Road Safety and Pavement Characteristics: Defining Novel Safety Performance Functions and Crash Modification Factors

Dear Colleagues,

Road safety is a critical issue that affects millions of people globally. While various factors contribute to road accidents, pavement surface characteristics, such as friction and surface roughness, and road equipment, such as road lighting, road barriers, roadside conditions, road signs, and road markings, play a significant role in determining the safety of drivers and passengers. To address this pressing issue, we are calling for contributions to a Special Issue that will focus on the impact of road properties on accident causations. The goal of this Special Issue is to bring together experts in the field to provide a comprehensive examination of the latest developments in road safety.

The Special Issue will specifically address the need to define novel safety performance functions (SPFs) and crash modification factors (CMFs) to better understand the relationship between road surface characteristics, road equipment, and accident causations. Empirical studies that focus on road-related features that have not yet been explored are especially welcome. Additionally, new theoretical, statistical, and data-driven approaches for defining SPFs and CMFs could be of interest to the present Special Issue. The Special Issue will be of great interest to academicians, researchers, and practitioners working in the fields of road safety, transportation engineering, and accident analysis. The focus on road surface characteristics and road equipment, and their impact on accident causations, will provide valuable insights for policymakers, road planners, and design engineers, who can use this information to make informed decisions and improve the road safety for all.

We welcome original research papers, reviews, and relevant empirical studies proposing novelty on the investigated road-related features. The Special Issue will provide an opportunity for researchers to share their latest findings, methodologies, and ideas, and to engage in constructive discussions on the future direction of road safety research. Topics of interest to be accounted for within safety performance functions and crash modification factors include (but are not limited to) the following: road pavement properties, road pavement friction, road surface roughness, road lighting, road barriers, roadside conditions, road markings, and road geometry (horizontal and vertical alignment).

Dr. Nicholas Fiorentini
Dr. Pietro Leandri
Guest Editors

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