and Environmental Engineering

Rights

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