MPC
Research Projects (2009-10)
Identifying Number
MPC-329
Project Title
Traffic Safety: Pilot Study to Assess Sustained and Multifaceted Activity on North Dakota's Rural Roads
University
North Dakota State UniversityProject Investigators
Kimberly Vachal, Andrea Huseth
Description of Project Abstract
North Dakota consistently experiences a relatively high level of crash and injury on rural roads, considering lane miles and vehicle miles traveled. The NDDOT reported that 89 percent of fatal crashes took place on rural roads (NDDOT 2008). The state continues to assess and deploy resources to reduce crash and injury on rural roads based on crash reports and fatal injuries as outlined in work plans such as the Highway Safety Improvement Plan and the Highway Safety Plan. In addition, the Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) provides an overarching strategy for coordinated efforts to reduce traffic injury and death through education, engineering, enforcement, and emergency medical service efforts.
Rural road safety has received attention at the federal level with programs such as the FHWA High Risk Rural Roads (HR3) program that is designed to focus data collection, evaluation, and engineering improvements on dangerous and oft neglected types of roads in the most rural areas. In addition, NHTSA offers several programs to promote rural roads safety through education and policy initiatives such as local Safe Communities traffic safety coalitions and HVE efforts. Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation's announced department-wide Rural Safety Initiative which has again heightened awareness of safety issues and interventions surrounding the nation's rural roads (2008).
An important aspect of successfully pursuing state and federal emphasis on rural road safety is to understand effectiveness of individual and coordinated safety interventions. The ability to leverage public and private resources in an integrated effort may be beneficial in providing increased returns relative to a stove-pipe type approach to traffic safety. The research proposed here will contribute to the understanding of local effectiveness for alternative levels of safety intervention.
Project Objective
The immediate research objectives are to: (1) provide a model for routing commercial vehicle movements based on bridge and roadway characteristics; (2) provide improved methods for estimating detour distances, costs, and the economic value of bridges; (3) integrate bridge data sources and models with the statewide GIS highway network model (which will build the capability for future analyses of the effects of infrastructure investments on the petroleum, energy, and agricultural industries); and (4) quantify the total economic value of highway bridges in North Dakota. This last objective is important because it provides the DOT with quantified values that can be used to describe the importance and value of bridges to the state's economy and traveling public. The long-term objective for the SAFETEA-LU period is to achieve (through a sequence of research projects) a fully functional bridge life-cycle cost and asset management system.
Project Approach/Methods
A multi-county case study will be designed to include single event, sustained, and multifaceted safety interventions. Three or four counties will be selected for intervention within a corridor, with another county beyond the corridor monitored as a control case. Safety corridors have been utilized in other regions with some success in improving safety for motorists (California 2009, Washington 2009, Minnesota 2009). An initial plan would be to consider seat belt use, crash numbers, and moving-violation citations as safety metrics - depending on the intervention. Community seat belt observations, speed collection, and phone or on-site surveys may also be conducted. Initially, suggested safety interventions include three levels:
- Traditional, single event, two-week HVE seat belt campaign with enforcement and media.
- Sustained, ongoing effort, in periodic HVE seat belt enforcement or sustained seat belt emphasis through an extended time period.
- Enriched, sustained, traffic safety effort to include sustained seat belt enforcement along with education events that may include school symposiums, business workshops, car seat checks, seat belt checks, and engineering contribution such as Traffic Safety Evaluations.
MPC Critical Issues Addressed by the Research
- High-Risk Rural Roads.
- Effective Safety Management.
- Human Factors.
- Low-Cost Safety Improvements.
Contributions/Potential Applications of Research
Evaluation of corridor approach to increasing traffic safety on rural roads, including education, enforcement, and engineering elements. Opportunity to build institutional capital in rural traffic safety through coordinated public-private partnership that increases awareness, enhances safety in driving environment, and encourages safe driving decisions.
Technology Transfer Activities
Research findings can be used to discuss benefits and costs of (1) unilateral and coordinated efforts, (2) episodic and sustained efforts to promote safety on rural roads, and (3) establish framework for managing and deploying safety resources in a rural roads safety corridor.
Time Duration
July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010
Total Project Cost
$77,793.00
MPC Funds Requested
$30,100.00
TRB Keywords
Safety, Rural Transportation, Transportation Systems, Safe Travel, Public Services, Safe Driving
References
- California Highway Patrol, 2009, Highway Safety Corridors and Task Forces, Accessed March 11, 2009 at http://www.chp.ca.gov/highways/corridor.html
- Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths, 2009, Success Stories, Accessed March 11, 2009 at http://www.minnesotatzd.org/about/index.html
- North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), 2008, 2007 Crash Summary, Office of Traffic Safety, Bismarck.
- U.S. Department of Transportation, 2008, Rural Safety Initiative, Accessed online March 11 at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/ruralsafety/ruralsafetyinitiativeplan.htm
- Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 2009, Corridor Traffic Safety Program, Accessed March 11, 2009 online at http://www.wtsc.wa.gov/programs/corridor.php
