EFFECTS OF A CHANGE IN THE CONTROL DEVICE ON INTERSECTION ACCIDENTS

FACTUAL INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED ABOUT CHANGES IN ACCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS WHEN A TRAFFIC SIGNAL REPLACED TWO-WAY STOP CONTROL, USING BEFORE AND AFTER STUDIES. SAMPLE INTERSECTIONS WERE CHOSEN WITH ACCIDENT HISTORIES AVAILABLE FOR TWO YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER THE DATE OF SIGNAL INSTALLATION, WITH NO OTHER CONTROL DEVICE OR RAILROAD CROSSING WITHIN TWO BLOCKS OF THE INTERSECTION, NO MAJOR CONSTRUCTION CONFLICT, WITH FOUR APPROACHES, THE VISION OF THE CONTROL DEVICE BY THE DRIVER NOT OBSTRUCTED AND THE INTERSECTION NOT ON OR NEAR A SIGNIFICANT VERTICLE OR HORIZONTAL CURVE. THE TRAFFIC VOLUME AND CONTROL DEVICE WERE IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH INTERSECTION WHICH CHANGED DURING THE STUDY PERIOD. THE INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS AT AN INTERSECTION DID NOT USUALLY RESULT IN FEWER ACCIDENTS OCCURING AT THAT INTERSECTION. FOR THOSE INTERSECTIONS WHICH DID HAVE A CHANGE IN THE NUMBER OF ACCIDENT TYPES, THE CHANGE WAS USUALLY AN INCREASE IN TOTAL, REAR-END AND MISCELLANEOUS ACCIDENTS AND A DECREASE IN RIGHT-ANGLE ACCIDENTS.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 21, 5 FiG, 7 TAB, 22 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Purdue University/Indiana Department of Transportation JHRP

  Purdue University, School of Civil Engineering
  West Lafayette, IN  United States  47907-1284
• Authors:
  • Schoene, G W
  • Michael, H L
• Publication Date: 1966-12-19

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Crash rates; Intersections; Rear end crashes; Right angle crashes; Traffic control devices; Traffic crashes; Traffic signals; Traffic volume
• Uncontrolled Terms: Change
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219917
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 5 1994 12:00AM