Influences of flow rate and free flow speed on road accidents: A case study along Jalan Batu Pahat-Kluang (FT 050)

Abstract

Many factors contribute to road accidents on a particular road. Jalan Batu Pahat-Kluang (FT 050) is the main road connecting two major towns in Johor, namely Batu Pahat and Kluang. It is a four-lane undivided highway which has a total average daily traffic (ADT) of over 25,000 veh/day. According to statistical data obtained from the PDRM Batu Pahat traffic branch, there were a total of 4,963 accidents happened during the period of 2002-2006 along Jalan Batu Pahat-Kluang (FT 050). This caused 160 fatalities and 1,027 injuries. A study relating flow rate and free flow speed to accident frequency was done and results show that flow rate has a strong positive effect on road accidents along Jalan Batu Pahat- Kluang (FT 050) while free flow speed relates to accident indirectly as an effect of flow rate.