Highway Regional Classification Method Based on Traffic Flow Characteristics for Highway Safety Assessment.

Jongdae Baek

doi:10.3390/s22010086

Abstract

Accurate regional classification of highways is a critical prerequisite to implement a tailored safety assessment. However, there has been inadequate research on objective classification considering traffic flow characteristics for highway safety assessment purposes. We propose an objective and easily applicable classification method that considers the administrative divisions of South Korea. We evaluated the feasibility of this method through various theoretical analysis techniques using the data collected from 536 permanent traffic volume counting stations for the national highways in South Korea in 2019. The ratio of the annual average hourly traffic volume to the annual average daily traffic was used as the explanatory variable. The corresponding results of factor and cluster analyses with this ratio showed a 61% concordance with the urban, suburban, and rural areas classified by the administrative divisions. The results of two-sample goodness-of-fit tests also confirmed that the difference in the three distributions of hourly volume ratios was statistically significant. The results of this study can help enhance highway safety and facilitate the development and application of more appropriate highway safety assessment tools, such as Road Assessment Programs or crash prediction models, for specific regions using the proposed method.

Highlights

According to the Global status report on road safety 2018, which was released by the World Health Organization (WHO) in December 2018, approximately 1.3 million people die every year because of road traffic crashes worldwide [1]
This study proposes a method for utilizing the administrative division system for the easy and objective regional classification of national highways among various types of roads in South Korea
The appropriate regional classification of highways is a critical prerequisite to implement tailored safety assessment. This is because most highway safety assessment methods estimate the likelihood of crashes based on road factors such as traffic flow characteristics that are considerably affected by the geographical location of respective highways

Summary

Introduction

When considering approaches for the maintenance and improvement of human health, regular checkups to monitor and precautions for possible health problems are important in addition to lifestyle changes such as healthy eating habits and exercising. Highways, which are an essential social overhead capital, are frequently compared to human blood vessels in their functions. Road crashes can incur loss and damage to human life and property, and this can adversely affect the overall health and well-being of human society. The appropriate diagnosis and assessment of highway safety is a critical task that must be performed to save lives by preventing accidents through the planning and implementation of an efficient highway safety improvement program. As of 2018, South Korea witnessed 1.4 road crash deaths per 10,000 vehicles, which caused it to rank thirty-first among the 36 OECD member countries.

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Conclusion