Evaluation of Road Safety Condition
Authors :- V Shah, J Shah, Y Shah
Publication :- Traffic Management, Operation, Safety and Emerging, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 655. Springer, 2025
School zones are areas around schools where children are present, and due to their smaller size and lack of traffic awareness, children are more vulnerable to traffic accidents than adults. Therefore, extra precautions must be taken to ensure their safety in these zones. Children’s unpredictability, such as running into the street without looking or crossing at undesignated crosswalks, makes them particularly susceptible to accidents. Additionally, their smaller stature makes them less visible to drivers, and they often cannot judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles or react quickly enough to avoid danger. To protect children, school zones typically have lower speed limits and other traffic calming measures. However, studies show that a significant number of children still suffer injuries or fatalities near school zones, prompting research into improving these measures. This research will use a statistical and dilemma zone approach, including road inventory surveys of school sites, and speed and volume surveys, to identify factors contributing to road safety near schools. These factors include road design, traffic speed, driver and child behavior, and traffic law enforcement. The research aims to propose effective strategies for improving road safety in school zones, thereby protecting children from traffic accidents and raising awareness about the importance of road safety in these areas.