Overview
The purpose of Safety Service Patrol (SSP) programs is to help combat the effects of nonrecurring congestion on highways. SSPs aid in the clearing of incidents from roadways, as well as assisting state police with traffic control at crash scenes. This document is a summary of the benefit-cost study conducted with regard to the Hampton Roads SSP. To perform the study, an analysis of route geometrics, traffic characteristics, and incident data was conducted in the Hampton Roads area over the course of a year. These data were analyzed through a SSP evaluation model to obtain the benefits of the program. The research found that the total annual benefits of the Hampton Roads SSP (in terms of delay and fuel consumption) were approximately $11.1 million. The costs associated with patrolling the routes in the region were approximately $2.4 million: thus the savings generated by this program are nearly 5 times the expenditures it takes to run it. To understand the return on investment better, the study recommends that the Hampton Roads SSP conduct an annual review of its benefits versus costs. In addition, because the Hampton Roads region experiences heavy tourist/vacation traffic during the summer months (especially during the weekends), similar reviews should also be conducted on a seasonal basis to assess the fluctuations in costs and benefits that occur during different times of the year.