Influence of physical road characteristics on road crashes

Abstract

The objectives of this project were to find correlations between the 'tidal flow' of traffic and the frequency of road crashes, as well as between various broad scale road environment factors and the frequency of road crashes. This was achieved through an in depth examination of crash data for the Southern District, as well as the combined data of the areas covered by the Toowoomba City Council and the Gatton Shire Council. When examining the data for correlations, the traffic flow and crash rate along with various road environment characteristics were considered. It was found that a greater traffic flow did not mean a greater crash rate would result with the time periods with lower traffic flow having higher crash rates. However, correlations were established between various road environment factors and the frequency of road crashes. Road environment characteristics that were found to influence the amount of road crashes included the seal width, pavement width, formation width, the speed limit zones and the AADT of the road. These correlations can now be used in the prediction of the likelihood of crash zones of roads.