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ACCIDENT DATA RELATIONSHIPS, CHAPTER 2

The literature on the relationship between roadway discontinuities and traffic accidents is limited. Two studies, however, are applicable. Ivey and Griffin examined 15,968 single-vehicle accidents that occured in North Carolina in 1974. Police officers' narratives for all 15,968 accidents were read by automated means. Any narrative that contained 1 of 19 key words (e.g., dip, rocks, rut, edge) was printed out and reviewed by the authors to determine if that accident resulted from, or was aggravated by, a roadway discontinuity. Approximately 566 (3.5 percent) of the 15,968 accidents were associated with roadway disturbances. The authors inferred that approximately half of the accidents reported resulted from a disturbance off of the traveled surface (e.g., "which dropped off the pavement," "vehicle hit curb and overturned") and half resulted from distrubances in the lane of travel (e.g., "vehicle hit bump in road," "ruts in road caused loss of control"). Klein et al. reviewed accident data from three sources: California accident data (police level data), collision performance and injury report (CPIR) data provided by the Highway Safety Research Institute of the University of Michigan, and Indiana accident data (levels II and III) provided by Indiana University. Their findings are based on 23 hard copies from the California files, 26 from the Michigan files, and 22 from the Indiana files. The authors conclude that the most significant roadway disturbance is shoulder drop-off, closely followed by loose material on roadway. Lesser disturbances include potholes, rough roads, dips, and roadway design faults. Although most authorities would agree that road surface discontinuities may precipitate or aggravate accidents, the magnitude of the problem is unknown. Indeed, the relative hazard of different disturbances and discontinuities is not well known. (Author)

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    • This paper appeared in the Transportation Research Board, A State-of-the-Art Report: The Influence of Roadway Surface Discontinuities on Safety. 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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    Transportation Research Board

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  • Authors:
    • Griffin III, L I
  • Publication Date: 1984

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 3-4
  • Monograph Title: THE INFLUENCE OF ROADWAY SURFACE DISCONTINUITIES ON SAFETY
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00391051
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 0309037026
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-038 006
  • Files: TRIS, TRB
  • Created Date: Jan 30 1985 12:00AM