This paper was presented at the "Geometric design and safety" session. These proceedings are available on CD-ROM. In Quebec, roadside related accidents account for about 32% of all highway accidents. It therefore becomes important, when designing a new road or improving an existing one, to integrate roadside safety design concepts. For several years now, AASHTO recommends a cost-effectiveness selection procedure, in its Roadside design guide, which computes the costs and benefits of roadside safety alternatives to help designers and managers to chose the most appropriate solution. One of the objectives of the research project was to develop two computer tools to evaluate the different roadside design options considered and then to prioritize these roadside improvements within a restricted budget. The first tool developed is "Glissiere" (barrier in French), which allows to economically evaluate a roadside design option. The second tool developed is "Optimal", which allows to find the optimal choice of investments by prioritizing the roadside safety improvement projects considered, within a restricted budget. Programmed using Microsoft's Visual C++, Glissiere and Optimal are very user friendly and operate in the Windows 95 environment. Since the programs are intended for the Ministere des Transports of Quebec, both tools have been developed in French. (A)
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