Characterizing Interstate Crash Rates Based on Traffic Congestion Using Probe Vehicle Data

Crash reduction factors are widely used by engineers for prioritizing safety investments. Work zones are routinely analyzed by the length and duration of queues. Queue detection warning technology has been growing in availability and reliability in recent years. This paper analyzes three years of crash data and crowd-sourced probe vehicle data to classify crashes as being associated with queueing conditions or freeflow conditions. In 2014, only 1.2% of the distanced-weighted hours of operation of Indiana interstates operated at or under 45 miles-per-hour (MPH). A three-year study on Indiana interstates indicates that commercial vehicles were involved in 87% of back-of-queue fatal crashes compared to 39% of all fatal crashes during free flow conditions. A new measure of crash rate was developed to account for the presence and duration of queues: crashes per mile-hour of congestion. The congested crash rate on all Indiana interstates in 2014 was found to be 24 times greater than the uncongested crash rate. Queues were found to be present for five minutes or longer prior to approximately 90% of congestion crashes in 2014. Longer term, this information shows the importance in the development of technology that can warn motorists of traffic queues.

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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANB20 Standing Committee on Safety Data, Analysis and Evaluation.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Mekker, Michelle M
  • Remias, Stephen M
  • McNamara, Margaret L
  • Bullock, Darcy M
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2016-1-10 to 2016-1-14
• Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 19p
• Monograph Title: TRB 95th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commercial vehicles; Crash rates; Fatalities; Floating car data; Highway safety; Interstate highways; Traffic congestion; Traffic queuing
• Geographic Terms: Indiana
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01590561
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 16-1194
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 18 2016 4:57PM