Spatial Data Tools to Analyze Crash and Roadway Data

Client: PennDOT

PennDOT engaged GeoDecisions to conduct research into best practices in the use of geospatial software tools for highway safety analyses. The goals of the effort were to define a methodology for PennDOT to follow in identifying the best candidate locations for highway safety improvements and to develop a proof of concept to test the proposed methodology.

After conducting interviews and workshops involving more than 35 PennDOT stakeholders in highway safety processes, GeoDecisions interviewed highway safety managers in five other state and federal highway agencies to identify innovative tools and practices currently being used. GeoDecisions’ also researched information from more than 80 sources.

Based on GeoDecisions research and analysis, PennDOT selected the “Highway Safety Data Relationships Knowledge-base” methodology for further research. The knowledge base is based on concepts in data mining and expert systems and uses advanced statistical analysis methods and expert business knowledge rules to discover data patterns. The knowledge base can be applied to diagnosing specific combinations of data attributes and features that may indicate the causative factors among homogeneous populations of crashes.

The knowledge base is an innovative and comprehensive tool that provides a framework for identifying and managing relationships among many combinations of data sets that are useful in highway safety analyses.