Road Safety Assessment in Seaside Tourism Area Using iRAP Star Rating Technique

Abstract

The traffic accidents of tourists, have seriously affected the image of tourism industry in Thailand. However, Thailand is a group of countries with a high risk of road accidents. Physical characteristics of roads and speed behavior that do not conform to the characteristics of space usage and is an important factor in accidents. Therefore, it has to raise the level of safety in line with international standards. This research used to assess the road safety process with the iRAP method to evaluate the star rating based on the physical characteristics of the road, which affects the actual speed used. iRAP was divided into four groups: cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, and bicycles. The researchers evaluated the target tourist areas of two provinces including Chonburi and Phuket due to road in the area with the highest volume of tourism in the country. The study found that the security level of iRAP (Star rating) in the majority is between one and three stars. Researchers have proposed for improving guidelines for responsible institutions of road safety with international standards.