Prioritizing risk factors of hazardous material road transportation accidents using the fuzzy AHP method

BACKGROUND: Annually, large amounts of hazardous materials (hazmat) are transported through the roads and this movement causes various accidents. Identifying the causes of these accidents is a critical issue for all public governments. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the effective risk factors for hazmat road transport accidents and determine their relative weight using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 2021 in Iran and included four steps, i.e., the identification (using literature review and semi-structured interview), determination (according to the expert panel opinion), classification, and prioritization of effective factors in hazmat road transportation accidents. To prioritize and determine the relative weight of the effective factors, the fuzzy AHP technique was used. RESULTS: In total, 159 risk factors were identified, which were classified into six factors (including road, transportation management, vehicle, cargo, driver, and weather conditions) and 24 sub-factors. The main factor (greatest relative weight) with the highest priority was the driver (0.181). The road (0.167), cargo (0.166), vehicle (0.169), transportation management (0.161), and weather conditions (0.159) were the next priorities, in that order. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that the driver is the most important factor in causing accidents when transporting hazmat by road. The findings of this study might have the potential to decrease the frequency and consequence of accidents caused by the road transport of hazmat.