Department of Civil Engineering

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Course Syllabus: CIVE 437-- Highway Safety

1. Course Number & Name: CIVE 437 (G) – Highway Safety

2. Textbook: No

Important Reference:
o Highway Safety Manual, 1st Edition by AASHTO
o Roadside Safety Design Guide by AASHTO
o Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems by National Cooperative Highway
Research Program (NCHRP)
3. Course Specific Goals:
a. Mastering the fundamental knowledge of highway safety, being able to explain
roadway traffic crash characteristics
b. Understanding roadway safety design concepts (consistency and forgiving) and
practice
c. Being able to apply predictive highway safety models to evaluate safety of a
particular roadway facility (intersection, segment, interchange) safety under various
design and traffic control conditions
d. Being able to conduct safety analysis
e. Being able to perform network screening and diagnostic analysis for highway safety
management systems
f. Understanding human factors in highways safety

4. Brief List of Course Topics:

1. Introduction to highway safety
 Highway Crashes- an Underemphasized Problem
 Highway Safety – a Complex Field
 The 4E approach

2. Highway safety design (elements not covered in conventional highway design

courses)
 Forgiving roadside design
 Geometric design
 Intersection design
 Interchange design
 Access management

3. Human Factor
 Introduction human factors
 Department of Civil Engineering
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
 Driving task model
 Basic road users characteristics and limitation
i. Visual
ii. Attention and distraction
iii. Information handling
iv. Expectancy
v. Perception and reaction time
vi. Speed perception and choice
 Positive guidance
 Impacts of road design

4. Highway safety fundamentals

 Basic Safety Concepts
 Safety Predictive Models
 Safety Evaluation

5. Application of IHSDM program

6. Safety Management System Process

 Network Screening
 Diagnosis
 Select Countermeasures
 Economic Appraisal
 Priorities project
 Safety Effectiveness

5. Grading Policy: Homework 20%

Exam and quiz 40%
Presentations 10%
Final Project 30%