00935938

Component

http://www.teachamerica.c...ment.info/pdf/AM00PAPR.pdf

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) recently completed a large study of the crash statistics for all of the divided highways on the State Highway System for the period 1995 through 1998. The highway sections had either four or six through lanes and were classified by type of median into either a) Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes (TWLTL) or b) a non-traversable center strip consisting of either a raised median with concrete curbing or else a depressed grass median and referred to simply as "raised median" or RM. It was found that the RM design is much safer than TWLTL. A striking result was that overall (intersections plus mid-block locations), RM had 78 percent fewer pedestrian fatalities per 100 miles of road, no doubt due to the relatively safe refuge area provided pedestrians by RM. A similar study performed six years earlier by the GDOT indicates that the safety gap between RM and TWLTL is widening with time. It may be that drivers increasingly distracted and inattentive to the driving task are increasingly in need of a more-structured and disciplined highway environment such as that provided by non-traversable medians.

English

23p

2000

Fourth National Access Management Conference

Figures (6) ; References (7) ; Tables (4)

Crash data; Divided highways; Fatalities; Highway safety; Medians; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Traffic crashes; Traffic safety; Two way left turn lanes

Raised medians

Georgia

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I73: Traffic Control; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure

TRIS, TRB

Dec 30 2003 12:00AM

• 135TH STREET CORRIDOR TRAFFIC STUDY
• A METHODOLOGY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACTS OF PROHIBITING MEDIAN OPENING MOVEMENTS
• ACCESS MANAGEMENT AND CORRIDOR PLANNING, THE OKALOOSA COUNTY EXPERIENCE
• ACCESS MANAGEMENT IN MONTANA: FROM STATEWIDE PLANNING TO IMPLEMENTATION
• ACCESS MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH DAKOTA
• ACCESS SPACING AND SAFETY: RECENT RESEARCH RESULTS
• AN INTRODUCTION TO ACCESS MANAGEMENT
• APPLYING CONTEXT SENSITIVE HIGHWAY DESIGN TO ACHIEVE ACCESS MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS
• CASE STUDIES OF ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF RAISED MEDIANS ON ADJACENT BUSINESSES: STUDY METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS
• COMPARISON OF DELAY AND ACCIDENTS ON THREE ROADWAY ACCESS DESIGNS IN SPRINGFIELD
• INDIRECT LEFT TURNS - THE MICHIGAN EXPERIENCE
• INTEGRATED TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT
• LAND DEVELOPMENT AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR INTERCHANGE AREAS
• OREGON'S NEW ACCESS MANAGEMENT RULES: A STUDY IN PROCESS, POLITICS AND PRAGMATISM
• SUCCESSFUL MEDIAN MODIFICATIONS PROJECT -- CASE STUDY
• SYMBIOTIC, OPPORTUNISTIC, OMNIVORES: A PERSPECTIVE ON NEW YORK'S ARTERIAL ACCESS MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE
• THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MEDIANS: AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH