Running head: Community problem report 1

The Effects of Hazardous Highway Conditions on Road Safety

Michael A. Nigro
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

Accidents on roads from the United States to around the world, tend to happen frequently. This
not only leads to thousands of deaths per year but also disables many individuals. Whether
theyre bystanders or ignorant people who chose to operate their vehicles recklessly, many deaths
still continue to happen. This article stands to analyze the different factors that can lead to
accidents on the road. By isolating minor issue that have a large factor in creating hazardous road
condition, this article will explore, not only the engineering process but also other key factors.
These may include the effects of age of a driver as well as the effects of new technologies and
how they can be used to either improve driving conditions or be a distraction. Some of these
causes might be described as the root cause of road accidents in which reform is needed.
Keywords: Accidents, hazards, driving conditions, engineering process

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The Effects of Hazardous Highway Conditions on Road Safety

As our society advances often unforeseen problems can surface and become a massive
affairs, one of the major concerning issues is the amount of roadside related accidents that
happen yearly. According to the Association for safe international road travel a total of 37,000
deaths are caused by vehicle related crashes yearly in the United States and 1.3 million deaths
also happen on global scale. While most individuals will typically brush this off as a natural
occurring event that cannot be controlled this growing issue can be controlled and should be
rectified as soon as possible in order to prevent further loss. While these circumstances range
from a simple problem such as distracted driver to harsh weather, often not the cause is
dangerous conditions.

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The Engineering process

Often when working as a highway engineer there is a plethora of factors that go into designing,
maintaining and repairing roadways. One large factor that goes into the process is the
acknowledgement of hazards and finding their possible solutions. In the manual Highway
Engineering by DANIEL J. FINDLEY, BASTIAN J. SCHROEDER, CHRISTOPHER M.
CUNNINGHAM, And THOMAS H. BROWN Jr.,the writers stress many details. Such as the
importance long lasting highways that are able to hold up to dangerous conditions but also
preventing these conditions from occurring. A highlight of this is the comment, How do we
know that a highway is functioning as designed (from an efficiency and safety perspective)?
made within the first chapter of the book. By questioning the design of a highway or road they
subliminally inform the audience that an effective highway engineer should adjust towards
changing conditions, since our society is in a constant state of growth. They also stress the
development of highways such as where costs are spent in the quote in chapter nine of the book
it has been estimated that as much as 25% of the cost of a typical highway goes into providing
the proper drainage along the highway right of way. In this situation the writers goes into detail
of the financial costs when constructing a highway in which a fourth of the cost goes into
avoiding flooding. This shows a general concern for flooding and hazardous weather in general
and a focus of prevent such conditions from developing. Although current transportation systems
may not be at the preferred specification for preventing hazards these problems are still a large
issue. However, if the proper action is taken to prevent and negate them, such as the
implementation of new technologies, the suggestions made in engineering manuals, and new
ideas of removing hazards, these issues can be resolved.

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How do Real contractors play a factor?1

When comes to constructing highways and roads often times the biggest issues that come
with preparing road for proper conditions, is the group in charge and the amount of funding. This
was one an important detail that was stressed when Sal Nigro, a construction inspector for the
Texas department of transportation, was asked several questions. As the interview progressed he
went into detail on the various constraints that most contractors and highway engineers go into.
which was the constraints of their governing body to which they must operate under, and the
amount of funding for each project is one of the largest influences in the design process. He went
in to detail of explaining the amount of caution on guardrails and drainage to where if there is a
change that has not been reevaluated Tx-dot will refuse to use that guardrail due to the dangers
that guardrail pose already. This caution means that designing safety margins for all structures is
a necessity in order to avoid any individual from receiving fatal to some moderate injuries. In
cases where there is a focus on saving funds in order to maximize profit people will end up being
seriously injured or even can die. Such as the accusation made by Joshua Harman in the article
Lawsuit blames guardrail failures for horrific crashes by STEPHEN DAVIS AND BRYAN
POLCYN in 2014 shown by Fox 6 news. This show that most groups in charge of constructing
maintaining and repairing the highways and roads are conscious of the types of dangers, despite
this most engineers and contractors struggle most likely due to their harsh constraints of budget
and jurisdiction in some cases.

Weather Conditions. Sometimes when vehicular accidents occur the harsh condition is
caused by bad weather conditions or a poorly prepared road. However this issue requires a more

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specified focus on the area that the road or highway is located near. Often times the biggest
influence is flooding, due to its catastrophic affects. In the Highway engineering handbook the
author, Roger L. Brockenbrough, mentions that when working on a road or highway an engineer
must constantly balance the cost versus effectiveness constantly. Which by letting cost be a large
influence on the design process leads to possible cheap solutions that are not always as effective
as situations where if a larger budget was used then the problem would be negligent. This was
also covered by Thomas Brown Jr. in the engineering manual, Highway engineering part nine
hydraulics, where he explained that most engineers will save cost by designing bridges for a fifty
year storm and normal roads only for a ten year storm. This instance it is a cost effective solution
however, this causes in some cases where a better more costly form drainage is needed and the
road is ill prepared for large bodies of water resulting in excessive flooding and higher chances
of accidents as a result.
Effects of age. One final factor is the effects of age as some studies show as the age of a
driver increases the fine motor control decreases. One study written by Joanne M. Wood for the
Queensland University of Technology proved that when conducted over a large age group
ranging from individuals in their 20s to their 70s showed this when testing for motor control of
the individual. This in turn shows while driving the user is susceptible to issues that occur such
as the loss of finite motor control and quick reaction times. Other issues that might occur as a
result of age is overconfidence in the driver as a result of years of driving which leads to the
driver themselves being reckless in decision making. While this is already being assessed by
most state or nation departments of transportation it still is a factor that cannot be overlooked.

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Conclusion.

When it comes to working and maintaining roads and major highways it is

understandable that there are issues faced when combating hash condition and causes of
accidents. This although a valid point stands to show that reform is needed in order to rectify
these issues. Some New technologies that can be added would include is the use of specialized
concretes such as one being developed by the company such as Tarmac (as mentioned by Chris
well in the article This 'thirsty' concrete absorbs 880 gallons of water a minute), and the use of
more efficient response alerting systems such as the use G.P.S. as mentioned by Thomas Cova
and Steven Conger in the highway engineering manual section 28.6. By Appling newer
technologies and giving contractors and engineer some less harsh constraints and a more flexible
budget while, making sure they do not avoid proper techniques that must be used these problem
can be fixed in a matter of time

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References
DANIEL J. FINDLEY , BASTIAN J. SCHROEDER, CHRISTOPHER M.
CUNNINGHAM, And THOMAS H. BROWN Jr.
. 2015 . Highway Engineering ; Part 9 Hydraulics . Elsevier In
Roger L. Brockenbrough: Highway Engineering Handbook: Building and Rehabilitating the
Infrastructure, Third Edition. CULVERTS, DRAINAGE, AND REPLACEMENTS FOR
BRIDGES, Chapter 5(McGraw-Hill Professional, 2009 2003 1996), AccessEngineering.
Sal. Nigro, personal communication, October 18, 2015
Author unknown. (2002-2015).Association For Safe international Road Travel. Retrieved from
http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crashstatistics
Weller Chris. (Sep. 28, 2015, 4:02 PM) This 'thirsty' concrete absorbs 880 gallons of water a
minute

here's how it works [Web log comment]. Retrieved from

http://www.techinsider.io/how-magical-concrete-absorbs-water-2015-9
STEPHEN DAVIS AND BRYAN POLCYN,(2014, February 11). Lawsuit blames guardrail
failures for horrific crashes. Fox 6. Retrieved from
http://fox6now.com/2014/02/11/lawsuit-blames-guardrail-failures-for-horrific-crashes/
Joanne M. Wood, (December 1, 2015) . Age and Visual Impairment Decrease Driving
Performance as Measure on a Closed-Circuit Road (The Effects of Age, Gender, and
Hand on Force Control Capabilities of Healthy Adults) Retrieved from
http://hfs.sagepub.com/content/44/3/482.short