Novel semi-quantitative risk model based on AHP: A case study of US driving risks

Road safety is a priority, worldwide. The European Commission aims to reduce fatalities by 2030. The same goal was set for the US. These goals stem from the World Health Organization's (WHO's) broader global context, which has distinctly emphasized a substantial reduction in road traffic injuries. Although different risk factors were observed in different geographical locations, the major risk factors for all locations were similar. They involve influencing human behavior, such as speeding or driving. Several methods have been used to better understand and extract risk factors. However, the complexity of road traffic implies the need for a multi-criteria method. As a result, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) has emerged as a potential method for this type of risk. The AHP is commonly associated with the use of qualitative methods such as surveys. We propose a novel semi-quantitative multi-criteria risk model (SMCRisk) based on the AHP, deployed in a quantitative and partially qualitative manner by adding a severity factor. The multi-level framework differentiates between the driver's behavior and the driver's state. Our method results correspond to a real situation and confirm that driver behavior and state are major risk factors. In future, this method will lay the foundation for integrating a fully quantitative method by considering the potential use of data originating directly from the IoT, which is a part of our research on holistic risk assessment.