MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS IN RELATION TO GEOMETRIC AND TRAFFIC FEATURES OF HIGHWAY INTERSECTIONS. VOLUME I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This volume, the first of a three-volume final report, describes the relationship between intersection geometry and traffic and the motor-vehicle accident rates for groups of intersections sharing common design features. Being an excutive summary, Volume I is an initial exposure to the study and its findings and, consequently, briefly highlights the study design, analysis methods, results, and recommendations. The methodology, analysis, and results are documented in Volume II (the research report), and supporting data are presented in Volume III in the form of appendices. The analysis was based on a relatively detailed on-scene inventory of the geometry, design features, and traffic counts of 558 intersections coupled with police reports of the 4372 accidents that occurred in those areas during the three-year study period. Forty-one accidents were investigated in-depth by a multidisciplinary team to determine causal factors and to evaluate the effects of federal safety standards on intersection accident incidence and severity. Six design features were found to be accident-related--sight-distance obstructions, street-name signs, left-turn storage lanes, raised-marker delineation, bus stops and routes, and multiphase signalization. Countermeasures based on the influence of these six factors are recommended. /Author/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by DOT, Federal Highway Administration.
• Corporate Authors:

  Stanford Research Institute

  333 Ravenswood Avenue
  Menlo Park, CA  United States  94025
• Authors:
  • David, N A
  • Norman, J R
• Publication Date: 1975-7

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: 19 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Countermeasures; Crash investigation; Crash rates; Crash severity; Geometry; Safety; Traffic; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00149177
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-RD-76-128 Final Rpt., FCP-31K4018
• Contract Numbers: DOT-FH-11-8096
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: May 31 1977 12:00AM