Raised barriers are often provided in the median along highways. Providing a barrier can prevent severe cross-median collisions, but can also result in a significant increase in fixed-object crashes. Current guidelines for providing median barriers are based primarily on the median width and traffic volume. This paper will discuss the classic trade-off between crash frequency and severity, and illustrate it using the example of the Deerfoot Trail in Calgary, where the occurrence of several high-profile fatal crashes raised the question of the need for raised median separation. The case study will review the characteristics of median involved collisions and determine the primary contributing factors of these collisions. For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD number E211521.
Samenvatting