Red-light-running (RLR) crashes have become an increasing concern for the traffic safety community. According to Retting et al., there are approximately 750 fatalities and 260,000 crashes annually in the United States. A second study (Retting et al.) found that occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of the RLR crashes, compared to 30 percent for other urban crash types. Review of crash data for four States in the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) showed that RLR crashes account for 16 percent to 20 percent of the total crashes at urban signalised intersections. Thus, based on both previous research and HSIS data, RLR crashes represent a significant safety problem that warrants attention. It can be hypothesised that the majority of these crashes result from inadvertent driver error or intentional violation. However, very little is known about the possible contribution of the geometric and traffic characteristics of intersections to RLR crash risk. The purpose of this study was to examine selected geometric characteristics of intersections and their impact on RLR crash rates and to establish a relationship between them. The major questions addressed in this report concerning RLR crashes are: (i) Does the width of the cross-street have any effect on RLR crash risk? (ii) What is the relationship of other select intersection characteristics to RLR crashes? (iii) Using this information, how can one better target urban intersections for traffic law enforcement techniques such as RLR cameras or heightened intersection enforcement coupled with publicity? The results obtained from the model show that the traffic volume on both the entering and crossing streets, the type of signal in operation at the intersection, and the width of the cross-street at the intersection are the major variables affecting RLR crashes. In most of the intersection designs, it would be difficult or impossible to control these design/flow variables to reduce the RLR crashes. However, the results can be used to target specific intersections for traffic law enforcement measures, such as installing cameras that detect red-light running, or heightened spot enforcement coupled with publicity, or other techniques. The intersections with higher entering volumes on the mainline and cross-streets, especially intersections with high volumes on cross-streets (minor road); intersections where the volume on a minor road is relatively high, coupled with a wide mainline street; and locations with fully actuated signals should be considered as high-priority intersections for such treatments. (A)
Samenvatting