A study carried out for the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) in 2011 focussed on the
key performance measures needed for effective management of rural road network infrastructure,
with emphasis on system preservation and safety. The latter area, as described in this paper,
noted that the current state-of-practice in Canada uses accident rate per million vehicle-km of
travel (MVKT) as the most common measure. This is also the case for various other international
jurisdictions. A framework for road network performance measures is defined in the paper. It
includes safety as a key component and emphasizes that the measures should integrate the
objectives involved with stakeholder interests and tie in to transportation values. Recommended
performance measures for safety in the TAC Study are categorized into three tiers, with Tier 1
incorporating collision rate and fatality rate per MVKT. Comparison and communication of
safety performance in the TAC Study is recommended to consist of a distribution plot of agency
3-year mean values; then the agency’s overall average collision rate and fatality rate would be
compared to the national average using standard deviations to determine whether the record is
above or below the national average. Best practices for obtaining the necessary data underlying
performance measures are also recommended in the paper.
