Before-After Freeway Accident Analysis using Cluster Algorithms

This study illustrates an application of Cluster Analysis to a problem “After-Before”. Experimental analysis, by using Cluster algorithms, was carried out on segments situated in the Southern Italy freeway. Through these algorithms it was possible to build partition (hazardous zone) and estimate the relative hazard. These groupings have been used, after introducing hazardous zone index“, to build a predictive model of accidents (obtained through a multiple regression). The reliability of this model, used to simulate the situation “Before-After”, resulted very interesting; in fact the results were very hopeful because the maximum error returned by model is about 10%