Practical Method for Estimating Frequency of Right-Angle Collisions at Traffic Signals

Abstract

Statistics indicate that accidents at signalized intersections have become a significant safety problem throughout the United States. Right-angle collisions are ranked highest in terms of severity at signalized intersections, while their frequency is second only to rear-end collisions. One key component that is lacking is a tool to help identify excessive risk of right-angle collisions. This paper proposes a practical method to evaluate the frequency of right-angle collisions on the basis of the frequency of short postencroachment times (PET). PET and crash data collected from signalized intersections in Indiana were used to calibrate right-angle crash prediction models. Regression results reveal that PET frequency is a key determinant of right-angle crashes and is capable of discriminating varying safety levels within a location as well as across locations. Several evaluation examples are presented to illustrate how the method can be used and how the estimation results can be interpreted.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Retting

R. A.

Williams

A. F.

and Greene

M. A.

Red-Light Running and Sensible Countermeasures: Summary of Research Findings. In Transportation Research Record 1640, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 1998, pp. 23–26.

Mohamedshah

Y. M.

Chen

L. W.

and Council

F. M.

Association of Selected Intersection Factors with Red Light Running Crashes. Proc., 70th Annual ITE Conference (CD-ROM), ITE, Washington, D. C., Aug. 2000.

Bonneson

Zimmerman

and Brewer

Engineering Countermeasures to Reduce Red Light Running. Report FHWA/TX-03/4027-2. Texas Transportation Institute, College Station, 2002.

Affum

J. K.

and Taylor

M. A.

Predictive Models for Road Accidents at Signalised Intersection. IATSS Research, Vol. 20, No. 2, 1996.

Allen

B. L.

Shin

B. T.

and Cooper

P. J.

Analysis of Traffic Conflicts and Collisions. In Transportation Research Record 667, TRB, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1978, pp. 67–74.

Tarko

A. P.

and Songchitruksa

Estimating Frequency of Crashes as Extreme Traffic Events.

Presented at 84th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., 2005.

Poch

and Mannering

Negative Binomial Analysis of Intersection-Accident Frequencies. Journal of Transportation Engineering, Vol. 122, No. 2 1996, pp. 105–113.

Wang

and Nihan

N. L.

Quantitative Analysis on Angle-Accident Risk at Signalized Intersections. Proc., 9th World Conference on Transport Research, Seoul, Korea, July 22–27, 2001.

Songchitruksa

and Tarko

A. P.

Using Imaging Technology to Evaluate Highway Safety. Report FHWA/IN/JTRP-2004/27. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. July 2004.