Systematic Approach to Address Traffic Safety

1. Systematic Approach to Address Traffic Safety VinodVasudevan, Ph.D., P.E. Department of Civil Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, UP, India ShashiNambisan, Ph.D., P.E. Institute of Transportation Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

2. Traffic Safety in India • 130,000 fatalities on road in India in 2006 • (~356 people die every day) • Increase ~8% annually since 2000 • 500,000 reported injuries • Unofficial estimate of over 9,000,000 • Includes over 1,650,000 serious injuries • Accidents Vs Crashes

3. Presentation Outline • Systematic approach – introduction • Problem identification • Analysis of problem • Prioritization • Countermeasure selection • Deployment of countermeasures • Evaluation of countermeasures • Case studies: • Engineering – Pedestrian safety • Education/Enforcement – Occupant protection

4. Systematic Approach • Why do we need systematic approach? • Repeatability • Transferability • Identifying best practices • Identifying efficient countermeasures • Challenges • Requires additional funds and man power (minimal) • Could consume additional time

5. Components • Problem identification • Analysis of the problem • Prioritization of risks • Selection of countermeasure • Deployment of countermeasure • Evaluation of countermeasure

6. Problem Identification • The first and the most important step • Use all existing information (official + unofficial) • Could use simple spreadsheets or similar programs for initial analysis • Example: • High proportion of mid-block pedestrian crashes in an area • Increase in proportion of traffic fatalities without wearing seatbelts during nighttime

7. Problem Analysis • Analyze all available information in detail • Detailed police crash report (if available) are ideal • Could use analysis tools such as GIS • Could also use results of traffic safety audits • Identifies major causes of problems by location • Example: • High speeds of vehicles and huge proportion of elderly pedestrians are involved in crashes • High proportion of traffic fatalities also include alcohol involvement

8. Site (or Risk) Prioritization • Lack of funds to address all safety concerns • Efficient utilization of limited resources • Maximum benefits • Could use mathematical and statistical analyzes • Example: • Top 20 sites account for 80 percent of pedestrian crashes • Areas near bars account for over 75 percent of fatalities

9. Selection of Countermeasures • Based on “problem analysis” • Need to study sites in detail • Could vary from site to site • Could include engineering, education, and enforcement, or a combination of any • Example: • Traffic calming measures and high-visible pedestrian crossings • Education campaigns and strict enforcement aimed and drink-and-drive

10. Countermeasure Deployment • Could be very tricky • Might face huge opposition, if not deployed without proper planning • Some could be deployed in stages • Example: • Deploy high-visibility cross-walk first, depending on the driver behavior deploy traffic calming measures • Start education campaigns for 2-3 weeks, then start enforcement campaigns for the next two weeks

11. Evaluation of Countermeasures • Evaluating effectiveness • Uses mathematical and statistical analyzes • Could be used for economic feasibility for large scale deployment • Examples: • Before and after studies • Control site methods

12. Case Study 1: Pedestrian Safety • Problem identification • Analysis of problem • Prioritization of risks • Selection of countermeasures • Deployment of countermeasures • Evaluation

13. Problem Identification • Significant growth for 20+ years • Wide, fast street grid network • High posted & operational vehicle speeds • High risk conditions for pedestrians • Demographics • Population ~ 1.8 million • Diversity: age, race • Over 39 million visitors in 2008 • 85 percent of the crashes involved locals

14. Crash Analysis - Pedestrian Crashes (2003 – 2006)

15. 15 Site Prioritization • Need to identify pedestrian High Crash Locations (HCL) • NHTSA guidelines to identify HCL • Criteria for HCL selection • Number of crashes • Crash severity • Traffic volume • Pedestrian exposure • Ranks vary based on criteria used

16. Comparison of Ranking Methods

17. Study Locations • Top priority / High Risk Locations • Crash Index and Crash Rank • GIS based analysis • 18 locations • includes 4 control locations • Different Jurisdictions • City of Las Vegas • City of North Las Vegas • Clark County • Nevada Dept. of Transportation (State)

18. Selection of Countermeasures • Site Characteristics • Geometric Conditions • Operating Conditions • Light Conditions • Demographics • Land-use • Costs • Countermeasures include: • Engineering-based • ITS-based • Other

19. Portable Speed Trailer

20. Danish Offset and Median Refuge 20

21. Pedestrian Activated Flashers 21

22. Automatic Pedestrian Detection and Smart Lighting 22

23. Pedestrian Buttons that Confirm “Call” 23

24. Pedestrian Channelization 24

25. ITS No-Turn on Red Blank out Signs 25

26. Countermeasure Deployment • Several challenges due to changes in personnel • Administrative and vendor related hurdles • Combination of countermeasures per site • Deployed in stages • Helps to evaluate individual and combined effectiveness

27. Evaluation of Effectiveness • “Before” and “After” analysis • Comparative studies (with control sites) • Used statistical analyses

28. Case Study 2: Occupant Protection • Problem identification and analysis • Prioritization of sites (site selection) • Selection of countermeasures • Deployment of countermeasures • Evaluation

29. Problem Identification and Analysis • Nevada has a secondary seatbelt law • Lower seatbelt usage rates among motorists • Existing data showed lower usage among: • Male drivers • Hispanic and African American drivers • Need to improve seatbelt usage rates

30. Site Selection • Sites selected based on guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) • Identified based on VMT distribution and geographic distribution across various roadway functional classes • Rural interstates, urban interstates, rural arterials and urban arterials, collector roads • 50 sites selected including rural sites • 400 observations per site (total 20,000 observations for the state)

31. Selection of Countermeasures • Combination of education and enforcement • Education: • Media campaigns: “Click-it or ticket” campaigns • Earned and paid media coverage (print and broadcast) • TV advertisements: mainly aired during sports events • Radio media: music stations • Hispanic advertisements on Hispanic TV and radio • Enforcement: • “Joining forces” program: 19 agencies across the state coordinate enforcement efforts • Stepped-up enforcement of seatbelt usage

32. Deployment • First 4 weeks on education campaigns only • Inform motorists of advantages of using seatbelts • Inform about the enforcement activities • Followed by 2 weeks of stepped-up enforcement • Nevada Office of Traffic Safety paid overtime for police officers for enforcement campaigns

33. Evaluation • Telephone survey response:

34. Statistical Analysis

35. Evaluation

36. Summary • Systematic approach is important • Advantages: • Keep track of activities over time • Repeatability • Transferability • Identifying best practices • Identifying efficient countermeasures • Extremely important to document activities in Indian scenario on effectiveness of various countermeasures

37. Questions? Thank you!