THE SAFETY INDEX: A METHOD OF EVALUATING AND RATING SAFETY BENEFITS
EACH YEAR THE CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS PREPARES A PLANNING PROGRAM, WHICH SCHEDULES THE FUNDING OF MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS FOR THE NEXT 8 TO 11 YEARS. IT SHOWS THE AMOUNTS AND THE FISCAL YEARS OF FUNDING FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION FOR 2,500 TO 3,000 PROJECTS COSTING MORE THAN $100,000 EACH. EVERY ATTEMPT IS MADE TO SCHEDULE THE MOST NEEDED PROJECTS FIRST. TO DETERMINE PRIORITIES OBJECTIVELY, IT IS DESIRABLE TO QUANTIFY THE BENEFITS OF EACH PROJECT (E.G., HOURS OF CONGESTION REDUCED, VEHICLE-HOURS OF DELAY REDUCED, NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS PREVENTED, AND NUMBER OF LIVES SAVED) AND RELATE THESE BENEFITS TO THE COST OF OBTAINING THEM. THE BENEFIT-COST RATIO, BASED ON THE DOLLAR SAVINGS ACCRUED TO THE ROAD USER BECAUSE OF REDUCED TRAVEL TIMES, DISTANCES, AND OPERATING COSTS IS USED. A FEW YEARS AGO, THE CALIFORNIA DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS DEVELOPED THE SAFETY INDEX TO EVALUATE SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. THE SAFETY INDEX REPRESENTS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE PROJECT'S CONSTRUCTION PLUS RIGHT-OF-WAY COSTS THAT IS RETURNED TO THE MOTORISTS AS SAVINGS IN THE COST OF PREVENTED ACCIDENTS. IN REALITY, IT IS A SAFETY BENEFIT-COST RATIO. THE DECIMAL POINT HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE RIGHT 2 PLACES, AND RATIO IS CALLED AN INDEX. IN THE 1969 PROGRAM, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE USE OF THE SAFETY INDEX IS EXTENDED TO ALL MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. FOR EACH PROJECT AN ESTIMATE WAS MADE OF THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS THAT WILL BE PREVENTED BY THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT AND OF THE COST SAVINGS RESULTING FROM THE ACCIDENT REDUCTION. THE SAVINGS, EXPRESSED AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE COST OF PROVIDING THE IMPROVEMENT (CONSTRUCTION PLUS RIGHT-OF-WAY, IS THE PROJECT SAFETY INDEX. /AUTHOR/
- Record URL:
-
Supplemental Notes:
- Paper sponsored by Committee on Highway Safety and presented at the 49th Annual Meeting. 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:
- Tamburri, Thomas N
- Smith, Richard N
-
Discussers:
- Mills Jr, J P
- Perini Jr, Victor J
-
Conference:
- 49th Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
- Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
- Date: 1970-1-12 to 1970-1-16
- Publication Date: 1970
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 28-43
- Monograph Title: Highway safety improvements
-
Serial:
- Highway Research Record
- Issue Number: 332
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Construction; Costs; Estimates; Prevention; Property acquisition; Ratios; Right of way (Land); Safety; Savings
- Uncontrolled Terms: Fund allocations
- Old TRIS Terms: Indexes (Ratios)
- Subject Areas: Construction; Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00221246
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Jun 11 1971 12:00AM