Economic Benefit Assessment of Black Spot Improvements

Abstract

Road transport remains the most favoured mode of transport for both freight and passenger movement in India. The fast-growing population, exceptional rate of motorization coupled with the ever-growing urbanization have made people vulnerable to frequent road accidents resulting in fatalities, injuries/disabilities. The number of fatalities related to road accidents in India has been on an upward trend for the last two decades. Black spots account for a major portion of the total road accident fatalities for the past 3 years. Hence, it is important to undertake appropriate countermeasures to improve the geometric aspects of such black spot locations in a systematic and cost-effective manner. In this paper, the city of Nagpur has been identified as the test bed to understand the efficacy of the economic benefit assessment of black spot improvement by estimating the impact of the proposed countermeasures for four identified black spots in the Nagpur rad network. In this regard, road crash data obtained from Nagpur Police in the form of First Information Reports (FIRs) were analysed to identify the black spots conforming to the protocol of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The geometric countermeasures deduced for the four most severe black spots are discussed followed by the economic benefit assessment with the primary objective to demonstrate the estimated reduction in fatalities as well as the total number of crashes which can happen due to the proposed intervention at the identified black spots. The methods adopted in this study are benefit-cost ratio method, net present value method and economic internal rate of return method as prescribed by the Indian Roads Congress. As a result of the proposed countermeasures, it is estimated that there is a significant decrease in both fatal and serious injury crashes. It is hoped that the above study will serve as an eye-opener for the relevant stakeholders in terms of undertaking steps towards the implementation of the suggested black spot remedial measures. Apart from the above engineering measures, proper enforcement and road safety campaigns that educate the road users about the potential dangers need to be implemented.