HIGHWAY ACCIDENTS - INVESTIGATIONS AND PREVENTION

The problem is local and national because more than 60 per cent of those suffering in road accidents do so within 10 miles of their home. The author outlines the procedure adopted in Clwyd and puts forward economic and viable proposals to reduce their number, severity and cost with a high rate of return. Accidents are classified into four groups according to their severity and computer analysis of police reports in form stats 19 is used to help to select sites for investigation where accident rates are high. The computer is then used to process all the relevant data and produce a visual representation of the dominant patterns called a grid diagram. The site is then visited at an appropriate time to observe if a set pattern occurs. Accidents can be reduced by improving the road users ability to cope or by simplifying the difficulties presented by the environment. A brief outline of accidents at juntions and remedial action is given as an example. Junction accidents are either associated with junction control or not, when the cause can be skidding, parked vehicles and several other causes are listed. Several remedies are proposed to the most common accident types including overshoot and restart. Definitions of accident severity, tables of injury, accidents per kilometre of classified roads in Clwyd and the method of analysing accidents at hazardous locations are given in the appendices. (TRRL)