In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced new distracted driving restrictions on commercial truck and bus drivers. Every Transportation Secretary puts safety at the top of his or her agenda, and the distracted driving initiative seems to be the latest version of that tendency. Yet, no matter what people say or do, the number of fatalities on American highways stays about the same every year.
Recent studies demonstrate that the toll industry has a better record for safety and fatalities than non-tolled facilities. (See: "Toll vs. Non Toll: Toll Facilities are Safer.") While this may be comforting to some, it is still not sufficient cause for rejoicing when we know that more than 40,000 people die on U.S. highways every year and a comparable number die each year on roads in the European Union.
What can we do to significantly improve safety and reduce fatalities on highways around the world? What strategies and techniques will help us continue to eek out incremental improvements? And what changes (in mindset, psychology, operator behavior, roadway design, vehicle design, communications, etc.) will help us make one giant leap for humankind?
Sunday, February 21, 2010
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Posted by Bill M. Halkias, PE, Chief Executive Officer, Attica Tollway Operations Authority (Part 1 of 2)
ReplyDeleteMost traffic fatal accidents are happening in secondary roads and Freeways and Tollways present the best traffic safety record from any other types of roadways. Nevertheless, Traffic Safety is of fundamental importance to the Tolling Industry. Toll Roads, have a better safety record than other roads of similar characteristics. The only explanation for this fact is that Toll Roads are mostly operated on a 7/24/365 basis with proactive maintenance actions resulting in a lower number of accidents. It may also be attributed to the work done by Toll road operators, who feel that they have a “moral” obligation (apart from any contractual obligations) to provide a safe journey for their toll paying “customers”.
Now, let’s consider the three main factors which have the most impact on a traffic accident. These are (1) the road, (2) the vehicle and (3) the driver.
As it relates to the first factor (the road), we built now days Freeways and Tollways better than before. The “computer evolution” is permitting highway designers to use many great simulation tools and thus to improve greatly on factors such as horizontal and vertical curvature of the road, lateral obstructions, sight distance. Maintenance of existing roads is apparently a factor that is left up to us, the Road Operators. Covering potholes, fixing barriers, installing energy absorption systems, undertaking of black spot accident analysis and constant road monitoring, are all improving traffic safety. So, it is up to us to take the “road” condition factor out of the equation.
As it relates to the second factor (the vehicle) the many technological advances in the automotive industry have improved traffic safety. Airbags, anti lock brakes, passive safety systems and many more are of great help. Dynamic and warning systems installed in buses and trucks arte also of big help. However, many things need to be done with motorcycles, as if one examines fatal accidents on Motorways, most of them are involving motorcyclists.
We are left now with the third factor (the driver). And it is the driver whom we can target. We need to work with him. He is the one who steers the wheel, he is the one who pushes the gas pedal, he is the one who controls the speed of the vehicle. Let’s remember that of special consideration on freeways and toll was is the speed thus the severity of the accident. Accidents can happen for many reasons. A collision on a 25mph speed will most probably result in property damages. Statistically, on most fatal accidents on Freeways and Toll ways collision speeds exceed the 70 mph limit. We need to control that urge to go faster so that we make up the time lost either on congestion, or just simply of being late. If we add the vehicle and the driver, then someone can say lets target the motorcycle drivers. Partly true, but still we have the rest of the drivers on the road, who do not consider that the motor cycler also has rights on the road. Active, consistent and repeated safety campaigns have shown that they work. Education, especially in the younger ages is critical. Psychology of the driver and feelings of social responsibility are very important. Control the speed and you control the severity of the accident. We need to do more on this front and that involve mostly the driver. Of course we can work with the road and vehicle, but the driver is the one who can control speed, who has to stay without destructions. If a can paraphrase the famous line “it’s the economy stupid” I would had to say “it is the driver stupid”.
Posted by Bill M. Halkias, PE, Chief Executive Officer, Attica Tollway Operations Authority (Part 2 of 2)
ReplyDeleteOf special attention are the toll roads and that is where IBTTA can take another lead. Most toll roads have geometric characteristics of divided highways with limited access. By definition are considered safe. However, there may be roads which are among the safer or the safest. Number of fatalities per vehicle miles (kilometers) driven is the “yard” stick. And our toll roads can be characterized as safe, or one of the safer, or one of the safest roads among IBTTA members. And this should be done on an annual basis. This IBTTA Traffic Safety Record list will be an incentive for all of us to become better. Our experience at Attica Tollway shows that when very early in our operation history we were awarded the 2005 “1st Prize on Traffic Safety Award” for “the Agency’s active role in Traffic Safety along Attica Tollway” by IRF, that became a load we needed to curry forward and to maintain the excellent safety record we had experience back then. And we are continuing. Saving even one life is something which is very precious.
I have left last the public sector (governments and agencies). They can do a lot more. For example, why not impose an incentive bonus for good traffic safety records when they give out Concessions? Lastly, let’s get into a couple of provocative question that Pat loves to have every time he wants to put forward a debate. Who are for constant monitoring of driving behavior? Technology permits it, but will that be against our civil liberties? And once this behavior is known, how far we can go in trying to influence drivers?
Posted by Maurizio Rotondo, AISCAT
ReplyDeleteIt is not by chance that tolled roads perform better in safety terms than other roads. As far as the infrastructures are concerned Safety depends on accurate design, appropriate construction, effective maintenance and reaction capability when accidents occur. All those components imply a cost in the life of the road and tolls make the resources needed available.
In toll roads there is an almost perfect match between Infrastructural safety related desired characteristics and their implementation.
Safety is only partially infrastructure related though, and a major part of it depends on users behavior. Appropriate speed control proved to be very effective in many European nations, bringing impressive deaths decrease rates, as high as 50% in few years; this is, in engineering terms, the proof that if correctly used our infrastructures are very safe and that speed control does not mean to enforce snail-speed, but to enforce appropriate speed, i.e. the speed corresponding to the surrounding conditions (limited anyway to the maximum design speed of the road).
Toll roads operators are playing their part in road safety enhancement, what could they do more? They can continue applying up to date technologies and keep their road in optimal conditions, but if they want to further affect the phenomenon they should engage in innovative drivers behavior control and improvement. As an example, suggesting drivers a smooth flow speed, that is the speed that prevents stop and go conditions (those occurring when traffic is around the Highway Capacity Manual D, E levels) that are usually a driver for accidents, could further curtail accidents.
What is very important though is that the user perception of toll roads it is not yet linked to safety; when asked why they use toll roads users will answer because of speed and perhaps less congestion. For the toll industry a recognition at political level that tolls can be an important tool for road safety also might become a home-run in terms of acceptance of the toll roads.
Posted by Bob Johnson, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel District
ReplyDeleteSafety is extremely important to roadway design and vehicle movement. With that said, the one item which could aid in safety would be to restrict cell phone use while driving.
Posted by Martin Stone, Planning Director, Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority
ReplyDeleteWhile the accidents related to the relatively new distractions (cell phones and texting) have been in the spotlight, the long-standing major causes of accidents have been around for a long time. Always at the top of the list are accidents involving alcohol/drugs and speeding too-fast-for-conditions. And, for toll roads, we all understand the impediment introduced by toll plazas and how most of our accidents are related to those locations.
For the toll industry, the solution is simple – open road tolling eliminates the toll plaza impediments by providing a free flow environment. Also, the improved V/C (volume/capacity) ratios on toll roads generally leads to more even traffic flow (even more so when variable pricing is used to manage the level-of-service). By keeping the travel stream speed at a level acceptable to drivers, there is also a reduced need for passing and lane switching.
One element that can be extremely effective is the separation of large trucks and automobile into discreet lanes or separate facilities. The New Jersey Turnpike began that practice years ago and many states are now prohibiting trucks from the left lane on Interstate Highways. On Tampa’s elevated Reversible Express Lanes, the combination of tolls, state-of-the art roadway design (with very safe ingress and egress) and the elimination of large trucks has led to no vehicle-to-vehicle involved accidents for more than 15 million trips in about 2.5 years of operation (there has been a couple on one-car challenges to our barrier wall). This outstanding record has been achieved at the same time we continued to experience accidents on our local lanes, mostly at our toll plazas.
In summary, eliminating trucks along with price-management and good roadway design leads to an improved driving experience for automobiles and a much safer traffic environment.
Posted by Rich Raczynski, New Jersey Turnpike Authority
ReplyDeleteKeeping patrons informed of what is ahead I feel is important and that is why we are making a major investment in ITS. Naturally roadway conditions are key, adequate shoulders and clear zones, keeping line striping fresh and maintaining road surface conditions.
In this time of tough financing we must prioritize our problem areas and do what we can with what we have.
Posted by Dan Baxter, Stantec
ReplyDeleteA short time after 35 year old Orlando obstetrician Dr. Donald Diebold made my first daughter’s life possible, I read a June 2002 Orlando Sentinel article about his tragic death on the Florida Turnpike. Dr. Diebold and his family happened upon a recently rolled over pickup truck in the median of the Turnpike. He parked and went to administer first aid. Moments later, an eighteen wheeled behemoth flew up upon the queue and swerved into the median to miss the stationary vehicles. In a flash, off duty fireman, 26 year old Shane Kelly and Dr. Donald Diebold were dead under the crushing blow of a 40,000 pound sledgehammer. The children of Dr. Don, sitting in the car beside the highway where their Daddy had gone to save another life, witnessed his death. When the door shut, they didn’t know he would never slip back in behind the wheel and take them home.
I often have thought that an upstream Dynamic Message Sign could have warned Robert Lee Jackson of the stopped vehicles ahead, giving him reason to downshift and save the life of Dr. Don. Although in 2002 FDOT had already started instrumenting the Turnpike with Intelligent Transportation Systems, it would still be years before they had the full complement of command and control they have today. If the same accident occurred today, there would be a much higher probability that Robert Jackson might have had a warning and slowed down. ITS cannot prevent accidents and there is no guarantee motorists will act on the info we give them. Nonetheless, the Florida Turnpike is a shining example of commitment to ITS and Incident Management, certainly one of the most advanced and safest toll roads in the world. Why did the Turnpike invest millions in ITS? Are they just do-gooders? Maybe. Or does ITS pay off? Yes, it does. Especially in reduction of secondary accidents like the one that took Dr. Don. The potential of saving lives, not just statistical lives, but the real hearts still beating in the chests of fathers, sons, mothers and daughters. The face of Don Diebold behind the surgical mask, still with us, still saving lives, still bringing children into the world. Gone, but not forgotten to the thousands he helped in a career cut short by one of the thousands of traffic accidents that took lives in 2002.
So what are we waiting for? Is investment in ITS a bad or frivolous business decision? Even if we stay professionally detached and are not moved to action by accidental deaths, I can make an argument that ITS and IM are a good business decision. Last year Stantec looked at the real cost of a March 2008 fatal accident on I-70 in Colorado. The hard dollar costs were over $150,000 in the hours following the incident. The soft costs were $1.6 Million in delays and lost revenues to the Ski Resorts that line I-70. Saving lives also saves money. When revenues are down and you put that new interchange on the shelf, keep your capital program alive with a few lower cost ITS projects. I’m an ITS consultant so I will benefit from what I’m advocating, but so will the millions of your valued customers that will get better service, better information, and a better chance to make it home safely. Maybe the life you save will return the favor. Every one of our customers deserves our best efforts for road safety.
Posted by Roger Wentz, President and CEO, The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA)
ReplyDeleteMotorists are familiar with the safety features found within their vehicles, such as air bags and anti-lock brakes. In fact, the number of on-board safety features in one vehicle makes it more attractive on an auto dealer’s showroom floor than the vehicle with less safety features. But how about the safety features on roadways? What many motorists take for granted – and should recognize – are the hundreds of roadway safety features found on our nation’s roadways that are making our roadways safer and are saving lives every day. These lifesaving devices include guardrails and cable barriers that prevent median crossovers and run-off-the-road accidents, as well as bringing the vehicle to a safe stop following an accident; bright, reflective, easy-to-read signage that provides excellent, clear-to-read guidance and information day or night; glass-bead technology found in bright roadway striping that guides motorists and keeps them on course in even the most adverse weather conditions; rumble strips that alert motorists when they are drifting off the roadway or are beginning to cross the centerline, and hundreds of other traffic control and roadway safety devices found in work zones and elsewhere. Surprisingly, many of these roadway safety features can be installed at a relatively low-cost to begin saving lives immediately, especially on our nation’s rural roads which are 2 1/2 times as dangerous as our urban roadways. For example, a simple sequence of reflective chevron signs in a curve can immediately improve roadway safety, yielding a high return at very low cost. Roadway safety is the number one priority for members of the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA). Our members continuously develop and introduce innovative, cutting edge roadway safety products. Over 20 new products were recently announced at our Annual Convention and Traffic Expo in San Antonio just last week.
Posted by Jim Wilson, TransCore
ReplyDeleteAs everyone has previously suggested, the approach to a safer driving experience is multi-faceted; we need to consider the road, the vehicle, and the driver, as well as any other unique circumstances when developing safety solutions. As an industry, we tend to focus on the road solution as it is the one variable that we can control (provided we have the funds). The ITS industry (with VII) and the vehicle manufacturers have taken a fresh look at what can be done in the car, and there are some promising solutions ahead.
The driver however remains the wild card and most difficult variable to control. Unfortunately, I believe it ultimately comes down to strict, consistent, and continuous enforcement of the rules of the road. Left unchecked, the vast majority of drivers today ignore the rules of the road and suppress safer judgment in favor of speed and time savings. When is the last time you actually witnessed a driver observing the speed limit without a congested roadway dictating speeds? Lack of enforcement does not come from a lack of understanding or desire to make our roadways safer; it simply comes from a lack of funds to put enough patrol cars, speed detection systems, and other technological solutions in place. If we can make the business case that investments towards enforcement today lead to safer roads which lead to cost savings tomorrow, then we will have the tools to control the wild card variable.
When I took my road test to get a driver’s license almost 40 years ago, my father’s car had a radio (AM only, and only a handful of stations), a heater (alas, no AC), turn signals and a cigarette lighter. That was the extent of a typical car’s in-vehicle systems in the late 1960’s. Today, it isn’t too uncommon for a potential driver to arrive for his or her skills test with a vehicle sporting a GPS system, 150 or more channels to choose from on XM satellite radio (featuring a read-out of the artist and name of each song played), live traffic information, a cell phone and a CD changer. Soon, these features will be as standard as the turn signals on my father’s 1962 Chevrolet Bel Aire.
ReplyDeleteAdd to this mix adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning systems, self-parking and other safety technologies that take over a portion of driving, and the question of whether a driver can safely pilot a car without being distracted by any of these systems becomes pretty important.
How will we train and test drivers given these changes in the vehicle environment? My guess is the road test will change dramatically in the future. US Transportation Secretary LaHood is passionate about solving the distracted driving challenge. To do so, DOT will need to turn some of its attention to driver’s education and testing. As a result, AAMVA members, who devise and deliver those tests, will play a central role in solving distracted driving and related safety challenges.
I agree with all of the other posts regarding tollway safety improvements, ITS and vehicle safety improvements, but lets face it, the driver is in control of his/her safety along with everyone else using the roadway/bridge/tunnel. So maybe the solution is psychological. Remember the slogans "Watch Out For the Other Guy" and "Drive Defensively"? I rarely hear these anymore, in public service announcements, print advertising and message boards. Maybe we as operators/owners need to re-energize these slogans for our own facilities. Distractions such as the latest wiz-bang gadgets installed in the vehicle along with cell and smart phones, MP 3 and iPods, GPS, coffee cup warmers and every other imaginable contraption only compounds the problem. Just thinking about how someone could possibly use all of these gadgets and still drive safety reminds me of the Ed Sullivan act in which the man keeps all of the plates spinning on the poles while singing a song. It is only a matter of time before something has to give. We have all seen near misses and in some cases much worse due to a distracted driver. The real question is how do we change driver behavior in a sea of distractions in the vehicle? Is it our function or are we part of a solution? We as operators/owners can only do so much to reinforce responsible driving on our facilities.
ReplyDeleteRob Horr
In March 2009, I was speaker in a European conference about Safety in Austria. I raised many « boos! » from the female audience, when I said to the young males in the room that behind a steering wheel, their grand mothers were at least as dangerous as them. Statistics show than women older than 85 are causing as many deaths on the road as men under 25.
ReplyDeleteOur population is aging, and we do not address properly that fact.
On a personal level, what can we do when we see our old parents needing and wanting to drive? Is there a political will to find solutions?
alain estiot
By: Tom Bamonte (Pt. I)
ReplyDeleteThe measures suggested thus far, including improved roadway design, better messaging, targeted bans on smartphone use, and consistent enforcement of DUI and speed laws, are all laudable, effective to some degree and deserving of investment. They are all insufficient, however, to make auto travel as safe as air travel, which should be our industry's goal.
What will be needed to reach that goal is game changing technology that addresses the limitations of the human body and brain that make us ill-suited to adequately control vehicles at high speed in a highly dynamic environment with an often overwhelming amount of visual and other stimuli. Roadway and vehicle design improvements can only do so much to reduce the frequency and severity of accidents. Until we address the human factor directly, safety gains will be incremental at best.
I expect that the vehicle manufacturers will take the lead here and we will see a gradual implementation of collision avoidance technology. At some point highway authorities will realize that such technology, if supplemented by data streams generated by highway authorities (e.g., information about traffic speeds), can increase the carrying capacity of highways without having to add lanes and other hard and expensive infrastructure.
Over time, you and I and our descendants will cede more direct control over our vehicles, just as control of commercial aircraft has been gradually shifted from the pilots. Ultimately, travel in personal vehicles will become a time for distractions--e.g., movies, reading--and work, just as is possible now on commercial aircraft or railways.
By: Tom Bamonte (Pt. II)
ReplyDeleteThe notion that there will be smart roads and smart vehicles that will do much of the driving for us may seem incredible, a quaint science fiction notion that should hardly be taken seriously. Yet, such a notion is no more quaint or technologically implausible than similar notions that people would one day carry computers in their pockets and have easy, fingertip access to the accumulated world knowledge; notions that have been realized already in the form of the iPhone and the Internet.
The scale of this transition dwarfs the toll road industry. Nevertheless, to the extent that the IBTTA advocates for game-changing technological advances in this area, it will be playing to a strength of the toll road industry, namely, a relatively good safety record. Who better to advocate for smart vehicles/smart roads than an industry that has demonstrated already that good design and smart deployment of technology can reduce the accident rates and the terrible human price paid in those accidents?
It is certainly important to focus on the immediate technological challenges facing the toll road industry, such as interoperability, improved toll collection devices and methods, and various safety initiatives. A significant share of our energy and creativity should also be devoted, however, to helping assist the birth of game changing smart vehicle/smart road technology that could realistically double the capacity and halve the accident rate on our existing toll roads. Such technology could support a major new industry, with associated jobs and economic benefits, for the regions or countries that are prescient enough work to realize its potential.
(Note: The views expressed are my own and not necessarily shared by my agency.)
As a consultant to a recent study on toll road stafety for the FHWA, I learned that toll roads were clearly much safer than comparable non-tolled US facilities. I also leaarned that individual agencies have developed some very unique and transferrable ideas that really could serve other agencies well and, in most cases, were fairly inexpensive to implement.The results of that study can be found at:
ReplyDeletehttp://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/tolling_pricing/resources/report/toll_summary/index.htm
Perhaps more important, though, is that as good as toll road safety records already are, there would be a further leap in safety with the implementation of all-electronic tolling. By far, the major elements of existing safety problems on toll roads are at toll plazas. Merging and the mixture of traffic at varying speeds as they slow down and then speed up after paying a cash toll or as they intermingle after a cash and electronic tolling mix is extremely hazardous. If all traffic was free flow all of those problems would be eliminated.
All too often we think of the advantages of all-electronic tolling in the realm of minimized congestion and maximized revenues. The safety of customers and employees is also a major reason to consider AET and provides compelling justification as an agency is either considering a change to AET or is considering a greenfield project.
From Neil Gray - What I find interesting about the responses so far is that they are very involved and reflect a lot of deep thinking that existed (I suspect) prior to the question being asked. Toll agencies are particularly interested in the topic for both utilitarian as well as humanitarian reasons – accidents block traffic flow as well as injure people. While this may a less lofty motive than concern about people (not to suggest it is a greater concern) it also highlights one of the major distinctions I see between toll roads and “free” roads – i.e. only tolled roads, bridges and tunnels really care about maintenance of traffic flow.
ReplyDeleteOn “free” roads everyone from fire companies, EMT’s, and the police can shut down a road for an “investigation” and cleanup and it’s the priority of virtually no one to think about the traffic backup and greater impact of a stoppage on tens of thousands of other people (and the potential for follow-on accidents in such backups).
Ken Philmus referenced the FHWA toll facility safety study in which IBTTA and our members played a major part to document best practices for both employee and traffic safety. The origin of the study was partly triggered by an NTSB accident report of a toll road accident that the media parlayed into a racy headline suggesting toll plazas to be the “most” dangerous driving environment on any road. Yet even the NTSB's statistics, which are arguable, suggested that something like 30-45% of accidents on the road being investigated occurred in the toll plaza. What is notable here to me is that the toll plaza is main thing that distinguishes a tolled road from any other road, yet the greater percentage of accidents occurred on the mainline outside of the plazas which are little different from any other road. As noted elsewhere, with the advent of open road tolling the plaza will be an increasingly rare environment which should help improve toll road safety even further.
IBTTA (Jeff Campbell and I) is currently working with FHWA on a follow-up to the aforementioned study which is seeking to standardize accident reporting and nomenclature. There is a litany of different accident reporting formats in use across the country yet they uniformly fail to identify precisely “where” on a roadway the accidents take place - was it a tolled or free road, was it an intersection, a merge, a toll plaza or an exit, etc. An invitation for toll agencies to participate in a FHWA sponsored focus group will be forthcoming shortly.
As Congress moves toward more accountability by making the next Transportation Reauthorization legislation more performance driven, they would do will to take a lesson from what several toll agencies have already initiated to make their roads safer. Utilizing a performance contracting approach requires tighter deadlines for certain repairs, from more immediate response to guardrail end treatment damage to installing tape with rumble strips. These higher levels of service have created measurable improvements for many agencies that could be expanded in use on more highways to save lives. More specific examples we have been involved with include:
ReplyDeleteLighting- ICA worked with OOCEA in refurbishing all toll plazas with the new LED lights. (Toll lane indicator lights were replaced - green arrow open light and red cross closed light; and also the yellow blinking warning lights between each toll lane) The results of these replacements were a win-win for everyone, especially for safety. Maintenance costs were reduced and OOCEA benefited from lower utility costs and the lights are probably twice as bright as the original incandescent lights therefore providing better visibility and navigation through the toll lanes. There has been a noticed decrease in toll booth hits and attenuator hits due to better navigation through the tolls.
RISC- Rapid Incident Scene Clearance. This is a performance driven way of clearing incident scenes that has proven effective with Florida Turnpike Enterprise. A contractor is paid a bonus for clearing scenes within a set timeframe. Why is this an improvement? Because you get traffic back to normal operating conditions more quickly, which lessens the chance for secondary accidents from the restricted driving conditions.
Median Barriers- The increased use of median barriers, to prevent crossover accidents has reduced instance and severity of high speed, head-on accidents. Especially with the use of Cable guardrail, which captures the errant vehicle, and prevents it from being redirected into the path of other vehicles? While property damage may be as severe for the single vehicle, it prevents others in adjacent lanes from being involved. High performance levels for repair of these barriers are essential.
These are just a few examples of saftety improvements as a result of a performance based maintenece approach being utilized by innovative agencies.
Butch Eley
Posted by Dan Baxter: Stantec
ReplyDeleteAs a follow up to my previous post, I really have enjoyed everyone's contributions. I also went back and read Jeff Campbell's landmark study to see if he states WHY toll roads are safer. He wisely steered away from lots of speculation, except to say perhaps toll roads may be in better condition and therefore safer.
Since a few of the bloggers claim above that the driver is the real x factor- would they care to speculate if they believe that toll payers are a safer class of driver?
If tolled highways are safer, it gives us another reason to toll the national interstate highway system in the US. In our discussions of VMT, safety has not been a central theme- maybe it should be. If road condition is a factor, then all the more reason to generate funding through national tolling to better maintain our interstates! We need to understand WHY toll roads are safer to support such an argument.
Dan Baxter
There are facts that show that Limited Access facilities are some of the safest roadways in the nation. The latest trends in accidents and fatalities on U.S. roads show that both the number and frequency of fatalities are going down. While many say this is directly related to the economy, the frequency rates show otherwise since they exceed past rates, which is a good thing. As Toll Road owners and operators, the most important thing that can be done now to continue to reduce accidents and fatalities is to convert Barrier/Cash Collection Toll Roads to All Electronic Toll Roads. Recent studies have shown that accidents were reduced by over 60% on toll roads that went from Barrier/Cash Collection configurations to Open-Road Tolling (ORT). While ORT is not a complete all electronic configuration, it does introduce the high-speed electronic option to drivers, which removes the opportunity for impacts to objects such as attenuators, delineators, raised medians, toll booths, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs tolling agencies, we also have the obligation of not sitting on the successes we have had in the past, but instead, look for ways to continue to be safer in the future. One way this could be done is to introduce the Road Safety Audit (RSA) process into the planning and design stages of project development. Many times we wait until after the fact to address a dangerous location, when we have the tools in place to address these locations before they are built or reconfigured. By introducing RSAs into the early stages of a project, we allow Engineers, Maintenance personnel, Highway Patrol and local interest parties the opportunity to identify safety concerns prior to construction and to offer recommended alternatives to mitigate these concerns. We do so by not looking at “Standards” or “Policies” on design, but by evaluating based upon driver perspectives and operator understanding.
Finally, the tolling industry has the opportunity to lead the charge in the U.S. by getting on board with the Smart Highway concept. We have all heard that both infrastructure and vehicle safety has improved and that a majority of the issues around accidents and fatalities is with the drivers, yet it is virtually impossible to cure this cause without having a Smart Highway concept that helps the driver know what issues lie ahead. The European Union has been charging forward with this initiative, and with the technology we use on our toll roads today, we too could be charging forward.
Transportation professionals have been working to improve road safety for about as long as we've had roads. But a distracted, aggressive, impaired or inexperienced driver can still manage to crash a vehicle on the safest road. So, we should focus more on driversafety. Does this mean we should stop trying to make our roads safer? Certainly not. Can we do more to improve driver behavior? We need to try, and we all need to face the reality that we're not perfect drivers.
ReplyDeleteWe have to continue building and operating the safest roads possible by identifying and treating known hazards. This can include both routine construction and maintenance as well as targeted safety construction projects designed to treat either a specific high-crash location or make general improvements. But that's only one side of the equation. We need to work harder to eliminate dangerous driving behaviors through education, and we should promote targeted traffic law enforcement. New legislation designed to further discourage negative driving behaviors such as texting while driving, etc., could also help. Previous efforts like these have worked well to increase seat belt use, reduce DUI's, etc., although it's important to note that ongoing education and enforcement have been key elements in raising and maintaining compliance.
Technology has to be part of the solution. We can expand and improve upon intelligent transportation systems to monitor busy roadways and provide motorists with better, real-time information. We expect to see continued improvements in vehicle construction to assist in crash avoidance and survivability, such as blind spot warning devices and automated braking systems when vehicles come too close to obstructions. At some point, fully automated vehicles integrated with "smart" roadways should be possible. But until we truly have an "auto-pilot" feature on our vehicles, we will have to tackle the safety issue from all fronts.
As a follow up to my previous post, and after reading deeply into the other posts, I would like to add the following thoughts and directions.
ReplyDeleteAs an industry, we must be careful when looking at the data that is out there and to not concentrate too much on fatality rates. We can become fixated with a fatality rate, which typically looks better than the standard number of fatalities. We should strive for “Zero Fatalities” and not be accepting of a good rate. As many of the previous posts have mentioned, humans make mistakes. An automobile accident is considered a serious mistake and roadway owners should strive to make sure those mistakes don’t lead to fatalities. We have seen this approach by tolling agencies already that have implemented safety features above-and-beyond what is required in design standards, such as closing up medians that “meet” the required width of not needing barriers. We have also seen this at toll plazas where high speed attenuators are installed even though the posted speeds approaching these plazas require only a minor attenuator. By setting “Zero” as the goal, decision makers will look at designs and operations differently.
Regarding enforcement; we all know it does help, however, we continue to struggle with having the required number of Highway Patrol available to adequately enforce the laws. We should consider pushing for the use of automated enforcement devices such as automated speed enforcement (http://www.iihs.org/laws/testimony/pdf/testimony_2009-02-24_1.pdf).
Regarding numerous references to drivers being the main issue; we must work on making the approach to driving in the U.S. a privilege and not a right. To do this, we must make it harder to get a license and easier to lose one. Also propose more stringent rules on maintaining licensure, similar to what is required of commercial drivers. On a recent trip to Germany, I was amazed at how courteous drivers were on the high speed limited access facilities to those around them. No one drove in the left lane unless they were passing the vehicle immediately in front of them. In Germany, it costs a lot of money to get a license, something that people there consider a privilege.
Posted by Bill M. Halkias, PE, Chief Executive Officer, Attica Tollway Operations Authority.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of toll roads being safer I can only offer observations and feelings from experience, as :
1. Toll highways are "statistically" safer than non toll highways of similar geometric characteristics and that is a fact.
2. When the roads are of the same geometric conditions, vehicles are same and the drivers are the same, then what makes the difference is:
a. the physical condition of the road since on toll roads the monitoring and prevention is there on a 7/24/365 basis, thus presenting less chances of having an accident for example by collecting debris of previous accidents faster and
b. the behaviour of the drivers is better. It may be that they behave better when they get the feeling that someone is watching them.
c. liability of operator is the force behind active monitoring and preventive maintenance activities.
Bill Halkias
Posted by Jack Opiola
ReplyDeleteDespite all the "improved" roadway design, vehicle safety measures, ITS and vehicle safety measures, we still record over 42,000 deaths a year on our nation's road network. The Toll Road industry can take the moral high ground in these statistics, if there is one, since its record for safety is but a small portion of that ghastly number. Despite the sum of all our measures - better pavement design, crash barriers, driver and passenger air bags, vehicle crumple zones, variable message signs, traffic management systems, tighter enforcement and distracted driving laws - the number of deaths remains fairly constant. I suppose we should take pride that the number is not increasing despite vehicle miles travelled increases and statistically longer trips; however, we can do better to preserve and protect our lives and those of our family and friends.
VII or "intellidrive" or 5.9 GHz technologies is one measure that we can adopt and by V2V and V2I adoption. We can take measures not only to improve safety, but help solve our industry's interoperability problems at the same time. Not only does this new technology bring timely and responsive messages into our car about the road conditions and other vehicles traveling along with us, but also it tells us what the other vehicles are doing and the "unknown" or hidden dangers just around the bend. As Toll Road Operators, it gives us BOTH a safety and mobility solution to unify our operations and promote even better performance, while saving us money, injuries and lives.
Shouldn't we, as an industry and professionals, push for a unifying solution that promotes our interoperability and mobility needs, while saving lives and protecting our loved ones? How many lives will we continue to lose while we take dithering and half measures towards safety when we can bold measures to enable predictive safety measures, provide better information in the vehicle to protect drivers and passengers, and, enable technology to take faster measures and actions to reduce deaths and injury? Regardless of current legacy issues and bespoke technologies in use today, isn't it time that we stop the exchange of ideas, conferences and debates and take action?
Jack Opiola
Senior partner
D’Artagnan Consulting LLC
From Jeff Campbell
ReplyDeleteToll facilities offer a unique opportunity to really understand the causes of accidents and injuries. First of all, each toll facility can be viewed as an independent laboratory where different approaches to safety are taken. By studying these safety measures we have the ability to identify best practices which can then be rolled out to other toll facilities. In fact, in our meeting with FHWA that Neil mentioned, I stressed the fact that there is a real opportunit for our public roads to benefit from what we are learning on the toll side.
More importantly in my opinion, there is a real opportunity to do some extremely meaningful research to identify and quantify the major causes of accidents and fatalities. One of the significant limitations of just about all road safety studies is that they only focus on the population that has had an accident or where there was a fatality. So we have lots of statistics about road characteristics, driver characteristics and other information, but only for those people that have been involved in an accident. So we know a lot about how to help people survive crashes (ie: seat belts) but not much about why most people avoid crashes. In general, we don't accurate information for the people that did NOT get into accidents. It seems to me that the primary question is how do the vehicles/people/road conditions of those that are involved in accidents compare to the vehicles/people/road conditions of those that were not involved in an accident. By comparing non-accident cases to accident cases we could actually identify AND quantify the major causes of accidents which would allow everyone to focus on those factors that are the most predictive of an accident, or to put it another way, we could identify changes that would have the most overall impact on accident/fatality rates. We know a lot about the people and circumstances related to accidents and fatalities but nearly nothing about the non-accident group.
One of the reasons that such studies are not routinely done I think, is because it is very difficult to identify the people that have not had accidents, at least in a public road setting. For a toll facility however, we can identify both groups of drivers that enter a toll facility. We can therefore compare the two groups. Toll facilities therefore, offer an opportunity to dramatically improve our knowledge and understanding of vehicle accidents and fatalities.
To do such a comparison would not be an insignificant effort though. A true study in my opinion would look much like an epidemiological study of disease where risk factors are identified and incident rates are accurately measured. Such studies typically have multiple data collection centers with coders, analysts, statisticians, etc. It would be a significant effort, but I am convinced that many lives could be saved as a result of us having accurate, actionable data to work with.
As stated earlier roadway safety is acheived through the integration of several elements including the driver, the vehicle, and the roadway. Lets also add weather conditions. All four can contribute to a safe unevenful ride or a terrible experience.
ReplyDeleteAs roadway operators we can influence the first three but can only react to the fourth. Police forces can inspect vehicles to ensure they meet all required safety requriements. They also enforce speed limits, and driver distraction and other driving laws.
We as the roadway operator are responsible for the roadway itself. Good design and proper maintenace are essential to establishing and keeping a roadway safe. The presence of satisfactory roadway surface conditions, adequate and proper advance signing and other intelligent communication systems, proper line stripping, delineators, reflectors, lighting, drainage, guide rail, impact attenuators, clear zones and the timely removal of debris, ice and snow all contribute to a safer roadway.
In additon maintenance, operations personnel and tow operators must be adequately trained in proper roadside safety procedures so they themselves don't become victims of, or cause accidents.
Lastly adequate funding is required to provide these essential ingredients for a safe roadway.
Toll road users pay for, and expect it.
Ralph Bruzzichesi
Garden State Parwkay Division
New JErsey Turnpike
Posted by:
ReplyDeleteTimothy McGuckin, Executive Director, OmniAir Consortium, Inc.
Given the comprehensive and excellent comments above, I only hope my posting is an actual contribution to the discussion thread:
In the driver’s experience, there is little distinction – design-wise – between a limited-access highway and what a toll road looks like, or will look like in coming years. So, as for the question “what should the toll industry do to improve safety?” one can claim that it is too limited because the toll industry is part of the highway community and thus has the same incentives and ability to improve safety. Actually, it has more of both. As far as incentives, the toll industry is ‘human’ and wants to prevent highway tragedies, just like public operators. But, as cold as it sounds, there is a financial incentive to keep tolled facilities as accident-free as possible. We hear estimates of ‘the cost of congestion’ due to accidents. We can ascertain the costs to police highways and respond to incidents. But, for public highway operators these measures are basically abstract, as they exist outside of any fiscal performance measures. Toll road operations do not. Both groups employ all the standard tools to prevent accidents and mitigate injury and deaths when an accident occurs. And still, they suffer accidents, but mostly due to things outside of their control, like weather, (snow, fog, rain, icy conditions) and, now, human factors – most recently those darn distracted drivers.
Well, weather systems and people ARE outside our control, but today the factors are not immutable – they can be impacted – mitigated – via the adoption of 5.9GHz DSRC. And, toll operators have a greater ability to adopt 5.9 than do other road operators. They have a greater ability because of the toll industry’s unique incentives to improve safety, the ability to finance, and the fact that they have a technology-infrastructure already. In short, the toll industry has a unique ability to lead a step-change in safety.
I will not go into a (long) spiel about the benefits of 5.9 compared to existing protocols (there are many) but I will write that 5.9 is the only ‘ETC’ technology that can – in both carry-in and embedded form factors – prevent accidents. But as importantly: to procure technology – in the year 2010 – that performs basically ONE application, and to essentially base a procurement decision on the cost of one component of that technology (the toll-tag) is really an insult to the concept of safety being deliberated here. If the industry could position safety front and center, it would be working very hard to migrate as fast as possible to 5.9 and, for tolling purposes, be able to withstand the arguments that other ETC protocols are less expensive.
Last thought regarding distracted driving: DSRC can ultimately provide much of the functionality that carry-in devices provide today without the same amount of distraction. In addition to information/mobility apps, the driver also gets the important benefit of possibly having his life saved! Then there are the benefits of interoperability. From a B/C perspective, it is clearly in the toll industry’s interest (and unique ability) to advance DSRC – even just to address the fact that technology’s permeation into our lives at every level is unrelenting. I would love this industry to get credit for leading that in the transportation space. And I believe Americans tend to favor technical solutions to issues rather than restrictive policies. And they’re willing to pay for them. At, say $50 for the DSRC device (most new vehicles have the rest of the computer already), and with 10 million new cars sold annually, that’s only $500 million/year – something for which government can subsidize car companies easily. As for the RSE side, the toll industry might also think about incentives to migrate, and I can’t think of a better example of leadership in our political culture than the lead organization – IBTTA – asking the feds for money to solve a problem! ;-)
Hmm, it is socially irresponsible to do distracting things while driving. Re-training, having tighter law regulations, and higher fines can help prevent this. But it should always start from ourselves. You should train yourself, too. What do you think?
ReplyDelete