Development of safety-based guidelines for cost-effective utility pole treatment along highway rights-of-way

This study was conducted to develop a methodology to predict utility pole accident rates and to evaluate cost-effectiveness for safety improvement for utility pole accidents. The utility pole accident rate prediction model was based on the encroachment rate approach introduced in the Transportation Research Board Special Report 214. The utility pole accident rate on a section of highway depends on the roadside encroachment rate and the lateral extent of encroachment. The encroachment rate is influenced by the horizontal and vertical alignment of the highway as well as traffic volume and mean speed. The lateral extent of encroachment is affected by the horizontal and vertical alignment, the mean speed and the roadside slope. An analytical method to generate the probability distribution function for the lateral extent of encroachment was developed for six kinds of encroachment types by the horizontal alignment, encroachment direction. The encroachment rate was calibrated with the information on highway and roadside conditions and the utility pole accident records collected on the sections of 55mph speed limit of the State Trunk Highway 12 in Wisconsin. The encroachment rate on a tangent segment was calibrated as a function of traffic volume with the actual average utility pole accident rates by traffic volume strategies. The adjustment factors for horizontal and vertical alignment were then derived by comparing the actual average utility pole accident rates to the estimations from the model calibrated for tangent sections.;The distribution of number of utility pole accidents under the same prevailing conditions is represented by the "Poisson Distribution". Unusually hazardous sections can be identified by comparing the actual number of utility pole accidents to the system-wide average of predicted utility pole accident rate. A computerized benefit-cost analysis procedure was then developed as a means of evaluating alternative measures from reducing utility pole accidents. The program calculates the benefit-cost ratio and the percent of reduction of utility pole accidents resulting from the implementation of a safety improvement. This program can be used to develop safety improvement alternatives for utility pole accidents when a predetermined performance level is specified.