Crash Modification Factors for the Flashing Yellow Arrow Treatment at Signalized Intersections

Author(s):  
Raghavan Srinivasan ◽  
Bo Lan ◽  
Daniel Carter ◽  
Sarah Smith ◽  
Kari Signor

This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) treatment using data from signalized intersections in Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Oregon. The evaluation method was an empirical Bayes before–after analysis. The treatments were divided into seven categories depending on the phasing system in the before period (permissive, protected–permissive, or protected), phasing system in the after period (FYA permissive or FYA protected–permissive), the number of roads where the FYA was implemented (one road or both roads), and the number of legs at the intersections (three or four). The first five treatment categories involved permissive or protected–permissive phasing in the before period. Intersections in these five treatment categories experienced a reduction in the primary target crashes under consideration: left turn crashes and left turn with opposing through crashes. The reduction ranged from 15% to 50%, depending on the treatment category. Intersections that had at least one protected left turn phase in the before period and had FYA protected–permissive left turn phase in the after period experienced an increase in left turn crashes and left turn with opposing through crashes, indicating that replacing a fully protected left turn with FYA will likely cause an increase in left turn crashes.

Author(s):  
Kerrie L. Schattler ◽  
Eric P. Anderson ◽  
Trevor Hanson

In 2010, the Illinois Department of Transportation began implementing the flashing yellow arrow (FYA) at intersections operating with protected–permissive left-turn (PPLT) control. Research was conducted to evaluate the safety-effectiveness of FYAs at 86 intersections and 164 approaches in central Illinois. The effectiveness evaluation was performed with 3 years of before-and-after FYA installation crash data and the empirical Bayes method. In the before condition, the left-turn signals operated with a circular green display indicating the permissive interval of PPLT control using a five-section signal head. In the after condition, the FYA replaced the circular green display for the permissive interval of PPLT with a four-section signal head. Supplemental traffic signs were mounted on the mast arm adjacent to the left-turn signal at over half of the FYA installations. The results of the comprehensive safety evaluation of the FYA for PPLT control are presented. Analyses were also performed to assess the effects of the FYA supplemental signs and the effects of the FYA overall on two subsets of at-fault drivers: older drivers (age 65+) and younger drivers (age 16 to 21). The resulting mean crash modification factors for the targeted crash types ranged from 0.589 to 0.714. The findings of this research support the continued use of FYAs for PPLT control to improve safety at signalized intersections in central Illinois.


Author(s):  
Daniel J. Cook

Dallas phasing is an effective strategy for increasing the efficiency of protected-permissive left turns (PPLTs) at signalized intersections, without creating left-turn traps. The flashing yellow arrow (FYA) is the most widely used PPLT signal indication when Dallas phasing is utilized. The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) signalized intersection methodology currently contains guidance on how to handle PPLTs with Dallas phasing. At intersections with the FYA indication, some agencies have been using a feature known as FYA delay, which delays the FYA indication, usually by 1 to 4 s. More recently, some agencies have also began using another feature, which suppresses the FYA when a conflicting pedestrian phase is active. The HCM does not contain guidance on how to handle FYA delay or suppression. This research proposed modifications to the HCM signalized intersection methodology to address these two FYA strategies. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to check the reasonableness of the proposed modifications. The sensitivity analysis showed that the proposed modifications are reasonable and produced the expected results.


2015 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 252-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrie L. Schattler ◽  
Cody J. Gulla ◽  
Travis J. Wallenfang ◽  
Beau A. Burdett ◽  
Jessica A. Lund

Author(s):  
Masoud Ghodrat Abadi ◽  
David S. Hurwitz

Conflict between bicycles and right-turning vehicles on the approach to signalized intersections is a critical safety concern. To understand the operational implications of protected-permitted right-turn signal indications in conjunction with pavement markings on bicyclist performance, a full-scale bicycling simulator experiment was performed. Velocity and lateral position of bicyclists were evaluated during conflicts between bicycles and right-turning vehicles. A mixed factorial design was considered. Two within-subject factors were analyzed: the signal indication for right-turning vehicles with five levels (circular red, circular green, solid red arrow, solid green arrow, and flashing yellow arrow), and the pavement markings in the conflict area with two levels (white lane markings with no supplemental pavement color and white lane markings with solid green pavement applied in the conflict area). Additionally, the influence of gender as a between-subject variable was considered. Forty-eight participants (24 female) completed the experiment. Signal indications and pavement markings had statistically significant effects on bicyclist velocity and lateral position, but these effects varied at different factor levels. Additionally, during the conflicts, male participants were found to have higher velocity than female participants. This difference was not influenced by engineering treatments. The results provide guidance to transportation professionals about how traffic control devices could be applied to conflict areas on the approach to signalized intersections.


Author(s):  
Shannon Warchol ◽  
Nagui Rouphail ◽  
Chris Vaughan ◽  
Brendan Kearns

This research collected and analyzed gap acceptance in North Carolina to develop a data-driven method for determining the need for considering additional signalization analysis at intersections with fewer than four legs. This method can be used for movements that merge with or cross two lanes of oncoming traffic. It is intended to provide guidance and support to traffic engineers in their decision-making process. Charts are provided to determine the expected 95th percentile queue lengths for left-turn, right-turn, and U-turn movements crossing or merging with two lanes of conflicting traffic. This situation is typically present along four-lane roadways where a one-way primary movement opposes either a minor road right-turn movement or a left-turn movement, or in the case of a median U-turn opening. Adjustment factors to the conflicting flowrate were developed to account for the presence of upstream signalized intersections. This method less frequently recommends further signal consideration when compared with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices peak hour warrant, but is similar to the delay-based level of service D/E threshold for two-way stop-controlled intersections in HCM6 Chapter 19.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Noyce ◽  
Andrea R. Bill ◽  
Jr. Michael A. ◽  
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Author(s):  
Craig Lyon ◽  
Anwar Haq ◽  
Bhagwant Persaud ◽  
Steven T. Kodama

This paper describes the development of safety performance functions (SPFs) for 1,950 urban signalized intersections on the basis of 5 years of collision data in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Because Toronto has one of the largest known, readily accessible, urban signalized intersection databases, it was possible to develop reliable, widely applicable SPFs for different intersection classifications, collision severities, and impact types. Such a comprehensive set of SPFs is not available for urban signalized intersections from data for a single jurisdiction, despite the considerable recent interest in use of these functions for analyses related to network screening, and the development, prioritization, and evaluation of treatments. The application of a straightforward recalibration process requiring relatively little data means that the SPFs calibrated can be used by researchers and practitioners for other jurisdictions for which these functions do not exist and are unlikely to exist for some time. The value of the functions is illustrated in an application to evaluate a topical safety measure—left-turn priority treatment for which existing knowledge is on a shaky foundation. The results of this empirical Bayes evaluation show that this treatment is quite effective for reducing collisions, particularly those involving left-turn side impacts.


Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdelrahman ◽  
Mohamed Abdel-Aty ◽  
Jinghui Yuan ◽  
Ma’en M. A. Al-Omari

Diverging diamond interchanges (DDIs) are designed as an alternative to the conventional diamond interchanges to enhance operational and safety performance. As the popularity of the DDI is increasing and more DDIs are being constructed and proposed, the need has arisen to measure the actual safety benefits of DDIs as compared with the traditional diamond interchanges. This study evaluates the safety of DDIs using three methods: before–after study with comparison group, Empirical Bayes before–after method, and cross-sectional analysis. This study collected a nationwide sample of 80 DDIs in 24 states. The estimated crash modification factors indicated that converting conventional diamond interchange to DDIs could significantly decrease the total, fatal-and-injury, rear-end, and angle/left-turn crashes by 14%, 44%, 11%, and 55%, respectively. Moreover, the developed safety performance functions implied that a longer distance between crossovers/ramp terminals and a lower speed limit on freeway exit ramps are significantly associated with lower crash frequency at diamond interchanges. This study contributes to the existing literature using a relatively large representative sample size, which provides more reliable evaluation results. In addition, this study also explored the effects of different traffic and geometric characteristics on the safety performance of DDIs.


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