Delta-V as a Measure of Traffic Conflict Severity

Delta-V (Δv) is a measure of the severity of a traffic collision, defined as the change in velocity between pre-collision and post-collision trajectories of a vehicle. Delta-V emerged in the 1970s in the context of crash reconstruction analysis, and is considered by some researchers to be the best single predictor of crash severity. However, this indicator has not been applied to the analysis of traffic conflicts, until recently when it was incorporated into the automated conflict analysis algorithms of the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM). This paper introduces Delta-V and demonstrates how it overcomes shortcomings present in several traditional measures of traffic conflict severity. We discuss the ambiguity present in the literature on the topic of traffic conflict severity, and suggest the adoption of alternative terminology and definitions. We demonstrate a new approach, incorporating Delta-V, to estimate the collision propensity and potential collision severity of a traffic conflict.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Shelby, Steven G
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash analysis; Crash reconstruction; Crashes; Highway safety; Mathematical prediction; Safety; Traffic crashes; Velocity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Crash severity
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01333460
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-4199
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 21 2011 2:14PM