ViDA Software Overview

Purpose and Use of ViDA Software Apply star rating and safer roads investment plan protocols Perform network-level safety planning analyses Consider data for over 50 safety-related roadway design and traffic control attributes Generate star rating maps and download files with star rating data Generate safety roads investment plans No detailed site-specific crash data needed Network-wide crash data is useful for calibration

Coded Roadway Attribute Data ViDA Analysis Process Coded Roadway Attribute Data Road Safety Scores Star Ratings Safer Roads Investment Plans

Star ratings

Star Ratings Star ratings have been used since the inception of RAP programs Star ratings are assigned based on presence or absence of road design and traffic control features related to safety Over 50 safety-related design and traffic control features are considered Star ratings are in 1 to 5 scale: 5-star road (full range of known safety-related design and traffic control features) 1-star road (limited safety-related design and traffic control features)

Star Ratings Separate star ratings by user type: vehicle occupants motorcyclists pedestrians bicyclists

Star Ratings Star ratings are a strong function of traffic speed: Star ratings decrease with increasing speed Two identical roadways with different traffic speeds will have different star ratings Mean and 85th percentile speeds must be either measured or estimated

Key Safety-Related Roadway Characteristics No. of lanes One-way/two-way Roadway width/lane width Shoulder width Horizontal alignment (esp. curve radius) Vertical alignment (esp. grades) Delineation Road surface condition Sidewalks

Key Safety-Related Roadway Characteristics Roadside severity Shoulder rumble strips Access point density Median type Intersection type Pedestrian facilities Bike facilities Area type (rural/semi-urban/urban) Land use (commercial/residential)

Key Safety-Related Roadway Characteristics Quality of curve Quality of intersection Quality of pedestrian crossing

Key Operational and Traffic Control Characteristics Traffic volume Motorcycle percentage Pedestrian flow Bicycle flow Intersecting road volume Speed limit Mean traffic speed 85th percentile traffic speed

Example of Coded Roadway Data File 19

Road Inspection Videos

Coding Safety-Related Road Attributes

Road Protection Scores Road users Crash types Road attributes Run off road Risk factors Vehicle occupants Head on Intersection Run off road Head on Intersection Risk factors Motorcyclists Along Across Risk factors Pedestrians Along Across Intersection Risk factors Bicyclists

Road Protection Scores Road users Crash types Road attributes Speed Roadside severity – left Roadside severity – right Lane width Paved shoulder Curvature Curvature quality Delineation Shoulder rumble Road condition Run off road Vehicle occupants Speed Median type Number of lanes Lane width Curvature Curvature quality Overtaking demand Road condition Head on Speed Intersection type Intersecting road volume Intersection quality Minor access density Intersection

Road Protection Scores Road users Crash types Road attributes Speed Sidewalk provision – left Sidewalk provision – right Side friction Along Pedestrians Speed Number of lanes Median type Crossing facilities Crossing facilities quality Across

Road Protection Scores Road users Crash types Road attributes Speed Roadside severity – left Roadside severity – right Lane width Paved shoulder Curvature Curve quality Delineation Road condition Facilitates for bikes Side friction Along Bicyclists Speed Crossing facilities Number of lanes Median type Crossing facilities quality Across Speed Intersection type Intersecting road volume Intersection quality Minor access density Intersection

Example Roads for Each Star Rating: Vehicle Occupants

Example Roads for Each Star Rating: Bicyclists

Example Roads for Each Star Rating: Pedestrians

Star Rating/Crash Relationships

Summary of Star Ratings for a Road Network

Example of Star Rating Variation Along a Road Section

SAFER ROADS INVESTMENT PLANS

What is a Safer Roads Investment Plan? Safer Road Investment Plan: A plan that suggests specific safety improvements at specific locations on a selected roadway network Input Data: Approximately 50 roadway and traffic characteristics for each 300-ft (100-m) segment of the roadway network Processing Software: web-based ViDA software Output: a safety improvement plan for your road network

How Can a Safer Roads Investment Plan Help Your Agency? Plan focuses attention of the priority locations for safety improvement on your road system and the appropriate type of safety improvement(s) for each location Requires a 30-minute investment in coding of on roadway attributes per mile of road All results are based on benefit-cost analysis—only improvements that meet a minimum benefit-cost ratio that you specify are suggested

Who Can Benefit Most from Safer Roads Investment Plans? Highway agencies without good crash data no crash data available manual crash reports but no automated data files automated crash data files, but no location data other than verbal descriptions Highway agencies without good crash analysis systems Highway agencies with good road inventory data Highway agencies with video coverage of its road system in the age of Google Street View® and Bing Streetside®, that’s almost everyone

What Does a Safer Roads Investment Plan Provide? Safer roads investment plan for a road network includes: specific countermeasures to be implemented specific implementation locations quantitative cost estimates quantitative safety benefits (in crashes reduced and dollars) cost-effectiveness measures benefit-cost ratios all countermeasures meet a minimum benefit-cost ratio specified by the user output in the form of tables, maps, and Excel spreadsheets

Safer Roads Investment Plans Considers nearly 70 countermeasures Each countermeasure is reviewed for each 300-ft (100-m) road segment. A countermeasure is “triggered” if it makes engineering sense for the location Once a countermeasure is “triggered” economic analysis is performed

Safer Roads Investment Plans Countermeasures are retained in plan for a given 300-ft (100–m) road segment if: countermeasure is not already installed BCR exceeds minimum BCR specified by user countermeasure is compatible with other cost-effective countermeasures for the same location countermeasure is not overridden by a mutually exclusive countermeasure for the same location that is more cost-effective countermeasure is consistent with countermeasures recommended for adjacent road segments

Safer Roads Investment Plans All analyses are based on consideration of fatalities and serious injuries Serious injuries are defined as Levels 3 through 5 on the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale (MAIS) corresponds to A injuries and all or most B injuries on the KABCO scale usRAP bases ratio of serious injuries to fatalities on actual crash data or assumes a 10:1 ratio

Safer Roads Investment Plans User provides data or best available estimate for network-wide average fatalities per year Program logic decides how to allocate those crashes to the various road segments on the network Results can be reviewed/verified with download file

Safer Roads Investment Programs for Alternative Investment Levels Minimum BCR K & A Crashes Saved (20 yr) Pres Value of Benefits ($ million) Cost (20 yr) Program 1 317 238.3 90.9 2.6 2 252 189.8 42.6 4.5 3 206 154.8 28.8 5.4 4 160 120.1 18.8 6.4 5 114 85.8 10.8 8.0

ViDA Software Former usRAP Tools software (Version 2.2 model) has been succeeded by ViDA software (Version 3.0 model)

ViDA Sotfware Performs network-level safety planning analysis to develop star ratings and safer roads investment plans Web-based and easily accessed on-line Software usage is free for all highway agencies and their consultants Training is needed to use the software properly Training is provided at regular intervals free of charge

ViDA Sotfware Software uploads and processes input data for most roadway systems within a few minutes Displays results on-screen and in downloadable Microsoft Excel® files No detailed site-specific crash data needed Network-wide crash data is useful for calibration

Software Licensing/Accreditation Application of usRAP protocols and software requires accreditation Highway agencies can be accredited to perform usRAP studies for themselves through training and experience Universities, research agencies, and consultants can become accredited to perform usRAP studies for highway agencies through training and experience

Software Licensing/Accreditation usRAP team will provide advice and support usRAP team will review each accredited agency’s first project

Demonstration of usRAP Analysis Software

Questions?