PHYSICAL SEPARATION OF OPPOSING STREAMS OF TRAFFIC
THE BEFORE AND AFTER ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE ON THE DIVIDING OF A FOUR-LANE HIGHWAY IN NEW JERSEY BY A METHOD OF JACKING APART THE ADJACENT SLABS PRESENTS PERTINENT DATA THAT ARE NECESSARY IN EVALUATING THE BENEFITS OF DIVIDED HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION. THE YEARS OF 1933 AND 1934 ARE COMPARED TO 1937 AND 1938 FOR THE 10.64 MILES OF THIS SECTION. THERE WAS A DECREASE IN FATAL ACCIDENTS OF 83.3 PER CENT, A DECREASE OF 48.5 PER CENT IN NON-FATAL INJURIES AND A 17.6 PER CENT DECREASE IN PROPERTY DAMAGE ACCIDENTS. THE TOTAL REDUCTION IN ACCIDENTS OF ALL KINDS WAS 40.4 PER CENT. COMPARING THESE REDUCTIONS TO STATE-WIDE DATA FOR THE SAME PERIOD, IT IS FOUND THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASE OF 6.7 PERCENT IN TOTAL ACCIDENTS, A DECREASE OF 21.4 PER CENT IN FATAL ACCIDENTS, AND A 5.3 PER CENT DECREASE IN NON-FATAL INJURY ACCIDENTS. THESE CHANGES OCCURRED WHILE THE TOTAL TRAFFIC IN THE STATE WAS INCREASING 44 PER CENT AS MEASURED BY THE TOTAL GASOLINE CONSUMPTION. FURTHER BREAKDOWNS OF THE DATA INDICATE THAT THERE WAS LITTLE CHANGE IN TOTAL ACCIDENTS AT INTERSECTIONS, BUT A CONSIDERABLE REDUCTION BETWEEN INTERSECTIONS. IT WOULD SEEM THAT A WIDER DIVIDING ISLAND WOULD BE A BETTER ACCIDENT PREVENTIVE AT INTERSECTIONS. THE REDUCTION OF ACCIDENTS WAS GREATER FOR THE NIGHT THAN FOR THE DAY, BEING 47.2 PER CENT AT NIGHT AND 31.4 PER CENT IN THE DAY. THE COST OF THIS RECONSTRUCTION WAS ABOUT $50,000 PER MILE. BY APPLYING NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL FIGURES TO THE REDUCTION IN ACCIDENTS, IT IS FOUND THAT SAVINGS IN ACCIDENT COSTS WILL PAY FOR THIS CONVERSION IN SLIGHTLY OVER 3 YEARS. /AUTHOR/
- Record URL:
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 19, pp 336-339, 4 TAB. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Vey, A H
- Publication Date: 1940
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. December 5-8, 1939
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 19
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crash rates; Four lane highways; Medians
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00203539
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Oct 3 1971 12:00AM