Simultaneous consideration of the accident and terror risks for hazardous materials transportation

We develop a methodology that incorporates the risk of terrorist attacks as well as the traditional accident risks. We consider the terrorist attacks against a single hazmat vehicle as well as a convoy including hazmat vehicles. Convoy formations, vehicle placements and movements, terrorists' attack capabilities are analysed in detail to estimate the undesirable consequences of an attack. A case study focusing on Turkey is developed. The proposed risk assessment method is incorporated in a GIS framework to identify the best paths among the common origin-destination pairs. Our findings indicate the necessity to update the traditional hazmat risk models in terror-prone areas, since there are significant changes in the optimal routes when the terror risk is also included. We suggest that hazmat vehicles should utilise wider, well-maintained roads in the event of a terrorist attack. It is advisable to integrate hazmat vehicles into convoys rather than allowing them to travel independently.