Spatial-temporal planning of road traffic speed management mobile resources: Enhancing road traffic safety by optimizing resource utilization

Traffic safety on rural roads in various countries, particularly in developing countries, is a pressing concern, with speeding being a major contributing factor to traffic safety issues and crashes. This study introduces a framework for improving rural road traffic safety through the spatial-temporal planning of mobile traffic safety resources with consideration of fixed ones as part of speed management programs. Our framework involves converting traffic data into inputs for an optimization model, which serves as a safety tool for traffic safety decision-makers. This tool indicates the time for mobile resources to visit each location. First, potential locations and their relative shares are determined based on a comprehensive analysis of road crash records, road properties, and fixed speed management resource locations, using the location-allocation model in ArcGIS. Then, the optimization model allocates traffic safety resources, considering both distance and time halo effects, which increase the unpredictability of these resources for drivers. A mathematical tool within the proposed framework is introduced to use mobile traffic safety resources in rural areas. This framework is particularly beneficial for developing countries, where resource allocations are planned solely based on the expertise of local professionals, rather than analytical methods. The results demonstrated through a case study on the Arak-Salafchegan Road show effective allocation and relocation of these resources to hotspot locations over time, considering real-world limitations, halo effects, and resource distribution, to improve rural road traffic safety. The framework offers a novel tool to tackle rural road traffic safety challenges. By integrating historical data analysis, integer programming, and real-world insights, the approach provides a robust solution that can be adopted by traffic authorities to make roadways safer.