Roadway Safety Tools for Local Agencies (2003) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 101-124
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From page 101... ...
101 APPENDIX G Intersection Safety Briefs These briefs concerning intersection safety were developed by the Federal Highway Administration, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
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From page 102... ...
102 Intersection Safety Briefing Sheets: An Introduction Introduction In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef Intersection Safety is a National Priority Institute of Transportation Engineers This toolkit contains a series of briefing sheets on various intersection safety-related topics. The purpose of this toolkit is to enhance communications with the media, decision-makers, the general public and others about intersection safety.
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From page 103... ...
103 Intersection safety is a national priority for numerous highway-safety organizations. Driving near and through intersections is one of the most complex conditions drivers will encounter.
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104 3. Engage in innovative and strategic thinking.
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105 Basic Countermeasures to Make Intersections Safer Countermeasures In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 2 Collisions occur at intersections because motor vehicles are in conflict with each other when crossing or turning in traffic. Improving the engineering of intersections is the first step toward reducing accidents because vehicle conflicts -- combined with flawed highway or street design and poor signage -- often result in collisions of vehicles with roadside objects, pedestrians and other vehicles.
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From page 106... ...
106 pedestrian safety. There are three strategic decisions to consider when improving intersection safety design and operation: Eliminate vehicle and pedestrian conflicts when possible; When not possible, reduce unavoidable vehicle and pedestrian conflicts to lower the chances for collisions; and Design intersections so that when collisions do occur, they are not as severe.
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From page 107... ...
107 Pedestrian Safety at Intersections Pedestrians In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 3 Although intersections represent a very small percentage of U.S. surface road mileage, more than one in five pedestrian deaths is the result of a collision with a vehicle at an intersection.
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108 Pedestrians (continued) Inters e ction Safety B rief 3 capabilities for safely crossing intersections, including older persons, young children and those with impaired vision or difficulty in walking.
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109 Intersection safety is a product of the decisions that engineers make about the physical design and traffic control of each intersection. Understanding the way people react to vehicle and pedestrian conflicts (drivers vary widely in their skills and their willingness to take risks at intersections)
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110 Technologies that Limit Human Issues in Intersection Safety Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies can help make up for some human and vehicle limitations.
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111 Intersection Enforcement Challenges Traffic congestion. Increases in traffic volume can decrease the safety and efficiency of an intersection.
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112 Several studies indicate that red light cameras placed at intersections that have a history of speeding and signal violations create better compliance by drivers not only at red light cameramonitored intersections, but also at intersections without cameras. Red light cameras generally improve the quality of driver compliance with other traffic control devices as well, including stop signs.1 The use of advanced technologies can also provide assistance to enforcement efforts.
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From page 113... ...
113 Traffic Control Devices: Uses and Misuses Traffic-Control Devices In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 6 Intersection Safety is a National Priority Institute of Transportation Engineers Traffic control devices are signs, signals, pavement markings and other devices placed along highways and streets to move vehicles and pedestrians safely and efficiently. They are placed in key locations to guide traffic movement, control vehicle speeds and warn of potentially hazardous conditions.
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114 make the appropriate safe maneuvers, such as entering or departing a road or stopping and turning to avoid conflicts with other vehicles and pedestrians. Messages.
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115 Red-Light-Running Issues Red-Light-Running In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 7 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that about 6.4 million crashes occurred on America's roadways in 2000.
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116 The most common crash type -- a driver violating a traffic control device -- might be reduced by re-timing a signal, improving signal and sign visibility, increasing decision sight distances and reducing vehicle speeds near intersections. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
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117 Red-light-runners cause about 106,000 crashes a year in the U.S., resulting in nearly 1,000 deaths and 89,000 injuries. Drivers and passengers are injured in 45 percent of red-light-running crashes.
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118 In Fairfax, Virginia, after one year of camera enforcement, violations were reduced by 41 percent.4 San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, realized a 68 and 92 percent reduction in violations, respectively. The Charlotte, North Carolina, program cut redlight-running violations by more than 70 percent during the first year of operation.
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From page 119... ...
119 Workzone Intersection Safety Workzones In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 9 Intersection Safety is a National Priority Institute of Transportation Engineers It is a challenge to maintain safety and mobility at intersections in a work zone. For drivers unfamiliar with an intersection, a work zone can be a sudden, potentially dangerous surprise.
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From page 120... ...
120 Traffic congestion in intersections should be mitigated to the greatest extent possible. If long queues are expected or are occurring because of a work zone, additional advance traffic control devices may be necessary to provide users with information about lane choice or alternate routes before being trapped in a queue.
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From page 121... ...
121 Intersection Safety: Myth Versus Reality Myth vs Reality In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 10 Intersection Safety is a National Priority Institute of Transportation Engineers Traffic engineering decisions about intersection safety are often the product of factors and relationships that are more complex than the casual observer may realize. In many cases, evaluating potential solutions to crash or violation problems may reveal aspects of intersection safety and efficiency that are in conflict with one another.
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From page 122... ...
122 often causes traffic to use other neighborhood routes to avoid a sequence of intersections that may be controlled by stop signs; and Increasing the chance that drivers will disregard conflicting vehicle and pedestrian traffic, which raises the risk of collisions. There is no evidence to indicate that stop signs decrease the overall speed of traffic.
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From page 123... ...
123 Intersection Safety Resources Resources In te rs e c tio n Sa fe ty B ri ef 11 Numerous funding and information sources are available to help create and advance programs to improve intersection safety. The last two major Federal assistance funding bills enacted by Congress in 1991 and 1998 included provisions for a wide variety of funding possibilities for the research, design and implementation of intersection safety improvement projects, as well as targeted money that is available for working in cooperation with private organizations to fund intersection safety projects.
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From page 124... ...
124 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
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