The state of Louisiana in 1990 experienced 136,022 accidents resulting in a social cost of approximately $4.16 billion of which an estimated $476 million were attributed to fixed object accidents. Furthermore, the overall accident statistics for 1991, 1992, etc., are showing a decreasing tendency whereas fixed object accident statistics are on the increase. What is needed in all future highway improvements is to incorporate the economic analysis of highway safety, especially through the study of fixed object accidents, since hazardous fixed objects along a corridor are often much easier to correct than human behavior or vehicle characteristics in the short term. This compromising of safety inputs in current road improvements road improvements works may be due to: (i) the relative ease in determining the benefit/cost analysis of resurfacing and speed change by roadway designers; (ii) the lack of historical accident data and supporting information (i.e., network, accidents, demographics, etc.) in a single personal computer environment that can be analyzed by design engineers to detect safety needs; and (iii) the inadequate information of safety "pay-off" because most design engineers have not received sufficient training in safety engineering economic analysis. The overall objective of the paper (supported by research funding of Louisiana Transportation Research Center) is to develop a step-by-step procedure to incorporate the economic analysis of highway improvements, especially through the consideration of accidents involving fixed objects for state-identified highway improvement projects in Louisiana. (A)
Abstract