EFFECT OF TRAFFIC VOLUMES AND NUMBER OF LANES ON FREEWAY ACCIDENT RATES
THREE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON 659 MI OF FOUR-, SIX-, AND EIGHT-LANE FREEWAYS HAVE REVEALED THAT THE ACCIDENT RATES FOR EACH CLASSIFICATION WILL NORMALLY INCREASE WITH AN INCREASING ADT. THE RATE OF INCREASE PER 10,000-VEH INCREASE IN ADT IS FOUR-LANE, 0.240 ACCIDENTS /MVM, SIX-LANE, 0.094 ACCIDENTS/ MVM, AND EIGHT-LANE, 0.078 ACCIDENTS/ MVM. FOR ANY GIVEN ADT, THE FOUR-LANE FREEWAYS HAVE A HIGHER ACCIDENT RATE THAN THE SIX-LANE, AND SIX-LANE FREEWAYS HAVE A HIGHER RATE THAN THE EIGHT-LANE. THEREFORE, AS THE ADT INCREASES, THE DIFFERENCE IN RATES BETWEEN THE THREE CLASSIFICATIONS BECOMES GREATER. THIS RELATIONSHIP INTRODUCES THE POSSIBILITY OF SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FREEWAY ACCIDENTS BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF TRAFFIC LANES, EVEH THOUGH THE INCREASE IS NOT REQUIRED BY TRAFFIC VOLUMES. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- 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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Authors:
- Lundy, Richard A
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Discussers:
- Versace, John
- Byington, Stanley R
- Champagne, Joseph S
- Lundy, R A
- Publication Date: 1965
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 138-156
- Monograph Title: Freeway characteristics, operations and accidents
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Serial:
- Highway Research Record
- Issue Number: 99
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Average daily traffic; Crash rates; Freeways; Traffic lanes; Traffic volume
- Geographic Terms: California
- Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00219542
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Dec 12 1994 12:00AM