Applying Intelligent Transportation Systems to Decrease Hydroplane Related Traffic Crashes in Greenville County, South Carolina

Rural roads carry approximately 40 percent of the vehicle miles traveled in the United States, yet annually they account for nearly 55 percent of the fatalities. In 2006, there were 23,339 vehicle fatalities in rural areas compared with 18,359 that occurred in urban areas. This is even more alarming considering that only 23 percent of the U.S. population resides in rural areas. Further, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the fatality rate for rural crashes is more than twice the fatality rate in urban crashes. The fatality rate for rural areas in 2006 was 2.25 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), compared with 0.93 fatalities per 100 million VMT in urban areas. Rural areas in the United States face a number of highway safety challenges that contribute to the severity of and frequency of accidents, including: (1) seat belt usage; (2) speed; (3) impaired drivers; (4) post-crash; and (5) implementation challenges. Outdated roadway design and roadside hazards such as utility poles, sharp-edged pavement drop-offs, and trees close to the roadway also are major contributors to the severity of rural crashes.

• Corporate Authors:

  ITS America

  1100 17th Street, NW, 12th Floor
  Washington, DC  United States  20036
• Authors:
  • Smith, Theodore A
  • Sheppard, Tony
  • Dodge, Linda
  • Pierce, Ben
  • Dopart, Kevin
• Conference:
  • ITS America 20th Annual Meeting & Exposition
  • Location: Houston TX, United States
  • Date: 2010-5-3 to 2010-5-5
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 10p
• Monograph Title: ITS America 20th Annual Meeting & Exposition

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Crash records; Fatalities; Hydroplaning; Intelligent transportation systems; Seat belts; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Traffic speed; Vehicle factors in crashes; Vehicle miles of travel
• Identifier Terms: Fatality Analysis Reporting System
• Geographic Terms: Greenville County (South Carolina)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01342858
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 23 2011 9:07AM