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Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads – Network Safety Analysis – User Guide #2

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Federal Highway Administration
Office of Safety

FHWA-SA-14-074

August 2014

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names may appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes for continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

1. Report No.

FHWA-SA-14-074

2. Government Accession No.

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads
Network Safety Analysis – User Guide #2

5. Report Date

August 2014

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s)

Elizabeth Wemple, P.E., Timothy Colling, P.E.

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
555 12th Street, Suite 1600
Oakland, CA 94607

Michigan Technological University
Center for Technology and Training
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-12-C-00034

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Safety
400 7th Street S.W.
Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

Covered Technical Manual

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

FHWA COTM: Rosemarie Anderson, Office of Safety

Technical working group members: Craig Allred (FHWA), Galen Balster (Federal Lands Highway), Dave Brand (Madison County, Ohio), Victoria Brinkly (Western Federal Lands), Steve Castleberry (Nevada County, California), Clayton Chen (FHWA), Scott Davis (Thurston County, Washington), Kayloe Dawson (Chehalis Tribe), Tom Elliot (National Highway Institute), Tony Giancola (Roadway Safety Foundation), Daniel Holt (Federal Lands), Hillary Isebrands (FHWA), Robin Lewis (Bend, Oregon), Nate Miller (Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission), Todd Morrison (Kentucky LTAP), Scott Nodes (Arizona DOT), Jessica Rich (FHWA), Karen Timpone (FHWA), Dennis Trusty (Northern Plains TTAP)

16. Abstract

Rural roadway safety is an important issue for communities throughout the country and presents a challenge for local and Tribal agencies. The FHWA created a Toolkit and two User Guides to help rural local and Tribal roadway safety practitioners address these challenges. The Toolkit provides a step-by-step process to assist local agency and Tribal practitioners in completing traffic safety analyses. Each Toolkit step contains a set of tools, examples, and links to resources appropriate to the needs of safety practitioners. The User Guides accompanying the Toolkit provide hypothetical yet typical local or Tribal agency safety analysis scenarios and step-by-step solutions to the scenarios using materials from the Toolkit.

This report is Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads, Network Safety Analysis – User Guide #2. This report presents an example scenario and step-by-step solution for studying safety conditions and identifying potential treatments at unsignalized intersections on a network. This User Guide demonstrates how to conduct network screening, select sites for further investigation, conduct safety diagnosis, select countermeasures, and prioritize and implement improvements. The User Guide provides example applications of all seven steps in the Improving Safety on Rural Local and Tribal Roads – Safety Toolkit (FHWA-SA-14-072): compile data; conduct network screening; select sites for investigation; diagnose site conditions and identify countermeasures; prioritize countermeasures for implementation; implement countermeasures; and evaluate effectiveness of implemented countermeasures.

17. Key Words

Safety analysis, local roads, Tribal roads, safety management, network screening, site diagnosis, countermeasure selection, safety evaluation

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this page)

Unclassified

21. No. of Pages

48

22. Price

N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)   Reproduction of completed pages authorized

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

What are the User Guides?

2.0 User Guide #2 Scenario

3.0 Solution

Step 1. Compile Data

Step 2. Conduct Network Screening

Step 3. Select Sites For Investigation

Step 4. Diagnose Site Crash Conditions and Identify Countermeasures

Step 5. Prioritize Countermeasures for Implementation

Step 6. Implement the Countermeasures

Step 7. Evaluate Effectiveness

4.0 Options for Additional Activities

5.0 Conclusions

List of Tables

Table 1. Quantitative Data for Safety Analysis

Table 2. Subset of 2010-2012 Crash Records for Intersection of First Street/Main Street (Intersection L in Table 3)

Table 3. Intersection Crash Data Summary – 2010 to 2012

Table 4. Roadway Characteristics

Table 5. Two-Way Stop-Controlled Intersections Ranked by Crash Frequency and Severity – 2010 to 2012

Table 6. Two-Way Stop-Controlled Intersections Crashes Ranked by EPDO – 2010 to 2012

Table 7. Network Screening Results and Site Selection for Further Investigation

Table 8. Intersection L: Crash Type Summary – 2010 to 2012

Table 9. Haddon Matrix for Intersection L (First Street and Main Street)

Table 10. Countermeasures Identified for Intersection L (First Street and Main Street)

Table 11. Summary of Benefit/Cost Analysis for Vegetation Control for Intersection L (First Street and Main Street)

Table 12. Summary of Benefit/Cost Analysis

Table 13. Example of Comparison of Before-and-After Period Crash Data

List of Figures

Figure 1. Toolkit Safety Analysis Process

Figure 2. Schematic of Town Roadway System

Figure 3. Map of Intersection Crashes – 2010 to 2012

Figure 4. Evaluation of Roadway Functional Class as a Potential Risk Factor

Figure 5. Collision Diagram for Intersection L (First Street and Main Street) – 2010 to 2012

Figure 6. Condition Diagram for Intersection L (First Street and Main Street)

Figure 7. Intersection Sight Distance Triangle

Figure 8. Increase Sight Distance Triangle From CMF Clearinghouse

Figure 9. FHWA’s Vegetation Control for Safety Guide – Sight Triangle Diagram

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Safe Roads for a Safer Future - Investment in roadway safety saves lives
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000