A fuzzy decision-support system in road safety planning

Abstract

The objective of this research was to develop a decision-support system to help road safety policy makers make the right choices in road safety planning based on the efficiency of previously implemented safety measures. The measures considered for each region in the study include performance indicators about police operations, treated black spots, freeway and highway facility supplies, speed control cameras, emergency medical services and road lighting projects. To this end, an inefficiency measure is calculated, defined by the proportion of fatality rates in relation to the combined measure of road safety performance indicators, which should be minimised. The relative inefficiency for each region is modelled using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique, which follows a benchmarking and target-setting process. In the next step, a fuzzy decision-making system is constructed to convert the information obtained from the DEA into a rule-based system that can be used by policy makers to evaluate the expected outcomes of certain alternative investment strategies in road safety. Using the resultant fuzzy decision-support system, policy makers can analyse alternative strategies in addition to those unique targets suggested by the DEA benchmarking and target-setting process.