Identification of High Accident Locations involving Farm Equipment on Public Roadsand Similarities Among Those Locations

摘要

The increased safety of farm equipment on public roadways has been the topic of much research for several years. With more farm equipment traveling on roadways at increased speeds, it will continue to be an important topic for research. The objectiveof this research project is to locate areas with high accident rates involving farm equipment (excluding other slow moving vehicles). Then, from this information, identify similarities, if any, within those locations. The primary geographical location ofresearch will be Northwest Tennessee. Data collected from public accident report records obtained from the Tennessee Highway Patrol was entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) database, so high accident locations could be identified. After locations were identified, physical data was gathered concerning the locations, such as number of lanes, presence of a shoulder, presence of equipment warning signs, and other roadway information. Information contained within the public accident records was also considered, such as time of day, weather conditions, and severity of the accident. The goal of the research was to identify locations that have a high rate of accidents involving farm equipment, identify similarities within those locations, suggest preventative measures for the locations that may not currently be in use, and provide characteristics to help identify similar sites to prevent future farm implement accidents.