Unsafe Behavior Analysis and Risk Measurement of Traffic Accidents in Mountainous Highway Tunnel

Traffic accidents in mountainous highway tunnels have resulted in significant negative effects and losses. Among the potential hazards that can lead to fatal injuries, human-related hazards have been recognized as the leading cause. Determining the risk management effectively and prioritizing unsafe human behavior are the basis for preventing and controlling traffic accidents in mountainous highway tunnels. Therefore, hazards that could potentially cause highway tunnel traffic accidents were identified by using a tail-biting fish diagram combined with the fault tree method. A risk assessment model was constructed based on probability, degree of importance, and loss. Furthermore, the probability can be calculated by assessing the degree of unreliability, which can be obtained by assessing the degree of importance of unsafe behavior in the fault tree, and the loss can be acquired from the authority. The case of 8–10 traffic accidents that occurred in the Qinling No. 1 Tunnel of the Ankang section of the Beijing-Kunming expressway was studied, and the values of the unsafe behaviors were assessed. According to the risk values, the priority for controlling unsafe behaviors can be acquired and tailored measures can be taken to prevent and control the risks, which provides a theoretical basis and new method for the effective control of mountainous highway tunnel traffic accidents.