EVALUATION OF FACTORS INFLUENCING DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS

THIS RESEARCH STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO EXAMINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS ON URBAN ARTERIAL HIGHWAYS, TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENT RATE AND THE AVERAGE SPACING BETWEEN ADJACENT DRIVEWAYS AND BETWEEN A DRIVEWAY AND AN ADJACENT INTERSECTION LEG, AND TO REVEAL THOSE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROADWAY AND ITS ABUTTING ENVIRONMENT HAVING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EFFECT UPON THE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENT RATE. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE WAS TO DISCLOSE THE FACTORS WHICH, WHEN PROPERLY EMPLOYED, WILL SERVE TO EFFECT A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENT RATE. DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS WERE FOUND TO REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE, 13.95%, OF THE TOTAL TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS ON ALL ONE HUNDRED ROADWAY SECTIONS OVER A FOUR YEAR PERIOD. LEFT TURN MOVEMENTS, TO OR FROM A DRIVEWAY, RESULTED IN 64.60% OF ALL DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS, AND 76.00% OF ALL DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN PERSONAL INJURY INVOLVED A LEFT TURN MANEUVER. THERE EXISTS AN TREND IN WHICH THE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENT RATE IS FOUND TO DECREASE WHEN THE AVERAGE SPACING OVER A SECTION OF ROADWAY BETWEEN ADJACENT DRIVEWAYS AND BETWEEN A DRIVEWAY AND AN ADJACENT INTERSECTION LEG INCREASES. STEPWISE REGRESSION ANALYSIS WAS EMPLOYED TO RELATE THE DRIVEWAY ACCIDENT RATE TO ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS REVEALED THE ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER CORRELATED TO THE ANNUAL NUMBER OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS PER MILE RATHER THAN TO THE NUMBER OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS PER ONE HUNDRED MILLION VEHICLE MILES. AFTER DISCOVERING THAT INTERACTION TERMS WERE MORE SIGNIFICANT IN THE PREDICTION OF THE NUMBER OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS PER MILE PER YEAR THAN THE MAIN EFFECT TERMS, A MODEL WAS DEVELOPED EMPLOYING SIX INDEPENDENT VARIABLES, ARRANGED BY THEMSELVES AND IN COMBINATION WITH EACH OTHER TO FORM FIFTEEN TERMS. THIS MODEL EXPLAINS 84.52% OF THE VARIATION IN THE NUMBER OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS PER MILE PER YEAR. THIS STUDY FOUND THAT THE NUMBER OF DRIVEWAY ACCIDENTS PER MILE PER YEAR DECREASED WHEN THE NUMBER OF COMMERCIAL DRIVEWAYS PER MILE WAS REDUCED; WHEN THE NUMBER OF THROUGH TRAFFIC LANES ON THE ARTERIAL HIGHWAY WAS REDUCED; WHEN THE NUMBER OF TOTAL INTERSECTIONS PER MILE WAS INCREASED; WHEN THE NUMBER OF TOTAL DRIVEWAYS PER MILE WAS REDUCED; WHEN THE TRAFFIC VOLUME ON THE ARTERIAL HIGHWAY WAS REDUCED; AND WHEN THE URBAN AREA POPULATION WAS INCREASED. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • PROJ NO: C-36-59P
• Corporate Authors:

  Purdue University/Indiana Department of Transportation JHRP

  Purdue University, School of Civil Engineering
  West Lafayette, IN  United States  47907-1284
• Authors:
  • MCGUIRK, W W
• Publication Date: 1973-5

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 140 p.
• Serial:
  • Issue Number: 10

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Crash rates; Driveways; Intersections; Regression analysis; Urban highways
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222247
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Intrm Rpt
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 17 1973 12:00AM