Estimating Accident Benefits of Reduced Freeway Congestion
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 116, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper quantifies relationships between accident rates and congestion on California urban freeways. Data for a number of freeway sections in the San Francisco Bay Area are analyzed and numerous alternative accident‐model specifications are developed and tested. Accident rates are compared under conditions of queuing and no queuing and for a variety of geometric and traffic conditions. No matter how the data are stratified, the same picture emerges: In the presence of queuing, the average accident rate is about two‐three times higher than the rate when there is no queuing. This leads to the development of a simple accident‐rate estimation procedure that is recommended for use in cost‐benefit analyses of the impacts of freeway improvements on accident rates.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 116 • Issue 2 • March 1990
Pages: 167 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 ASCE.
History
Published online: Mar 1, 1990
Published in print: Mar 1990
Authors
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