Assessment of the impact of Namibian rural road characteristics on crash incidence
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Date
2020
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Abstract
Road user perceptions and roadway design elements play a vital role in determining the crash risk level on the roads. The study investigated factors that play a prominent role in causing road traffic crashes on rural roads on the Namibian road network. The study found that animals and pedestrians were the highest cause of road traffic crashes on the study sections. The high volume of vehicles traversing the roads section combined with the lack of appropriate barriers to separate traffic from the high presence of animals and pedestrians along the study section contributed to the hazardous safety situation on the road. The study identified that drivers losing control of vehicles on the study sections was one of the highest cause of traffic crashes. Speeding combined with negative design of various road elements directly impacts driver perceptions of the road environment and misleads road users, thereby leading to human errors that influence the frequency and severity of road crashes on the study section. The study identified under-reporting and misinformation on road crashes as some of the factors impeding the development of a vivid picture on the actual scale of the road safety problem on Namibian rural roads. The analysis of the road crashes will assist and enable road safety stakeholders in identifying, developing and implementing appropriate safety measures to sustainably address the road safety issue on Namibian roads. In addition to the road safety assessment, a road design audit carried out on the study section found that the shoulder grade and lane widths did not comply with the Technical Recommendations for Highways 17 on the Geometric Design of Rural Roads in Namibia. The study therefore developed multivariate road crash models using Negative Binomial Regression to investigate the extent of the link between road crash rates of various severity and the road design elements. The models identified several interactive relationships between lane widths, shoulders widths, 85th operating speed and horizontal curve radii on the section that significantly influenced crash rates on the roads.
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Keywords
Driver behaviour, Road crash modelling, Road design elements, Road safety, Rural roads
Citation
Ambunda, R., & Johannes, P. (2020). Assessment of the impact of Namibian rural road characteristics on crash incidence. Athens Journal of Technology and Engineering, 7(1), 15-30.