RELATION BETWEEN AUTOMOBILE AND HIGHWAY
THE MORE IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES WITH RESPECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS THEY IMPOSE UPON HIGHWAY DESIGN AND PARTICULARLY UPON THE DESIGN OF HIGHWAY SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED. A REVIEW OF ACCIDENT FATALITIES SHOWS THAT THERE HAS BEEN A CONSISTENT REDUCTION IN THE MILEAGE RATE OF FATAL ACCIDENTS; WHAT IS SELDOM EMPHASIZED IS THE MORE IMPORTANT FACT THAT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FATALITIES HAS LEVELED OFF AND REMAINED NEARLY CONSTANT DURING THE PAST 20 YEARS IN SPITE OF THE TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN TOTAL MILES TRAVELED. MUCH HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED AND MUCH REMAINS IN HIGHWAY LAYOUT AND HIGHWAY SYSTEM DESIGN TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE FATAL-ACCIDENT PICTURE. A MAJOR CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS IS INATTENTION, AND HIGHWAY DESIGN SHOULD CONTINUE TO ELIMINATE OBSTACLES, PROVIDE MORE MANEUVERING ROOM, SEPARATE TRAFFIC, SEGREGATE TRAFFIC TYPES, AND PROVIDE ALTERNATE AND BYPASS ROUTES TO DISTRIBUTE RATHER THAN CONCENTRATE TRAFFIC FLOW. IT IS SHOWN THAT FUEL CONSUMPTION OF AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES INCREASES VERY SHARPLY WITH CURVATURE AND GRADIENT, AND THAT THE IDEAL DESIGN OF HIGHWAY SYSTEMS FROM THE STANDPOINT OF COST OF FUEL WOULD BE TO BUILD ROADS LEVEL AND STRAIGHT. THIS IS CONSISTENT ALSO WITH THE BEST MOBILITY OF TRAFFIC AND THE GREATEST SAFETY. WE ACCEPT THE FACT THAT THE INADEQUACY OF OUR PRESENT HIGHWAY SYSTEM HAS RESULTED FROM LACK OF FUNDS AND NOT LACK OF ENGINEERING COMPETENCE ON THE PART OF HIGHWAY DESIGNERS. A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN EXPENDITURE IS REQUIRED TO BRING THE HIGHWAY SYSTEM CAPACITY INTO BALANCE WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE PUBLIC. FOR THIS REASON HIGHWAY POLICY MUST BE TO SELECT THE BEST USES FOR AVAILABLE FUNDS TO ACCOMPLISH LONG RANGE CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS, RATHER THAN TO MOVE FROM ONE EXPEDIENT TO ANOTHER, AND TO LOOK WITH SUSPICION UPON PROPOSALS WHICH MAY DIVERT FUNDS FROM MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION. /AUTHOR/
- Record URL:
-
Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 33, pp 91-103, 26 FIG, 4 REF. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
-
Authors:
- STONEX, K A
- Publication Date: 1954
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Thirty-Third Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 12-15, 1954
-
Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 33
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Curvature; Drivers; Fatalities; Finance; Fuel consumption; Highway design; Transportation
- Subject Areas: Design; Finance; Safety and Human Factors; Transportation (General);
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00223521
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: May 16 1972 12:00AM