Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Methods To Limit The Time Taken To Investigate Crash Sites, Jennifer R. Walton, Monica L. Barrett, Kenneth R. Agent

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Highway crashes have significant direct and indirect costs associated with them. Substantial sources of indirect costs are the congestion and delays that result from lane blockages or road closures while the crash is being investigated and the site cleared. In many cases, vehicles could be moved and roadways reopened very quickly, but this does not occur because of the need (or perceived need) to conduct a detailed investigation of the crash scene. The objective of this study was to identify opportunities to reduce the time required to investigate and clear crash scenes. This project includes a review of state and …

Development Of Kentucky’S Highway Incident Management Strategic Plan, Monica L. Barrett, Joseph D. Crabtree, Jerry G. Pigman, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Even though Kentucky has undertaken many initiatives to improve specific aspects of incident management, there has never been a plan that establishes an overall framework for a systematic, statewide, multi-agency effort to improve the management of highway incidents. The objective of this project was to develop a strategic plan that provides a vision and strategy for significantly improving all aspects of incident management. This report identifies the current and best practices for highway incident management in the United States and in Kentucky and establishes a vision for the future of highway incident management in Kentucky. The Plan developed through the …

Kentucky’S Highway Incident Management Strategic Plan, Monica L. Barrett, Joseph D. Crabtree, Jerry G. Pigman, Jennifer R. Walton

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky ’s Highway Incident Management Strategic Plan consists of a mission statement, 4 goals, 16 objectives, and 49 action strategies. The action strategies are arranged by priority and recommended time frame for implementation. When implemented, the action strategies will help Kentucky achieve its primary goals for incident management: 1) improved safety of responders, highway workers, and motorists; 2) reduced traffic delay; 3) improved motorist awareness; and 4) improved responder and highway worker preparedness.

Context Sensitive Design – Thinking Beyond The Pavement: Documentation Of Workshop Development And Training, Jerry G. Pigman, Donald L. Hartman, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Kenneth R. Agent, Lenahan O'Connell, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Patrick Tyndall

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents the development and presentation of the workshop titled “Thinking Beyond the Pavement – A Workshop on Context Sensitive Design”. Work began on the workshop development in 1998 after the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was selected as one of the pilot states to implement a training program for context sensitive design. The Kentucky Transportation Center at the University of Kentucky was selected to develop and deliver the training to state personnel and consultants who were commonly involved with project development. The training course was comprised of the following four modules:

• Facilitated Communication and Public Involvement,
• Environmental Issues,
• Liability Issues, …

Safety And Capacity Evaluation For Interstates In Kentucky, Adam J. Kirk, Jerry G. Pigman, Kenneth R. Agent, Barry House

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This analysis and evaluation was directed toward assessing safety and capacity issues on interstates in Kentucky and, particularly, the manner in which commercial vehicle traffic affects these issues. Analyses was undertaken to show past trends and project future traffic. Previous research was relied upon to show the level of safety on each of the interstates relative to statewide averages. Analyses were performed to evaluate the impact on safety when comparing segments by number of lanes available for through traffic (4, 6, and 8-lane highway sections). Delay on the interstates was calculated based on closure times due to crashes and estimates …

Implementation Strategies For Real-Time Traffic Safety Improvements On Urban Freeways, Jeremy Harvey Dilmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluates Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) implementation strategies to improve the safety of a freeway once a potential of a crash is detected. Among these strategies are Variable Speed Limit (VSL) and ramp metering. VSL are ITS devices that are commonly used to calm traffic in an attempt to relieve congestion and enhance throughput. With proper use, VSL can be more cost effective than adding more lanes. In addition to maximizing the capacity of a roadway, a different aspect of VSL can be realized by the potential of improving traffic safety. Through the use of multiple microscopic traffic simulations, …

Neural Network Trees And Simulation Databases: New Approaches For Signalized Intersection Crash Classification And Prediction, Piyush Nawathe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Intersection related crashes form a significant proportion of the crashes occurring on roadways. Many organizations such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are considering intersection safety improvement as one of their top priority areas. This study contributes to the area of safety of signalized intersections by identifying the traffic and geometric characteristics that affect the different types of crashes. The first phase of this thesis was to classify the crashes occurring at signalized intersections into rear-end, angle, turn and sideswipe crash types based on the traffic and geometric properties of …

Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts 2005 Report, Kentucky Transportation Center, Kentucky State Police

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KENTUCKY’S TRAFFIC COLLISION FACTS report for 2005 is based on collision reports submitted to the Kentucky State Police Records Branch. As required by Kentucky Revised Statutes 189.635, “every law enforcement agency whose officers investigate a vehicle accident of which a report must be made...shall file a report of the accident...within ten days after investigation of the accident upon forms supplied by the bureau.” The stated purpose of this requirement is to utilize data on traffic collisions for such purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the Commonwealth. Data contained in this report are based solely on the observations …