00799055

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/1701-03

http://scholar.google.com...dard&publication_year=2000

Previous studies that examined the relationship between stopping sight distance and safety have been inconclusive and inconsistent; however, the fact that a relationship has not been established does not necessarily imply that stopping sight distance is not a contributing factor in some crashes. Instead, it means that existing databases have failed to quantify any relationship that might exist. A promising approach to identifying such a relationship is a detailed examination or case study of crashes from a relatively large sample of limited sight distance roadways. If limited sight distance is a factor that contributes to crashes, it should show up in such a study. The objective of this study was to determine whether stopping sight distance was a contributing factor in crashes on roadway segments with limited sight distance crest vertical curves. This objective was accomplished by reviewing 439 narratives from crashes that occurred on 33 multilane and two-lane roadways with limited sight distance crest vertical curves. The findings suggest that the crash rates on rural two-lane highways with limited stopping sight distance are similar to the crash rates on all two-lane rural highways. They also suggest that the percentage of accidents involving large trucks and older drivers is similar on limited sight distance highways and all two-lane rural highways. Thus, for the range of conditions studied, limited stopping sight distance does not appear to be a safety problem.

This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1701, Design Speed, Operating Speed, and Sight Distance Issues.

English

p. 17-24

2000

Transportation Research Record

0309066808

Figures (1) ; References (10) ; Tables (5)

Case studies; Highway safety; Rural highways; Stopping sight distance; Traffic crashes; Two lane highways

Contributing factors; Vertical curvature

Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Sep 29 2000 12:00AM

• DESIGN SPEED AND OPERATING SPEED IN RURAL HIGHWAY ALIGNMENT DESIGN
• DETERMINING THE BEST METHOD FOR MEASURING NO-PASSING ZONES
• DRIVER BRAKING PERFORMANCE IN STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE SITUATIONS
• EVALUATION OF THE PASSING PROCESS ON TWO-LANE RURAL HIGHWAYS
• GEOMETRIC DESIGN OF LOW-SPEED URBAN STREETS
• MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF VEHICULAR SPEED ON MOUNTAIN ROADS
• NEW STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE MODEL FOR USE IN HIGHWAY GEOMETRIC DESIGN
• OPERATING SPEED ON CREST VERTICAL CURVES WITH LIMITED STOPPING SIGHT DISTANCE
• RELIABILITY APPROACH TO INTERSECTION SIGHT DISTANCE DESIGN
• SIGHT DISTANCE FOR STOP-CONTROLLED INTERSECTIONS BASED ON GAP ACCEPTANCE
• SPEED REDUCTION AS A SURROGATE FOR ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE AT HORIZONTAL CURVES ON RURAL TWO-LANE HIGHWAYS
• SPEED-PROFILE MODEL FOR A DESIGN-CONSISTENCY EVALUATION PROCEDURE IN THE UNITED STATES
• SUMMARY OF DESIGN SPEED, OPERATING SPEED, AND DESIGN CONSISTENCY ISSUES
• TRUCK SPEED PROFILES