Pedestrian Safety at Slip Lanes and Alternative Turn Lane Treatments

This paper summarizes part of an assessment of crashes of left-turning (U.S. right-turning) vehicles and pedestrians at signalized intersections across metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, conducted for VicRoads (the state road transportation agency). Study objectives for this paper included evaluating data on the relative safety performance for pedestrians of different left-turn treatments and identifying any patterns in the crash types observed for each treatment to determine whether the patterns suggest possible opportunities for design improvement. This study compared the proportion of crashes at each type of treatment versus the proportion of this treatment at all signalized intersections on the Melbourne metropolitan road network (as volume-based crash rates are impractical for a sufficient sample size) and examined the detailed characteristics of each crash. The findings for 195 pedestrian crashes that involved left-turning vehicles were recorded at signalized intersections for 5 years; slip lanes experienced 22% of the crashes with 30% of the treatments; exclusive stand-up lanes represented 18% of the crashes and 20% of the treatments; and shared stand-up lanes represented 60% of the crashes and 50% of the treatments. Distinct conflict patterns detected for each treatment type suggest possible improvements in operation or design (e.g., 79% of slip-lane crashes featured pedestrians approaching from the driver’s left). Further research opportunities were identified: these included refinement of the categorization of left-turn treatments, exploration of the possible bias of slip-lane provision toward low-activity areas, and examination of other crash types (e.g., vehicle–vehicle).

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2299-12
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Pedestrian+Safety+at+Slip+Lanes+and+Alternative+Turn+Lane+Treatments&author=M.+O%e2%ac%22Brien&author=A.+O%e2%ac%22Brien&author=J.+Liu&author=G.+Michaux&author=H.+Nahlawi&publication_year=2012
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/168323.aspx
• Authors:
  • O’Brien, Mark
  • O’Brien, Andrew
  • Liu, Jessie
  • Michaux, Giles
  • Nahlawi, Hani
• Publication Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 110–120
• Monograph Title: Pedestrians 2012
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2299
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash characteristics; Left turns; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrian vehicle interface; Right turns; Signalized intersections; Turning lanes
• Geographic Terms: Melbourne (Australia)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01371366
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309223386
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-1170
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: May 30 2012 3:01PM