PURPOSES : Under the Traffic Safety Act, the installation and management of transportation facilities (facilities and attachments necessary for the operation of transportation, such as roads, railways, and terminals) must take necessary measures to ensure traffic safety, such as enhancing safety facilities. Recently, railway operators have graded the congestion level inside railway stations and vehicles, addressing safety and convenience issues arising from congestion and providing this information to users. However, for bus-related transportation facilities (such as bus stops, terminals, and transfer facilities), criteria and related research for assessing traffic congestion are lacking. Therefore, this study developed a model for the congestion risk factors of four bus-related transportation facilities and proposed criteria for classifying congestion risk levels. METHODS : This study involved selecting congestion risk influence variables for each traffic facility through field surveys, calculating congestion risk index values through evacuation and pedestrian simulations, and constructing a congestion risk influence model based on the ridge model. RESULTS : The factors influencing congestion were selected to include the number of people waiting, effective sidewalk width, and number of bus stops. As a result of developing congestion risk grades, the central bus stops were determined to be in a severe stage if the Average Waiting Time (AWT) was 2.7 or above. Roadside bus stops were considered severe at 4.2, underground metropolitan transit centers at 3.7, and bus terminals at 5.9 or above. CONCLUSIONS : This study can help establish a foundation for a safety management system for congested areas in transportation facilities. When the congestion risk prediction results correspond to cautionary or severe levels, measures that can reduce congestion risk must be applied to ensure the safety of road users.

PURPOSES : This study aims to analyze the causes of pedestrian traffic accidents on community roads. METHODS : This study collected variables affecting pedestrian traffic accidents on community roads based on field surveys and analyzed them using negative binomial regression and zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. RESULTS : Model analysis results showed that the negative binomial regression model is more suitable than the zero-inflation negative binomial regression model. Additionally, the segment length (m), pedestrian volume (persons/15 min), traffic volume (numbers/15 min.), the extent of illegal parking, pedestrian-vehicle conflict ratio, and one-way traffic (one: residential, two: commercial) were found to influence pedestrian traffic accidents on community roads. Model fitness indicators, comparing actual values with predicted values, showed an MPB of 1.54, MAD of 2.57, and RMSE of 7.03. CONCLUSIONS : This study quantified the factors contributing to pedestrian traffic accidents on community roads by considering both static and dynamic elements. Instead of uniformly implementing measures, such as pedestrian priority zones and facility improvements on community roads, developing diverse strategies that consider various dynamic factors should be considered.

PURPOSES : In this study, we quantitatively prove the rubber necking phenomenon for highway traffic accidents and develop a calculation model based on the influencing factors. METHODS : Vehicle detector speed data in the opposite direction to the accident point were used based on the accident data on highways over the past three years, and a comparative verification was performed between nearby vehicle detector data to verify the reliability of the data. Accordingly, a binomial logistic model, ordinal probit regression model, and multilinear regression model were developed to compare the orientation. RESULTS : There was a difference in the influencing factors based on the dependent variable, and the day of the week, vehicle type, weather, longitudinal slope, and median height had an effect. Through a regression analysis, an influence coefficient was derived to calculate the driving speed deceleration value by rubbernecking. The results of the model analysis proved that the speed reduction caused by rubbernecking was more evident during the daytime than at night, during weekends compared to weekdays, and the speed reduction was more obvious for heavy vehicles compared to other types of vehicles. It can also be concluded that longer clearance time, higher accident severity, and higher traffic volume affect traffic delay. To verify the data and model equation, the mean prediction bias (MPB) and mean absolute deviation (MAD) were calculated for hundred cases randomly extracted from the collected accident data. These results were excellent. CONCLUSIONS : It can be developed into a human-engineered model that reflects various road/facility conditions, such as highways, other lanes, general roads, and roads without a median strip. This study is meaningful as a basic study on the quantitative effect of rubber necking.

PURPOSES : For vehicle-alone accidents with a high mortality rate, it is necessary to analyze the factors influencing the severity of roadside fixed-object traffic accidents. METHODS : A total of 313 roadside fixed obstacle traffic accidents, variables related to fixed obstacles, and variables related to road geometry were collected. The estimation model was constructed with data collected using an ordinal probit regression model. RESULTS : Piers, vertical slopes, and distances between roads and objects were the primary causes of increased accident severity. CONCLUSIONS : Countermeasures, such as object removal, relocation, clear zones, frangibles, breakaway poles, etc., are required for accident-prone or dangerous points.

PURPOSES : This study aims to deduce the appropriate interval of cross passage for small vehicle exclusive roads within urban underground roads to ensure safety. METHODS : This study evaluated evacuation safety by fire and evacuation simulations. The simulation was applied to a passenger-caronly urban underground road, which was performed in the entry/exit section with a gradient of 6.0% and the mainline on level grade. The values of the variables for the simulations were determined to be close to the actual situation based on of the statistics and the results of previous studies. In the simulation scenario, the cross passage interval was visible. The evacuation safety was evaluated by comparing the “evacuation completion time” and the “smoke diffusion time.” Evacuation safety can be desirable when the evacuation completion time is shorter than the smoke diffusion time. RESULTS : According to the results of the simulation, the desirable cross passage interval is 180 m for the entry/exit sections with a 6% gradient in passenger-car-only tunnels. This criterion may be prolonged to an interval of 210 m and a width of 0.9 m for the construction reduction, based on the results of the statistical analysis. CONCLUSIONS : According to the results of this study, the risk indices of the “Small Vehicles Road Tunnel Fire Safety Facility Installation and Management Guidelines” may be supplemented by the tunnel class and the gradient of the entry/exit section. In addition, the guideline may provide an improved interval of evacuation cross passage and the width of the cross passage door by the safety index.

PURPOSES: As the population of the mobility handicapped, who are classified as the disabled, the elderly, pregnant women, children, etc., has increased, the voices for guaranteeing their rights have been increasing as well. Thus, the design manuals for roads and sidewalks for the mobility handicapped were developed by the local government, such as the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Tourism, in Seoul City. However, according to the 2013 survey results of the Seoul Metropolitan City, the mobility handicapped still feel uncomfortable with the sidewalks, and particularly request for the improvement of the step and slope of the sidewalk curb. Therefore, in this study, we conducted an empirical experimental study to determine the slope of the sidewalk curb and height of the steps considering the mobility handicapped and analyzed whether there is a statistically significant difference. METHODS: The methodology of this study is an empirical experimental one. In the study, five non-disabled people, 10 wheelchair users, and 10 eye patch and stick users walked about 2-3 min on the sidewalk plates of the sloped type (0%, 5%, 6.3%, 8.3%) and stepped type (0 cm, 1 cm, 3 cm, 6 cm), and their human physiological responses, such as the skin temperature, volume of perspiration on forehead and chest, and heart rate, were measured and recorded. After combining the data, we conducted a nonparametric test, ANOVA, or t-test to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference according to each slope and step type. RESULTS: It was found that for the non-disabled, there was no significant difference in human physiological responses according to the slope and steps of the sidewalk. It can be said that the non-disabled do not feel much physiological discomfort while walking. In the case of the sloped sidewalk plate, the heart rate of the wheel chair users increased when the slope was 6.3%. In the case of the eye patch and stick users, the volume of perspiration on the chest increased at a slope of 5.0%. In general, it is judged that a sidewalk with a slope that is less than 5% does not cause a change in the physiological response. In the case of a stepped sidewalk plate, when 0 cm, 1 cm, and 3 cm were compared for wheelchair users, the amount of forehead perspiration increased from 1 cm. Meanwhile, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when 0 cm and 6 cm were compared, the amount of perspiration on the forehead and chest as well as the heart rate all increased at 6 cm. Taken together, in the case of wheelchair users, a difference was shown when the height of the step of the sidewalk plate was 1 cm, suggesting that installing it at 0 cm does not cause any physiological discomfort. Moreover, in the case of the eye patch and stick users, when comparing only 0 cm and 6 cm, 0 cm was considered to be suitable, as there was a difference in physiological response at 6 cm. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we set the human physiological responses such as chest skin temperature, amount of perspiration, and heart rate as evaluation items, and our study was considered to be a meaningful experiment that targeted wheelchair users as well as eye patch and stick users. The validity of the evaluation items was confirmed, as the results of human physiological responses were significant. As for the sidewalk design, according to the experiment result, it is considered that differential application should be implemented according to the type of mobility handicap, rather than uniformly applying a sidewalk step of 2 cm and sidewalk slope of 1/25, which are the current legal standards.

PURPOSES:This study aims to analyze the impact of the implementation of a school zone traffic safety improvement project on the number of accidents involving children in these zones.METHODS :To analyze the correlation between school zone traffic safety features of roads in the zone and the number of accidents involving children, we developed an occurrence probability model of traffic accidents involving children by using a binary logistic regression model with SPSS 23.0 software. Two separate models were developed for two zones: interior block and arterial road.RESULTS:The model depicted that in the case of the interior block, shorter sidewalk width, speed bump, and an elevated crosswalk were key factors affecting the occurrence of accidents involving children. In the case of arterial roads exceeding a width of 12 m, the speed limit, roadside barriers, and red paving of road surfaces were found to be the key factors.CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study can serve as the elementary research data to help improve the effectiveness of school zone traffic safety improvement projects and school zone road repair projects in future.

OBJECTIVES : Fixed roadside objects are a threat to drivers when their vehicles deviate from the road. Therefore, such roadside objects need to be suitably dealt with to decrease accidents. This study determines the factors affecting the severity of accidents because of fixed roadside objects. METHODS : This study analyzed the crash severity impact of fixed roadside objects by using ordered probit regression as the analysis methodology. In this research, data from 896 traffic accidents reported in the last three years were used. These accidents consisted of sole-car accidents, fixed roadside object accidents, and lane-departure accidents on the national highway of Korea. The accident severity was classified as light injury, severe injury, and death. The factors relating to the road and the driver were collected as independent variables. RESULTS: The result of the analysis showed that the variables of the crash severity impact are the collision location (left side), gender of the driver (female), alcohol use, collision facility (roadside trees, traffic signals, telephone poles), and type of road (rural segments). Additionally, the collision location (left side), gender of the driver (female), alcohol use, collision facility (street trees, traffic signals, telephone poles), and type of road (rural segments), in order of influence, were found to be the factors affecting the crash severity in accidents due to fixed roadside objects. CONCLUSIONS: An alternative solution is urgently required to reduce the crash severity in accidents due to fixed roadside objects. Such a solution can consider the appropriate places to install breakaway devices and energy-absorbing systems.

PURPOSES : Visibility of lanes on the road improves as retro-reflectivity rises. This helps reduce traffic accidents at nighttime or in bad weather. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of improved visibility on reduction of traffic accidents when the color of the lane in the median of the highway was changed from yellow to white. METHODS: In order to evaluate the accident reduction effect of the white left shoulder line, Hauer (1997)'s Comparison-Group method was chosen as an analysis methodology. The JungBu-2 highway, which is equipped with the white left shoulder line and is in trial operation, was chosen as a target for analysis. Data of accidents for 10 months before and after installation was collected and analyzed. In addition to the number of accidents, the types of accidents were classified into nighttime accidents, accidents in bad weather, and median collisions. The accident reduction effect of improved visibility of lanes was analyzed. RESULTS : The analysis’finding showed that installation of the white left shoulder line decreased the number of accidents by 28%. Moreover, improvement in visibility was effective in reducing nighttime accidents by 67.63%, accidents in bad weather by 55.19%, and median collisions by 48.55%. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the analysis’results in this study, it was concluded that white left shoulder line on the freeway contributed to reduce traffic accidents, especially nighttime accidents, accidents in bad weather, and median collisions.

PURPOSES : The use of virtual driving tests to determine actual road driving behavior is increasing. However, the results indicate a gap between real and virtual driving under same road conditions road based on ergonomic factors, such as anxiety and speed. In the future, the use of virtual driving tests is expected to increase. For this reason, the purpose of this study is to analyze the gap between real and virtual driving on same road conditions and to use a calibration formula to allow for higher reliability of virtual driving tests. METHODS : An intelligent driving recorder was used to capture real driving. A driving simulator was used to record virtual driving. Additionally, a virtual driving map was made with the UC-Win/Road software. We gathered data including geometric structure information, driving information, driver information, and road operation information for real driving and virtual driving on the same road conditions. In this study we investigated a range of gaps, driving speeds, and lateral positions, and introduced a calibration formula to the virtual record to achieve the same record as the real driving situation by applying the effects of the main causes of discrepancy between the two (driving speed and lateral position) using a linear regression model. RESULTS: In the virtual driving test, driving speed and lateral position were determined to be higher and bigger than in the real Driving test, respectively. Additionally, the virtual driving test reduces the concentration, anxiety, and reality when compared to the real driving test. The formula includes four variables to produce the calibration: tangent driving speed, curve driving speed, tangent lateral position, and curve lateral position. However, the tangent lateral position was excluded because it was not statistically significant . CONCLUSIONS: The results of analyzing the formula from MPB (mean prediction bias), MAD (mean absolute deviation) is after applying the formula to the virtual driving test, similar to the real driving test so that the formula works. Because this study was conducted on a national, two-way road, the road speed limit was 80 km/h, and the lane width was 3.0-3.5 m. It works in the same condition road restrictively.

PURPOSES : The causes of traffic accidents can be classified into the factors of highway users, vehicles, and driving environments. Traffic accidents result from the deficiency in single or combination of these three factors. The objective of this study is to define the "potentially hazardous sections of highway" in terms of traffic safety considering these three factors. METHODS : The test drivers performed repeated driving on these highway sections. The drivers and passengers recorded the sections on which the driving was uncomfortable, and the speeds on the sections excluding the uncomfortable sections were used for the development of the model. RESULTS : The model is composed of three sub-models for each of the horizontal curve, tangent, and the section where the curve starts/ends. The safe driving behavior coefficients by the horizontal curvature were derived by comparing the maximum operating speeds at which the vehicle may slide or deviate and the speeds at which the drivers feel comfort. The safety speeds on tangent were derived by the length of tangent section considering the driver's desired speeds under the traffic condition on which the drivers hardly influenced by the other vehicles. For the sections where the curve starts/ends, the driving behaviors were classified by the distances between the curves, and the safe acceleration/deceleration speeds were derived on which the drivers enter/exit the curve sections safely. CONCLUSIONS : Safety speed could then be regarded that the model suggested in this study may be useful to define the potentially hazardous highway section and contribute the improvement of highway safety.

현재 서울시는 대중교통 활성화 정책에 따라 버스전용차로제도를 실시하고 있다. 과거 가로변버스전용차로 설치를 시작으로 현재에는 중앙버스전용차로 설치구간도 증가하고 있다. 본 연구의 목적은 이 중앙버스전용차로와 가로변버스전용차로에서 버스사고에 영향을 미치는 요인을 분석하는데 있다. 분석방법으로 교통사고가 확률적으로 극히 드물게 일어난다는 점을 생각하여 포아송 회귀모형과 음이항 회귀모형을 선택하였으며, 과산포 존재여부에 따라 음이항 회귀모형으로 최종모형을 정립하였다. 중앙버스전용차로구간은 버스노선수, 중앙차로 진출입 유형수, 중앙차로 정지선 후퇴유무, 중앙차로 정지선과 횡단보도 이격거리, 교통량, 가변차로 정류장 정차노선수 6개의 변수에서 버스사고에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 가로변버스전용 차로구간은 우회전 버스노선수, 상습 불법주정차 유무, 보행신호시간, 토지이용형태 4개의 변수에서 버스사고에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다.