Reliability Analysis Approach for Intersection Sight Distance of a Symmetrical Single-Lane Roundabout

The current intersection sight distance values on a roundabout provided by ASSHTO and other worldwide guidelines are based on deterministic methods considering only single variables as the design inputs. However, most of the input design variables such as entering speed and the deceleration rate are random variables which are stochastic in nature. Therefore, this study proposes a reliability analysis approach to add uncertainty to the current deterministic models. Two different reliability approaches; the first order second moment and advanced first order second moment are presented in this paper. These approaches rely on the normal distribution of the random variables using the mean, variance and the covariance of the probability distribution of each variable rather than the single deterministic values. Results show that the AFOSM reliability methodology provides a more conservative outcome which ensures a greater safety margin comparing to FOSM which appears to be a more efficient and robust methodology.