Citation

Fleischer GA. Transp. Res. Rec. 1981; 808: 16-24.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Federal Highway Administration (USA) has recently funded the development of a guide, Evaluation of Highway Safety Projects, and related training materials, which have been used in almost 30 workshops throughout the United States over the past two years. Evaluation methodology described in these materials is based on six related functions: (a) develop the evaluation plan, (b) collect and reduce data, (c) compare measures of effectiveness, (d) perform tests of significance, (e) perform economic analysis by using either the benefit/cost or the cost-effectiveness technique, and (f) prepare evaluation documentation. The document is described, with particular emphasis on the proposed economic-analysis methodology. Among the specific elements discussed are the following: the significance to decision makers of the benefit/cost and the cost-effectiveness ratios; appropriate notation for the discount factors; restricted use of the end-of-period assumption in the discounting models; appropriate techniques for dealing with project elements that have unequal service lives; discounting cash flow sequences other than uniform series; discount rate; treatment of risk and uncertainty associated with forecasts of parameter values; and bibliography and list of selected readings.