Effective Usage of Harmful Events Data in Transportation Safety Management

The goal of this study is to examine the effective usage of first harmful event (FHE) and most harmful event (MHE) data in transportation safety management by developing strategies to prevent traffic crashes and to reduce injury severities. FHE and MHE data collected from Michigan, North Carolina, and Idaho were analyzed. The analytic procedure consisted of adjusting the events’ data sets from the three states to create a common forum for comparison and to explore patterns or lack thereof in the information pertaining to different types of events and different states. Overall, the authors found some patterns or trends in the events’ data sets, despite the geographic differences between the three states. Based on these patterns, a set of guidelines for the interpretation of the event data is presented. The authors conclude that FHE data can reveal valuable information on roadway features causing crashes, while MHE data can be useful in the design of countermeasures against fatalities or serious injuries. Thus, proper analysis of FHE and MHE data may lead to more informed decisions on safety management strategies by engineers, enforcement personnel, and policy makers.