A risk-exposure-resources approach for incorporating the performance efficiency in developing composite safety performance index

ABSTRACT

Evaluating and comparing the safety performance of a group of spatial regions (i.e., countries, states, provinces, etc.) is an interesting topic among researchers and decision makers. This study proposes a composite safety performance index that takes performance efficiency into account. This is done using a three-dimensional approach called ‘Risk-Exposure-Resources’. Actually, in addition to the risk and exposure indicators, four variables pertaining to the safety equipment and resources allocated to each spatial unit are considered in the analysis as indicators of the Resources dimension. As a case study, the safety performance of provinces of Iran was evaluated and compared using two approaches, i.e., ‘Risk-Exposure’ and ‘Risk-Exposure-Resources’ approach. Results indicate that inefficient use of available resources can lead to an increase in the size of safety problem. Thus, the Risk-Exposure-Resources framework might be regarded as an appropriate complementary tool for evaluating the safety performance and facilitating fair comparison among subnational regions.

KEYWORDS:

• Road safety performance
• composite index
• performance efficiency
• transportation safety

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.