Author: Prahlad D. Pant

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 106

ISBN-13:

The primary objective of this research was to systematically review past studies on rear end crashes, examine strategies for reducing rear end crashes on both freeway and non freeway facilities, and develop a set of rear end crash reduction strategies for use in Ohio, which will be appropriate for various traffic engineering solutions, operations and ITS improvements. Accordingly, this study conducted an extensive review of past literature related to rear end crashes and strategies to reduce them. A determination of specific strategies for a road safety improvement program requires an understanding of probable crash reduction capabilities for various geometric, operational and environmental factors on the roadways. Studies of crash reduction strategies have usually focused on before-and-after comparisons of specific locations or conditions. Based on the data provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation, this study attempted to examine the crash reduction capabilities for signalized intersections, unsignalized intersections, freeways and non-freeways where countermeasures were implemented. An attempt was made to compute crash reduction factors for rear end collisions for these roadway facilities. However, this task could not be performed because of the severe limitations in the ODOT countermeasure and roadway site data. In response to the researchers' request for additional data, ODOT decided not to proceed ahead with this research as it required the dedication of district resources that were not currently available. It was believed that breaking the project into smaller, more manageable pieces, would not yield results that would be statistically significant. There were also several national projects underway which would limit this project's benefits. In view of these circumstances, ODOT decided to terminate the contract for this project and all work stopped.