Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal, {Bi-Monthly}, ISSN 2249-9598, Volume-VI, Nov 2016 Special Issue (1)

The Influence of Road Infrastructure in Road Safety

Luiza Lluri
“ Aleksandër Moisiu ” University, Professional Studies Faculty, Department of Mechanic
and Transport, Durrës, Albania

Abstract
Road infrastructure is the central element of a road transport system. In
general, the road infrastructure would need to be designed and operated in such a way
that road users understand what they can expect and what is expected from them. As a
wide area, it covers land use and network planning, (re)construction and design of road
sections and intersections, signing and marking, maintenance etc.
Modern road traffic systems and roadside design can significantly reduce injury in the
event of an accident. Roundabouts, for example, can reduce collisions by up to 40% and
serious injuries and fatalities by up to 90%.
This study analyzes the factors of road accidents as a result of the poor infrastructure. The
conclusion is that the design and condition of all roads therefore road, road sections and
road elements (as junction, pedestrian crossings etc.) should be assessed under the point
of view of road safety. New roads should be audited at the construction planning stage
and existing roads should be inspected regularly. Sections and locations with high
accident concentration should be identified and remedial measures should be taken.
To improve the situation of road safety in the 3656 km of state roads and 14644 km of
urban, rural and local roads in Albania, institutionally through attendance and action
plans programmed by the respective ministries, should be possible realization of three
tasks defined for this purpose:
1. Design of road construction or reconstruction of their own, accompanied by projects of
road signs and other elements of security circulation.
2. Monitoring process for quality realization of these projects, performing and their audit
in accordance with international standards.
3. The process of periodic or routine maintenance, necessarily include works related to
improving the road infrastructure and elements defender of the road.
KEYWORDS: road infrastructure, road safety, the road performance indicators.

Introduction
Road infrastructure can be defined as the basic of facilities, services and
installations needed for the functioning of transport on highway, roads, and streets. There
is very important taking into account the limited human information processing capacity
and resulting mistakes human beings are capable of. Road locations that have a record of
large numbers of crashes are stretches of road within a distance of 200-300 m where
accidents have happened during a period of 2 up to 3 years. That means there is a
potential risk for accidents to happen again in the future therefore road infrastructure and
road signs should improve with engineering methods.
There are already about 144 spots identified in the road network that are particularly
dangerous. Having available a road accident data is very important for any system of road

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safety management. Details of the accident are required to identify the purpose of road
safety problems and rising public information. The data provide the best way to explore
the prevention of accidents and ways of implementing the measures for reducing the size
of serious accidents.
Contribution of factors such as the characteristics of the road and traffic parameters of
vehicles, information on the persons involved in the accident should be recorded in the
most good. A number of projects have to be identified and designed for the elimination of
dangerous roads in the Albanian national roads network. Implementation of the works
designed will then be followed by the Albanian Roads Authority that is the entity in
charge for management of the national road network. For the maintenance of roads in our
country are applied performance contracts with private contractors. The contracting
authorities for this service are Road Regional Directories a total of three divisions. These
types of contracts currently maintained about 70% of the national road network (from
3656 km of the national road network, 2560 km are serviced by third parties
(contractors).

Methodology
This study is based on results of the causes of road accidents for the period 2010-
2014 as a result of poor road infrastructure. A site is considered to be dangerous when its
priority value (P), calculated using the following formula, equals 15 or more: P = X +
3*Y + 5*Z, where X = total number of light injuries; Y= total number of serious injuries;
Z = total number of deadly injuries. The analysis is based on annual reports on road
accidents by INSTAT1 of the number of deaths and seriously injured. It will also respond
to the performance indicators which should be changed to improve road safety by halving
the number of deaths by 2020. Then brought the best practices used in developed
countries to eliminate dangerous roads. Finally are given recommendations for creating a
safe road infrastructure.

Procedure
"Road" is a basic component of road safety. With all the work that has been done
and continues to be to build new roads or rehabilitation of existing ones, it is not realized
at the level required, accordance with the provisions of the Highway Code, completion of
all elements of road safety. A part of the road network is incomplete and, as such, lacks
road protection dhe road signaling and completion with other elements of road safety, as:
pedestrian crossings, guardrails, delineators, shevrons etc. Lack of security conditions, on
our country roads occur each year around 2100 accidents with 340 fatalities and 2600
injured, a number that is due to roads without construction standards and with signs
missing, or mislead. Below, in table 1, is given the distribution of road network in
Albania.

1
INSTAT is the statistics institute in Albania

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Table 1
Distribution of road network
Nr Type of road Item Quantity
1 National road km 3656
2 Rural road km 13644
3 Urban road km 1000

According to INSTAT report on road accidents, we have the following data:

Table 2
Accidents causing
casualties Year
Prefectures 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Durrës 297 286 233 242 236
Elbasan 89 100 114 204 111
Fier 130 124 196 240 200
Lezhë 74 178 162 164 156
Shkodër 121 163 150 152 128
Tiranë 570 656 623 718 695
1,56 1,87 1,87
Sum 4 6 0 2,075 1,914

Table 3
Accidents resulting in
death Year
Prefectures 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Durrës 66 38 36 42 30
Fier 48 29 47 25 41
Lezhë 32 36 34 34 25
Shkodër 38 28 28 34 23
Tiranë 70 68 71 57 50
Sum 352 322 334 295 264

Because of this number of accidents, we ranked countries with the highest level of
accidents in Europe. Accepted by road specialists, the roads in Albania are outside of the
technical and physical parameters in many national axes, as: Fier-Berat, Tepelenë-Ballsh,
Këlcyrë-Leskovik, Lushnjë-Berat, Gjirokastër-Sarandë, Bushat-Pukë, Fier-Ballsh,
Tiranë-Burrel-Peshkopi etc. The causes of accidents due to road geometry and lighting
conditions, referring to the data of road safety report for 2013 of TMI2, are given
respectively in tables 4, 5.

2
TMI2 is Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure

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Tabel 4 According to the geometry of the road3

Accident Seriousness
Geometry of the road Fatal Flesh-wound Injuries serious
Total
-- Straight road 176 926 267
1369
+ Crossing 10 71 12
93
= Crossing road/Hekurudhe 2
2
C-turn 43 230 68
341
O-round 5 33 2
40
T- crossing 14 131 21
166
Tunnel 1
1
X-crossing 8 26 7
41
-Crossing 3 13 6
22
Total 259 1433 383
2075

Tabel 5 According to the lighting conditions

Accident Seriousness
Lighting Conditions Fatal Flesh-wound Injuries serious
Total
Dawn/ twilight 20 100 25
145
Day 144 969 237
1350
Unknown 5 2
7
Night 95 359 119
573
Total 259 1433 383
2075

According to INSTAT data on road accidents during 2015, resultes an increase of 15.8%
compared with the third quarter of 2014. The number of accidents during the quarter was
586 where the number of deaths in road accidents turns out to be 72. Compared with the
3
Source:.http://www.instat.gov.al/al/home.aspx Road traffic accidents (1995-2014)

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third quarter of 2014 the indicator is decreased by 1.4%, while the number of people
injured is 733, compared with the same period of last year this number is increased by
19.4%.

Some indications of uncertainty in Albania's roads are:

1. In 85% of the length of the Albanian national roads, have no overpasses or
underpasses, while on the national axes have 473 switch nodes in settlements, forced
crossings movements of population and intermediate input-output.
2. In about 40% of the length of the Albanian national roads, lacking the necessary
mandatory signs self-management for a normal and safe traffic of the drivers.
3. In about 35% of the length of the Albanian national roads, orientation tables and signs
of circulation are located in complete contradiction with practical concrete terms
orientation for normal road traffic and safe.
4. In about 20% of the length of the Albanian national roads, tables and traffic signposts
are invisible and disposal of injuries, stealing or deleting the imagery.
5. In about 60% of the length of the Albanian national roads, especially highways, even
on overpasses, signposting traffic are covered by advertising giant private firms, which
are adjacent to the side walls of the streets, while according to the law should be more
than 20 meters away from their.
6. In 70% of cases, policemen of road control, unlawfully, remain hidden dhe suddenly
appear on the road setting up tables for stopping only 30-40 meters in front of vehicles,
introducing the drivers in the penalty pressure, anxiety, stress and sudden loss of control
of vehicle.
7. In about 65% of the length of the Albanian national roads, only 30% are completed
with technical and physical security to move normally without consequences. In figure 1
is given a Black Spots Map, with 210 spots, which will help us in our future work to plan
the investments fund for road safety. One of the most problematic is the Tirana-Durres
motorway that has 39 black spots or different hazardous saying because in each of them
within a year have occurred at least three accidents.

Figure 1 Black Spots Map of Albania

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Best practices
a. Re construction and design. There are numerous handbooks on road design and road
construction, some of them specifically focusing on designing for safety, e.g. the
Highway design and traffic safety engineering handbook and the Road Safety Mannual.
Two central requirements for a safe design are:
The design characteristics need to be consistent with the function of a road and
the behavioural requirements (e.g. speed);
The design characteristics need to be consistent along a particular stretch of road.
A part of the road that should not be forgotten is the roadside. Obstacles alongside the
road, such as trees, severely aggravate the consequences of a crash, once a vehicle runs
off the road. Paved shoulders increase the opportunity for a driver to correct and return to
their lane in time. Obstacle avoidance roadsides or roadsides protected by guard rails
prevent secondary collisions once a driver cannot correct in time. Flexible or break‐away
roadside fixtures such as, light poles and signs, reduce the chance of serious injury in
case of a collision.
b. Low speed zones in residential areas. For safety, low speeds are essential when
motorised vehicles use the same space as pedestrians and cyclists. In many countries, low
speed zones have been introduced in residential areas, near schools and in shopping
areas. In Europe, 30 km/h zones are most common. In home zones the maximum speed is
even lower: 10‐15 km/h. In both cases, it is insufficient to just put up a speed limit sign.
Low speeds must be maintained by physical measures, such as road narrowings, speed
humps and curves. Benches, flower beds, play areas, and trees improve the aesthetic
experience. Low speed zones can be part of more general traffic calming activities.
Traffic calming not only aims to establish low speeds, but also to reduce the amount of
motorised traffic in specific areas or urbanwide, by discouraging through traffic and
promoting walking, cycling and public transport. The implementation and maintenance
costs depend on the size of the zone and the features installed.
c. Roundabouts are aimed at lowering junction speeds and removing right angle and
head‐on collisions. Roundabouts also have a greater capacity than normal give‐way or
signalized junctions. A driver approaching a roundabout is forced to lower his entry
speed, which reduces crash severity. The roundabouts, in general, are characterized by a
pure circular design, a narrow carriageway, radially oriented entry roads and right‐of‐way
of the traffic on the roundabout. Replacing a junction with a roundabout is generally the
initiative of the road authorities and has to be decided on by local or regional
governments. When converting an ordinary junction to a roundabout, injury crashes will
decrease by 32% for a three‐leg junction and 41% for a four‐leg junction. The
benefit‐cost ratio when converting a typical three or four leg junction to a roundabout is
around 2.
d. Signs and markings can provide important information to improve road safety. They
regulate, warn and guide road users. By letting people know what to expect, chances are
greater that they will react and behave appropriately. Signs and markings need to be
applied in a consistent way, to be placed at logical locations, and be easy to understand
and visible. This also means that underlying traffic regulations such as local speed limits
need to be established on clear and consistent principles. The visibility of signs and
markings needs to be checked regularly to avoid them being hidden by overgrown trees
or blurred by sunlight. The use of retro‐reflective material is needed to ensure night‐time

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visibility. Road side signs must be used sparsely. Road users are only able to process a
limited amount of information at a time. Too many signs at a particular spot may confuse
and distract road users rather than help them. Too many signs may also result in
non‐compliance and disrespect.
e. Rumble strips are milled into the asphalt surface of a road shoulder or between lanes
in opposite directions in combination with ordinary road markings. Rumble strips vibrate
and make a noise when a vehicle passes over them and alert drivers to the potential crash
danger changing lanes poses. Crashes resulting from lane departure, head‐on collisions
and off‐road crashes mostly have severe consequences and contribute to a large segment
of severely injured or killed road users. The installation of rumble strips is usually the
responsibility of national or regional roads administrations. The number of injury crashes
can be reduced by over 30% by shoulder rumble strips and by over 10% by centreline
rumble strips. Therefore the immediate task is completion of the roads with all elements
of road safety, as well as intervention for the improvement of black spots in the national
axes.

Other factors to be considered

A.The role of lighting in road safety
About 30% accidents occurred in conditions of darkness are generally heavier, referring
to deaths and injuries. The main cause lies in the fact that darkness reduces the quality
and quantity of visual information needed by the driver in a correct direction of vehicle.
Actually reduced visual ability, contrast sensitivity, ability to gauge distances vehicles,
speed of perception, the difference of colour and the tolerance of blinding lights. The
final result is a drastic reduction of visibility at night. Headlights of car dealerships are
not enough to provide the driver with information on safety and efficacy, especially when
the roads are trafficked or characterized by a complex geometry with the presence of
intersections and interventions. It has been confirmed by numerous studies, run by
different countries on the relationship between lighting and accidents, whereby lighting
brings an overall reduction in the number of accidents at night, including 13% to 75%
according to the type of road. Such studies, among others, identify an average reduction
of accidents at intersections not less than 40%. It is understood however that road
intersections (or phased plan) and the entrances to the main roads, are key points of a
road network.
B.The influence of moisture on the asphalt in road safety
Collection and disposal of waste water as a result of changes in the weather (rain) from
road surfaces if not supported correctly, can lead to reducing the levels of safety offered
by the road infrastructure. Wastewater collection and their slow removal causes obstacles
in reducing road traffic and conditions of friction This can cause a dangerous
phenomenon called "aquaplaning" represented by a progressive loss of contact between
the wheel (rubber) and the floor of the road, caused by a layer of the liquid (fluid)
between the two surfaces. Have considered the fact that pour water on the road plan could
generate serious difficulties in the movement of pedestrians and consequently the
reduction of visibility caused by an increase in the level of hydro layer, present in the
road plan. Statistics on road accidents in recent years, about 20% of accidents on the road
are made on wet road background.

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Trends and forecasts for the future include:

o reducing the number of road accidents in the action plan of the national road
safety strategy,
o placing the barriers between the carriageways and side barriers, to minimize the
possibility of overtaking vehicles,
o elimination of overlapping of secondary roads with main roads, the lightness of
roundabouts on national roads, completion of all road network with contemporary
signage,
o intervention for the elimination of black spots initially in the national road
network, gradually and local,
o reducing of speed limits on all road networks, especially in urban routes.

Conclusions
To improve the situation of road safety, in 3656 km of state roads and 14644 km of urban
roads, rural and local by pursuing institutionally and by programmed action plans from
ITM and IM, it should be possible realization of three tasks defined for this purpose:
Signs (horizontal, vertical and complementary) should provide a good readability
of road in all weather conditions and visibility (day, night, humidity, drought, fog) to
ensure clear readability and safe direction.
Monitoring process for quality realization of these projects, and audit conducted
in accordance with international standards.
ARA4, developing institutional capacities within it, shall schedule and conduct
during road construction design, or their reconstruction, the design of further
implementation of the road signs and other elements of traffic safety.
The process of periodic or routine maintenance, necessarily have to include works
related to improving the road infrastructure and defense elements of it.
Expenses related to road safety, should be seen as a high priority and as an
investment in time and space.
Towards achieving the objective of the national road safety should be given
special importance completing roads with traffic sorter, metal protectors (guardrails),
delineators and other elements of road signs conform to standards, especially on roads
national.

References
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Black Spots For National Highway Using GIS”.
[3] Berhanu, G. (2000):” Effects of Road Safety and Traffic Factors in Ethiopia”.
[4] Kent Sjölinder & Mr.Hans: “Black Spot Manual”.
[5] K. Geurts, G. Wets: “Black Spot Analysis Methods”.

4
Albanian Roads Authority

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[6] Liyamol Isen, Shibu A, Saran M. S: ‘’Identification And Analysis Of Accident Black
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