ADVANTAGES OF A COMPREHENSIVE RISK ANALYSIS IN ROAD ENGINEERING. PROCEEDINGS OF STRATEGIC HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM AND TRAFFIC SAFETY ON TWO CONTINENTS, GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN, 27-29 SEPTEMBER, 1989

New and difficult tasks in highway design such as realignment or upgrading of existing or evaluation of different alternatives for the construction of new roads have created a need for disaggregated information about the safety level of the projects in question. This information cannot be gained in the conventional way mainly based on the technique of accident analysis because of its fundamental methodological deficits. Risk analyses - already well known from other technical fields - appear to be a possible resolution to this information deficit. This paper summarizes the results of a research study carried out from 1986 through 1987 at the Technical University of Darmstaft. The aim of the study was to find out whether risk analyses can be successfully applied in traffic safety research. The method is already well-known from its wide use in the field of design of nuclear power plants and chemical factories. Because of the different type of application, it was necessary nevertheless to adapt the method for the use in a completely new field. The main advantages to be expected from the use of risk analyses are the following: it requires teamwork of different research groups from various branches of science and thus promotes interdisciplinary cooperation. The knowledge acquired may be refined and extended gradually and in sections according to the necessity of additional information and the research team's capabilities. The method supports immediate derivation of cause-effect relationships, in order to explain the reasons of single accidents. Above all, it renders possible quantitative evaluation of different design alternatives for a given problem.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03476030
• Corporate Authors:

  Swedish National Road and Traffic Research Institute

  Drottning Kristinas Vaeg 25
  S-11428 Stockholm,   Sweden 
• Authors:
  • Durth, W
• Publication Date: 1990

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 177-187
• Serial:
  • VTI Rapport
  • Publisher: Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI)
  • ISSN: 0347-6030

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway design; Highway engineering; Highway safety; Highways; Improvements; Research; Risk analysis; Road construction; Traffic; Traffic safety
• Old TRIS Terms: Traffic research
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00494080
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Swedish National Road and Traffic Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: 351A, HS-040 861
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 30 1990 12:00AM