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SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS HOV FACILITIES AND MANAGED LANES IN HOUSTON. Suhag Kansara Ned Levine, PhD Houston-Galveston Area Council TRB Conference on HOV and Managed Lanes Houston, TX April 18, 2005. Purpose. Document crashes on HOV lanes
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SAFETY CONSIDERATIONSHOV FACILITIES AND MANAGED LANESIN HOUSTON Suhag Kansara Ned Levine, PhD Houston-Galveston Area Council TRB Conference on HOV and Managed Lanes Houston, TX April 18, 2005
Purpose • Document crashes on HOV lanes • Compare safety of HOV lanes with General Purpose freeway lanes • Identify characteristics of HOV crashes
Data sources • METRO HOV crash data 2001-2004 • DPS freeway crash data 1999-2001
Hot-spot locations HOV lanes merging to freeway lanes
Hot-spot locations Direct access ramps merging with HOV lanes from park and ride lots
Hot-spot locations Design compromises in geometrical structure of HOV lane – shoulder width
Contributing factors • Single vehicle crashes HOV facility 30% Freeway facility 24% • Speeding HOV facility 53% Freeway facility 56% • Following too close HOV facility 5% Freeway facility 3%
Tentative conclusions • HOV lanes are safe • Design compromises can increase crash risk • Trade-off safety between barrier facilities vs. diamond lanes
Future research • Compare barrier facilities with diamond lanes • Who is involved in the crashes • Disproportionate number of males • Disproportionate number of persons in their 30’s and 40’s • Do certain groups have more difficulty with barrier facility?