Dear omss,
Did you know that over 20% of traffic-related fatalities occur at intersections? Moreover, did you know it's been roughly 20% for the past decade? With such staggering and consistent data, it's no wonder that intersection safety is a leading national, state, and local priority.
In the second of our two-part issue on safety, we will take a deeper look at the safety of the nation's roughly 3 million intersections.
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| 3 Tips for Increasing Safety | | By design, intersections create points-of-conflicts between users (i.e. drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists) with contradictory needs. While there are copious contributing factors to the high incident rate at intersections, they generally all boil down to these planned points-of-conflict. Though we cannot drastically reduce use demand, there are a multitude of things we can do to increase user safety.
The National Cooperative Highway Research Program's (NCHRP) developed guides on ways to reduce collisions and improve the safety of signalized and unsignalized intersections. The overarching goal of the majority of these tips is the same: improve driver awareness, and reduce the regularity and severity of incidents. Below, are three of the top techniques from their Report 500 series (Vol. 5 & 12) for improving user safety. |
| 1) Increase Visibility
Streets signs and signals provide pertinent roadside and safety information to drivers. However, if they are not visible, particularly from a distance that affords drivers enough time to react, it can be a recipe for disaster. Visibility issues can arise in numerous ways including obstruction, weather (too much sun or snow), size, viewing angle, and more. Some simple and cost-effective ways to promote visibility include: - Backplates - Create a greater contrast with the environment, facilitating driver visibility.
- Scoop Tunnel Visor - Prevent snow from building up on the signal face and impeding driver visibility.
- 12" Signal Heads - Facilitate visibility from a distance with larger signal heads, particularly important for our aging population.
- ISNS Signs - Illuminate street name signs so drivers can spend more time focused on the road than searching for street names. With LED light sources you can also reduce energy consumption, enhance the light lifespan, and reduce maintenance!
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2) Increase AwarenessSome intersections, such as high-speed approaches, windy roads, or intersections immediately following a bridge or hill, are hidden from approaching drivers giving them a higher propensity for collisions. Improve driver awareness and intersection safety by informing drivers of approaching intersections with advanced warning beacons, pavement markings or additional street lights. |
| 3) Improve Intersection/Road Design
Decreasing the number of vehicle-to-vehicle conflict points at an intersection can help reduce the rate of collisions. One method for reducing conflict points is the use of roundabouts, a prevalent and much successful solution throughout Europe. Roundabouts improve safety by slowing approaching traffic and avoiding the multitude of conflict points that arise from perpendicular travel lanes.
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| Eliminating the 'Mobile' in Mobility The Importance of Banning Cell-Phone Usage
In 2008, 1.6 million accidents were attributed to the use of cell phones, for either texting or talking, while driving. That's 28% of all crashes - two times as many incidents caused by driving under the influence! This is a growing epidemic predicted to worsen as more youth, unaware of a life before technology, take to the road.
As members of the transportation industry, we are afforded a unique opportunity to take a pledge against cell phone use while driving both personally and professionally. Whatever your mission, below are some resources to help you and your organization lead by example. |  | Get Involved - Leverage public tools available through the USDOT Distracted Driving summit. |  | Take the Pledge - Join Oprah and commit to creating a No Phone Zone. |  | Need a Campaign Idea? - View Public Service Announcements (PSAs) from states around the nation. | |
| Add McCain to your growing social network. |
| | Reduce congestion and improve arterial performance with McCain's QuicTrac Adaptive Control. Best of all, your signal synchronization project could help you qualify for federal funding thanks to its ability to reduce auto emissions! |
Traffic Signal Association Fountain Valley, CA
Oct. 19, 2010 |
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