Risk Assessment of The Latifiya Expressway Segment Using a Proactive Approach

Abstract

Road safety assessment is an essential step in the management of transportation projects. The proactive approach in the safety assessment considers the pre-construction stage to reduce the likelihood of road accidents. This research aims to assess the risk of road infrastructure in Iraq by applying the most recent methodology based on road features and supported traffic data. The selected methodology significantly contributes to enhancing a proactive approach to road safety and incorporating risk assessment in the planning and design stages of road projects. A segment of 15km from the beginning of the Latifiya expressway was selected for this study and assessed using the international road assessment program methodology. Data on road features and traffic were collected for this goal; where data on 38 aspects of road features is collected. The traffic data includes traffic volume and spot speed. Then these data were coded and processed using VIDA online web. The assessment results were presented for three road user groups: vehicle riders, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. The results showed that the assessed segment has a high-risk level; 1 to 3 stars for vehicle riders and 1 star for motorcyclists and pedestrians. Countermeasures were presented, and their efficiency was tested to raise the star rating for all road user groups to five stars.