Citation

Jung S, Qin X. Transp. Res. Rec. 2022; 2676(7): 1-12.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/03611981221095749

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In South Korea, one of the leading causes of motor vehicle crashes occurring at road tunnel entrances is speeding or failure to maintain a safe distance, especially during adverse weather conditions. The South Korean government released a strategic plan to address this issue through weather-responsive speed limit adjustments at tunnel entrances. This study aimed to assist the South Korean government's plan with a data-driven safety approach. In particular, crash data from freeway tunnel access zones were augmented with real-time traffic speed and weather data, and standard binomial logit regression (BLR) with random forest (RF)-based variable selection was employed. The key variables contributing to crashes at freeway tunnel access zones during adverse weather conditions were identified as: speeding or failure to maintain a safe distance; no existence of a roadside fence; freeway sections with a distance of 100 to 250 m from the tunnel entrance; and interactions of traffic speed with wet pavement, average hourly rainfall of 6 h, visibility, and humidity preceding crash. The current standards for weather-responsive speed limit adjustment and appropriate deployment of variable message signs can be informed by the findings of this study.

Language: en

Keywords

freeway traffic control; general; highway maintenance; infrastructure; operations; road weather; structures; tunnels and underground structures; weather related crashes