OPERATION 500- INTERSTATE 80 ACCIDENTS

AN ANALYSIS OF THE ACCIDENTS WHICH OCCURRED ON INTERSTATE 80 IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, DURING THE OPERATION 500 RESEARCH STUDY, ARE PRESENTED. A LEVEL OF 3.5 MEN/MILE/ 100,000 ADT EXPERIENCED TRAFFIC OFFICERS WERE ASSIGNED TO THE I-80 INTERSTATE ROADWAY. THE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED FOR ONE YEAR ON INTERSTATE 80 AND SHOWED AN INCREASE IN TRAFFIC, 6% FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. KILLED AND SEVERELY WOUNDED VICTIMS DECREASED 2.7% FROM THE AVERAGE OF THE TWO PREVIOUS YEARS. THERE WERE MORE MALE THAN FEMALE VICTIMS. MALE VICTIMS ALSO HAVE A PREPONDERANCE OF MORE SERIOUS INJURIES. THE 20-24 AGE GROUP HAS THE GREATEST NUMBER OF MALE AND FEMALE VICTIMS. THERE WAS A LARGER INCREASE IN MULTIPLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS THAN IN SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS. FRIDAY HAD THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS FOLLOWED BY SATURDAY WITH THE NEXT LARGEST. SPEED AND REAR END WERE THE COLLISION CAUSES WHICH HAD THE GREATEST NUMERICAL INCREASE (UP 103) FOR REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS. FOLLOWING TOO CLOSE HAS THE GREATEST PERCENTAGE INCREASE (UP 159.5%). ALAMEDA COUNTY, MILEPOST 3.22-8.04, FOR ALL THREE YEARS INCLUDING THE U.S. 50 AND THE U.S. 101 STUDIES, HAD A GREATER THAN AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS. THE 16-19 YEAR OLD MALE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR AN INCREASING SHARE OF TOTAL MALE DRIVERS AT FAULT, EACH YEAR FOR THE THREE YEAR PERIOD. MALES WERE DRIVERS AT FAULT FOR APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE ACCIDENTS. THE FEMALE SHARE INCREASED SLIGHTLY FOR EACH YEAR OF THE THREE-YEAR PERIOD. REPORTABLE ACCIDENTS INCLUDE ONLY THOSE ACCIDENTS WHERE A DRIVER, PASSENGER, PEDESTRIAN, OR BICYCLIST IS KILLED OR INJURED.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Final Rept IV A2, 83 PP, TABS
• Corporate Authors:

  California Highway Patrol

  Planning and Analysis Division, P.O. Box 942898
  Sacramento, CA  United States  94298-0001
• Authors:
  • Mason, B
• Publication Date: 1970-6

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Crash analysis; Crash causes; Crash severity; Data collection; Drivers; Fatalities; Following distance; Gender; Injuries; Police patrol; Rear end crashes; Speed; Surveys; Traffic crashes; Traffic law enforcement
• Identifier Terms: Interstate Highway System
• Old TRIS Terms: Following distance (Of vehicles)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00221061
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 13 1970 12:00AM