Cable Median Barrier Effect on Commercial Vehicle Crossover Crashes

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812110078
Author(s):  
Nikiforos Stamatiadis ◽  
Shraddha Sagar ◽  
Samantha Wright ◽  
Eric Green ◽  
Reginald Souleyrette
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Commercial Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
Safety Performance Functions ◽  
Crash Modification Factors ◽  
Cable Median Barriers ◽  
Departments Of Transportation ◽  
Limited Scope

In the United States (U.S.) the annual number of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes has been on an upward trajectory since 2009. In 2016, CMV crashes accounted for 11.8% of all fatal crashes in the U.S., and in Kentucky, between 2009 and 2016, the number of CMV crashes rose 27%. Of particular concern to state departments of transportation have been crossover crashes involving CMVs. These occur when a vehicle leaves its intended path and veers into the path of oncoming traffic, typically resulting in head-on or sideswipe opposite direction collisions. While some researchers have found that installing cable median barriers can mitigate crossover crashes involving CMVs, no definitive conclusions have been reached. To move toward a resolution of this question, this study leveraged analysis by a panel of experts and the development of safety performance functions and crash modification factors to gauge how cable median barriers can influence the number and severity of crossover CMV crashes on Kentucky interstate routes. Expert panelists contended that cable median barriers will improve safety, a conclusion substantiated by statistical modeling. Despite the study’s limited scope, it appears that installing cable median barriers can prevent or mitigate CMV crashes.

scholarly journals Driving Blind: Weather-Related Vision Hazards and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 755-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walker S. Ashley ◽  
Stephen Strader ◽  
Douglas C. Dziubla ◽  
Alex Haberlie
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crash ◽  
Annual Number ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
National Highway Traffic Safety ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
Vehicular Crashes ◽  
National Analysis

Abstract Visibility-related weather hazards have significant impacts on motor vehicle operators because of decreased driver vision, reduced roadway speed, amplified speed variability, and elevated crash risk. This research presents a national analysis of fog-, smoke-, and dust storm–associated vehicular fatalities in the United States. Initially, a database of weather-related motor vehicle crash fatalities from 1994 to 2011 is constructed from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data. Thereafter, spatiotemporal analyses of visibility-related (crashes where a vision hazard was reported at time of event) and vision-obscured (driver’s vision was recorded as obscured by weather, and a weather-related vision hazard was reported) fatal vehicular crashes are presented. Results reveal that the annual number of fatalities associated with weather-related, vision-obscured vehicular crashes is comparable to those of more notable and captivating hazards such as tornadoes, floods, tropical cyclones, and lightning. The majority of these vision-obscured crash fatalities occurred in fog, on state and U.S. numbered highways, during the cool season and during the morning commuting hours of 0500 to 0800 local time. Areas that experience the greatest frequencies of vision-obscured fatal crashes are located in the Central Valley of California, Appalachian Mountain and mid-Atlantic region, the Midwest, and along the Gulf Coast. From 2007 to 2011, 72% of all vision-obscured fatal crashes occurred when there was no National Weather Service weather-related visibility advisory in effect. The deadliest weather-related visibility hazard crashes during the period are exhibited, revealing a spectrum of environmental and geographical settings that can trigger these high-end events.

scholarly journals Precipitation and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Continental Analysis with High-Resolution Radar Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 1453-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott E. Stevens ◽  
Carl J. Schreck ◽  
Shubhayu Saha ◽  
Jesse E. Bell ◽  
Kenneth E. Kunkel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Fatal Crash ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
High Resolution Radar

AbstractMotor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and weather is frequently cited as a contributing factor in fatal crashes. Previous studies have investigated the link between these crashes and precipitation typically using station-based observations that, while providing a good estimate of the prevailing conditions on a given day or hour, often fail to capture the conditions present at the actual time and location of a crash. Using a multiyear, high-resolution radar reanalysis and information on 125,012 fatal crashes spanning the entire continental United States over a 6-yr period, we find that the overall risk of a fatal crash increases by approximately 34% during active precipitation. The risk is significant in all regions of the continental United States, and it is highest during the morning rush hour and during the winter months.

Restraint Use and Age and Sex Characteristics of Persons Involved in Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes

2003 ◽  
Vol 1830 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Ho-Yin Lee ◽  
Joseph L. Schofer
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crash ◽  
Sex Characteristics ◽  
Young Males ◽  
Vehicle Crash ◽  
Restraint Use ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
Age And Sex

The lap and shoulder belt combination can reduce the risk of fatal motor vehicle crash injuries to front-seat occupants by 45% and the risk of moderate-to-critical injuries by 50%. The significant life- and cost-saving potentials of these restraining devices, installed in virtually every vehicle in the United States, are well recognized, but the benefits come only from their actual use. Identified are two demographic characteristics of unrestrained persons involved in fatal crashes, age and sex, to provide a basis for targeting educational and promotional efforts to encourage restraint use among the most vulnerable groups. Analyses are based on 1996 to 2000 crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, compared with exposure data from the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey. This study found that the risk of sustaining fatal injuries in a vehicle crash is reduced by 54% when occupant restraints are used. A much higher proportion of young males in the 16 to 19 and 20 to 24 age groups involved in fatal crashes do not use restraints, about 1.72 and 1.69 times greater, respectively, than those who do use restraints. While females in these age groups are also overrepre-sented, the extent of this excess is less than that of males. This underscores the need to find ways to educate young people, especially young males, about the benefits of restraint use.

Assessment and Mitigation Measures for Graffiti on Highway Structures

1998 ◽  
Vol 1642 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Eck ◽  
David R. Martinelli
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Pressure Water ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Departments Of Transportation ◽  
Transportation Agencies

Highway structures are public works facilities that are inherently accessible, to a certain degree, to the general public at all hours of the day and every day of the year. As a result, some highway structures are susceptible to graffiti. Graffiti on highway structures is a significant problem throughout the United States. Not only is graffiti an eyesore to the traveling public, it presents a hazard to the perpetrator and a liability exposure for transportation agencies because highway structures span high elevations and are in close proximity to motor vehicle traffic. The most common methods for combating graffiti include washing the surface of the structure with high-pressure water sprays, repainting the surface, and sandblasting. Although each of these methods can, in most cases, effectively remove the graffiti, the solution is often temporary; more graffiti is likely to appear in the future at the same site. Further, these measures can be quite costly, especially if they have to be repeated on numerous occasions to remove recurring graffiti. Results of a comprehensive survey of transportation agencies are presented and analyzed. The survey was designed to assess the nature and extent of the graffiti problem as well as to identify some solutions to the problem and identify various preventive as well as removal techniques. The study focuses on current graffiti prevention and removal policies and various other graffiti-removal techniques that are undertaken by different state departments of transportation to mitigate graffiti problems in their states.

Safety Evaluation of Roundabouts in Georgia

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (7) ◽  
pp. 641-651
Author(s):  
Franklin E. Gbologah ◽  
Angshuman Guin ◽  
Michael O. Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Bayes ◽  
Safety Evaluation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Evaluation Procedure ◽  
Crash Frequency ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
Bayes Analysis ◽  
Departments Of Transportation

U.S. roundabout growth has been significant in recent years and many published studies have documented significant safety benefits of roundabouts. However, the safety benefits for a roundabout may vary from region to region depending on many local factors. Therefore, transportation agencies can make more informed implementation decisions with local safety evaluations rather than published national findings. However, roundabouts are relatively new in the United States and most departments of transportation, including Georgia, are often hindered by the data availability requirements of the state-of-the-art empirical Bayes analysis evaluation procedure. This current study provides a safety evaluation of 23 Georgia roundabouts. It adopts a time-dependent form of the Highway Safety Manual predictive (empirical Bayes) method to estimate potential crash reductions across all crashes and all injury/fatal crashes. The method extends the empirical Bayes procedure towards a full Bayesian analysis. The findings indicate a 37–48% reduction in average crash frequency for all crashes and a 51–60% reduction in average crash frequency for injury/fatal crashes at four-leg roundabouts that were converted from stop-controlled and conventional intersections. In addition, when analyzed as a group, three-leg and four-leg roundabouts converted from stop-controlled and conventional intersections collectively experienced 56% reduction in average crash frequency for all crashes and 69% reduction in injury/fatal crashes. The study did not consider five-leg roundabouts because of small sample size and concerns about the form of the safety performance function. The adopted methodology offers departments of transportation with data availability challenges an alternative evaluation framework that retains the positive attributes of empirical Bayes analysis.

scholarly journals Personal Watercraft Incident Court Decisions: The Plaintiff’s Odds?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5096
Author(s):  
Eui-Yul Choi ◽  
Woo Jeong Cho
Keyword(s):  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Demographic Information ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Personal Watercraft ◽  
Successful Adults ◽  
Significant Factors

A personal watercraft (PWC) is a vessel that uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump as a source of power and is operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling. Maneuvering a PWC is different from operating a motor vehicle or boat. An obstacle cannot be avoided by slowing down and turning the watercraft; throttle power is required to turn or maneuver the PWC. The watercraft stops only by drifting or turning sharply. The study examined sixty court decisions published in LexisNexis databases of the United States over the last decade. Cases included individuals injured while operating a PWC as a driver, passenger, or as a result of contact with a watercraft. A content analysis identified items to be used in the study. Crosstab and logistic regression analyses were used to identify demographic information and the characteristics of those who succeeded in a court of law. One-third of the cases were successful; adults, males, and the party who sustained a severe injury were more successful in a court of law with the exception of the statistically significant factors (high risk maneuvers and sharp turns). Among the additional results, we should be aware that insurance companies may not pay; additionally, it is unwise to loan a PWC to a female who has no experience.

Development of Crash Modification Factors for Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing Treatments

2017 ◽  
Vol 2636 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlie Zegeer ◽  
Craig Lyon ◽  
Raghavan Srinivasan ◽  
Bhagwant Persaud ◽  
Bo Lan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Crash Risk ◽  
Limited Sample ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Empirical Bayesian ◽  
Treatment Type ◽  
Crash Modification Factors ◽  
Pedestrian Crashes ◽  
Pedestrian Crossing ◽  
Crash Types

The objective of this study was to develop crash modification factors for four treatment types: rectangular rapid-flashing beacon (RRFB), pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB), pedestrian refuge island (RI), and advance yield or stop markings and signs (AS). From 14 cities throughout the United States, 975 treatment and comparison sites were selected. Most of the treatment sites were selected at intersections on urban, multilane streets, because these locations present a high risk for pedestrian crashes and are where countermeasures typically are needed most. For each treatment site, relevant data were collected on the treatment characteristics, traffic, geometric, and roadway variables, and the pedestrian crashes and other crash types that occurred at each site. Cross-sectional regression models and before–after empirical Bayesian analysis techniques were used to determine the crash effects of each treatment type. All four of the treatment types were found to be associated with reductions in pedestrian crash risk, compared with the reductions at untreated sites. PHBs were associated with the greatest reduction of pedestrian crash risk (55% reduction), followed by RRFBs (47% reduction), RIs (32% reduction), and AS (25% reduction). The results for RRFBs had their basis in a limited sample and must be used with caution.

scholarly journals Estimates of the Annual Number of Clinically Recognized Pregnancies in the United States, 1981-1991

1999 ◽  
Vol 149 (11) ◽  
pp. 1025-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Saraiya ◽  
C. J. Berg ◽  
H. Shulman ◽  
C. A. Green ◽  
H. K. Atrash
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Annual Number
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