Relationship between Roadway Illuminance Level and Nighttime Rural Intersection Safety

Bhagavathula, Rajaram; Gibbons, Ronald B.; Edwards, Christopher J

doi:10.3141/2485-02

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Bhagavathula et al [13], for example, investigated the e ect of lighting level on the night-to-day (ND) crash ratios at 99 rural intersections in Virginia; in particular, a 1 lux (lx) increase at all rural intersections corresponded to a 7% decrease in the ND crash ratio.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Criteria for Improving Safety Performance of Rural Intersections

Biancardo

Russo

Zhang

et al. 2019

Journal of Advanced Transportation

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This paper, on the one hand, aims to identify significant crash risk factors at unsignalized three-leg intersections connecting rural two-lane two-way roads and minor roads with a STOP control on the approaches (3ST) and, on the other, to make adjustments to the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) procedure, fine-tuning its Safety Performance Function (SPF) based on observation of the local context. Over an 8-year period of study, a total of 240 crashes on 35 3ST intersections were observed, with no geometric-infrastructure adjustments or changes in the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) and surrounding context noted at the intersections investigated. To obtain reliable results, the study period was divided into two groups: (a) 5 years to calibrate a new SPF, and (b) the remaining 3, not included in the first dataset, were used to validate the results. A negative binomial regression model was adopted to calibrate the new SPF. It was found that the AADT on the major and minor roads, the intersection skew angle, the co-occurrence of left and right-turn lanes on the major roads, and lighting seriously affect the crash scenario.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Criteria for Improving Safety Performance of Rural Intersections

Biancardo

Russo

Zhang

et al. 2019

Journal of Advanced Transportation

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“…In a study conducted in Virginia, a night-to-day crash ratio was used to explain the safety effectiveness of horizontal illuminance at rural intersections. For all rural intersections, a 1-lux increase in the average horizontal lighting was associated with a 7% decrease in the night-to-day crash ratio; for lighted intersections, a 1-lux increase in average horizontal lighting was associated with a 9% decrease in the night-to-day crash ratio; and for unlighted intersections, the same 1-lux increase was associated with a 21% decrease (15).…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…According to NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts 2013, about 30% of traffic crashes occurred at night (e.g., during dark, dark but lighted, and dawn or dusk conditions) (1). Of the 30,057 fatal crashes in 2013, 51% (15,395) occurred during the nighttime, but only 21% to 23% of vehicle miles traveled occurred at night (2). In Florida, nighttime safety is a serious issue: of 2,228 total crashes in 2013, almost 60% (1,315) occurred at night (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Earlier studies proved that the presence of street lighting was an effective countermeasure to reduce nighttime crashes at intersections. Two studies indicated that a unit increase in horizontal illuminance had a significant impact on reduction of nighttime crash frequency (14,15). However, the safety effects of illuminance at urban signalized intersections are not well documented.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Safety Effects of Street Illuminance at Urban Signalized Intersections in Florida

Fan

Wang

Lin

et al. 2016

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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Nighttime crashes are overrepresented on United States and state roadway systems. Nighttime safety at signalized intersections in urban areas receives more attention because of frequent and serious vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-pedestrian, and vehicle-to-bicyclist traffic conflicts at night. Street illumination has proved to be an effective countermeasure to increase visibility at intersections and to reduce nighttime crashes. However, the safety effects of illuminance at urban signalized intersections are not well documented. This study investigated the impacts of illuminance on nighttime crash occurrence and nighttime crash injury severity at urban signalized intersections. Illuminance data and crash data for a sample of 91 signalized intersections were collected from the Tampa Bay region in Florida. The negative binomial model and the probit model were developed to examine the safety effects of intersection illuminance in terms of crash frequency and the risk of fatality and severe injury, respectively. The models showed that an increase in intersection illuminance from low (<0.2 fc) to medium (≥0.2 fc and <1.1 fc) could reduce nighttime crash frequency and night-to-day crash ratios by approximately 50%. When illuminance was kept at 0.9 fc or higher, the risk of fatality and severe injury decreased significantly, especially in crashes that involved pedestrians and bicycles, head-on crashes, and angle crashes.

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“…Descriptive statistics for the control and treatment data. Journal of Transportation Technologies[16] and others[17] [18] used the night-time to day-time crash ratio to assess road luminance. Donnell et al[19] utilized a similar method to compare across lighting studies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety Evaluation of Stop-Sign Mounted Beacons—A Cross-Sectional Study

Goswamy¹,

Hallmark²,

Basulto-Elias³

et al. 2019

JTTs

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Agencies in Iowa have utilized both overhead flashing beacons and stop-sign mounted beacons. Although several studies have shown that overhead flashing beacons are effective, some concerns have been raised about driver confusion. The main concern is that a driver may interpret a multiface flashing beacon with a red indication for their approach as an all-way stop control. As a result, the Iowa DOT has been advocating use of stop-sign mounted beacons rather than overhead flashing beacons. Since little information is available about this countermeasure, data for intersections with (treatment) and without (control) stop-sign mounted beacons were identified and a cross-sectional analysis conducted (due to few confirmable installation dates). Rural stop-controlled intersections with stop-sign mounted beacons in Iowa (USA) were identified (40 in total). Intersection characteristics such as number of approaches, intersection angle etc. were extracted. Additionally, characteristics of individual approaches such as roadway surface (gravel/paved), advanced stop-sign rumble strips, and advance signing were recorded. One or more control locations were manually selected for each treatment intersection based on matching roadway configuration, presence of lighting, advance stop line rumble strips, number of approaches, channelization, traffic volume, and proximity. Propensity scores were estimated to match 40 control locations for comparison. Negative binomial models for different injury combinations at nighttime and daytime were developed with an indicator variable for presence and absence of stop-sign mounted beacons. Presence of stop-sign mounted beacons was associated with a 5% -54% reduction in nighttime crashes. Injury nighttime crashes decreased by 54% and total nighttime crashes reduced by 18%.

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Relationship between Roadway Illuminance Level and Nighttime Rural Intersection Safety

Cited by 19 publications

References 5 publications

Design Criteria for Improving Safety Performance of Rural Intersections

Design Criteria for Improving Safety Performance of Rural Intersections

Safety Effects of Street Illuminance at Urban Signalized Intersections in Florida

Safety Evaluation of Stop-Sign Mounted Beacons—A Cross-Sectional Study

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