Building a Case for Safety

Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation StudyAnnual MeetingOctober 12, 2012

Dave Pulay, PE Transportation Engineer AMATS

Dave Griffith, PE Safety Engineer ODOT District 4

Eric Smith, PE, PTOE Engineer and Vice President URS Corporation – Akron Office

Building a Case for Safety

Introduction

Highway Safety 101

Crash Trends

Areas of Special Concern

How To Apply for Safety Funds

Overview

The Ohio Department of Transportation has one of the largest safety programs in the country

About $72 million is available annually for projects and programs that address high and severe crash locations.

Can be used on any public road

Introduction

Funding available for studies, design, right of way, and construction

Typical request is from $50,000 to $5 million

Some safety funding is also available for education and enforcement

Historically our area has done well with obtaining safety funding. Currently there are 27 projects in the 2012-2015 TIP with safety funding worth $29.7 Million.

Introduction

Crashes are usually studied in three year periods

Animal and construction zone crashes are removed, these do not reflect highway deficiencies

Crashes are separated into three primary categories Intersection (46%) Segment or Non-intersection (38%) Freeway (16%)

Highway Safety 101

Crash Severity Levels Property Damage Only (PDO) Injury (Approximately 25%) Fatal (Less than 1%, 0.25-0.30%)

Crash Rate Takes into account the number of crashes and the

traffic volume Expressed in terms of crashes per million vehicles

Highway Safety 101

The four “E’s” of traffic safety Engineering Emergency Response Education Enforcement

Highway Safety 101

Because 93% of crashes involve some driver error

ROADWAY34%

DRIVER93%

VEHICLE13%

Contributing Factors to Crashes

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) is a new analysis tool to help quantify and predict safety related transportation decisions

Over ten years of research by the Transportation Research Board (TRB)

Mathematical relationship for safety performance based on roadway conditions – how many crashes are predicted vs. actual crashes

Crash reductions factors

Highway Safety 101

Trends - Total Crashes 2002-2011

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 201215,000

20,000

25,00023,117 22,844 22,273

20,812

18,85319,394

18,644

16,454 16,929 17,011

AMATS

Year

Rep

ort

ed C

rash

es

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000 386,076392,683

381,640

358,590

334,206 328,742320,877

298,658 300,163290,248

OHIO

Year

Rep

ort

ed C

rash

es

Trends - Injuries 2002-2011

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 20123,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

6,2926,001

5,6585,448

4,992 4,987 4,885

4,1264,378 4,360

AMATS

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f In

juri

es

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 20128,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

11,858 11,54911,942

11,077 10,70110,469

10,1139,774

10,186

9,482

OHIO

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f In

juri

es

Trends - Fatalities 2002-2011

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 201230

40

50

60

70

63

5660 61

55

68

45

3942

45

AMATS

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f F

atal

itie

s

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,417

1,278 1,2851,328

1,239 1,2571,191

1,0221,080

1,015

Ohio

Year

Nu

mb

er o

f F

atal

itie

s

Fatal crashes are more random and evenly distributed than other crashes

Alcohol and/or drugs suspected in 41% of fatal crashes

Failure to Control and Unsafe Speed are the top contributing factors

43% are Fixed Object type crashes

36% occur on weekends

Trends – Fatalities

126 Total

Trends - Top Crash Types (2009-2011)

Rear End

Angle

Fixed Object

Sideswipe - Passing

Parked Vehicle

Backing

Left Turn

Sideswipe - Meeting

Other Non-Collision

Pedestrian

Other Object

30.4%

17.4%

17.1%

11.2%

5.1%

5.1%

4.7%

2.5%

1.9%

1.1%

1.1%

Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity that has the potential to distract from the primary task of driving

There are three main types of distraction: Visual — taking your eyes off the road Manual — taking your hands off the wheel Cognitive — taking your mind off what you’re doing

Texting and cell phone use involves all three types of distraction

Nationwide it’s estimated that 18 percent of injury crashes and 16 percent of fatalities involved distracted driving

Ohio House Bill 99 (August 31, 2012) prohibits texting while driving for all ages and also prohibits texting and cell phone use for drivers under 18

The new Ohio police report has a specific section to indicate if distracted driving contributed to the crash

Distracted Driving

Ages 16-25

Largest percentage of overall crashes (35%)

Largest percentage of fatalities (22%)

Experience issues, don’t calculate risk well

Drive with others in the car (social driving)

Largest percentage of distracted drivers???

Crashes with Youth

Age 65 and up, rapidly growing %

Driving = Independence

27% of senior related crashes are angle crashes. For all drivers 17% are angle crashes.

Vision and reaction time issues, physical limitations

More likely to be injured

Self regulated, friends, family, and doctors can help

Crashes with Seniors

Bike and Pedestrian Crashes

78% of bicycle crashes and 85% of pedestrian crashes result in an injury

Nearly 36% of pedestrian crashes occur in dark conditions

As non-automobile forms of transportation gain popularity designers are developing “Complete Streets” concepts

A “Complete Street” integrates other modes of transportation into the street design

Bike and Pedestrian Crashes

The Safety Funding Process

1.Determine Location

2.Engineering Study

3.Apply to ODOT District Office

4.Sent to ODOT Central Office

5.Funding Decisions

Yes- Project No or Less-Reevaluate

AMATS analyzes crash data and produces an annual technical memorandum (currently 2009 -2011)

ODOT also produces a statewide list of locations including freeways

Local safety forces

Local maintenance personnel

1. Determine Location

Local residents (use with caution)

Look for clues – Skid marks, broken glass and car parts, damaged to roadside appurtenances

Locations that are also congested

Bottom Line: Minimum of 10 crashes / 3 years and a crash rate of at least 1.0. Others considered on a case by case basis

1. Determine Location

The essential parts of this study are:

Existing Conditions Collision Diagrams Crash Data and Analysis Recommendations and countermeasures Short Term-Low Cost Long Term-High Cost

Costs and rate of return analysis Photos

2. Engineering Study

Condition Diagram

Collision Diagram

Relative Severity Analysis

Rate of Return Analysis

This process must begin at least two months prior to April 30 and September 30

The District Safety Review Team (DSRT) is a multi-disciplinary committee that reviews the applications

The DSRT scores the applications and then produces another safety funding application that is sent to the ODOT Central Office in Columbus

3. Apply to ODOT District Office

Some things that an application is scored on Number of crashes Number of severe injury and fatal crashes Crash rate Congestion (Traffic Volume) Percent trucks Rate of Return on the investment

3. Apply to ODOT District Office

District Safety Application

This is done by the District Office safety engineer

Deadline for this submittal is April 30 and September 30

A Safety Program Committee at the Central Office evaluates the applications from all the districts statewide

Usually a video conference is done between the Central Office and the District Office along with other stakeholders

4. Sent to ODOT Central Office

If a project is approved it is then funded and added to the State Transportation Improvement Program. Funding should be programmed within 30 days.

Sometimes a only part of the funding will be approved and the scope of work will need to be altered

On a large corridor project, a recommendation may be handed down to do it phases with only one phase being funded at the current time

5. Funding Decisions

Ohio has one of the most aggressive safety programs in the country

Around $72 million are allocated toward safety. Can be used on any public road.

Safety funds can also be spent on education and enforcement

Choose your location and countermeasures wisely. You are competing against the rest of the state for safety funds.

Conclusions

AMATS and ODOT do a safety analysis annually using the last three years of complete crash data and the results are on each agencies website

AMATS can do a pre-engineering analysis of any location if requested.

Talk to Dave Griffith about locations you are considering. With his many years of experience working with safety he can help you through the process.

Conclusions