Roadside crashes form a significant portion of road crashes on highways under the jurisdiction of the Department of Highways. Investigation of crash data of 4 major highways in the province of Songkhla in the south of Thailand reveals that roadside crashes constitute between 56-67 percent of all crashes on these highways between 1997-2000, with the fatalities ranging from 25-44 percent of all fatalities on the 4 highways. Roadside crashes involve run off the road and rollover accidents or run off the road and hit roadside hazards. The potential dangers posed by the old style reinforced concrete guide posts, kilometer posts and the unprotected electricity poles are obvious and typical of roadside objects hit. This paper describes the first attempt in Thailand to investigate roadside crashes using crash data collected by the Department of Highways. It aims to quantify the magnitude and determine the characteristics of the problem and recommend strategies for improving the roadside safety of highways. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E208431.
Samenvatting