National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2004. A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23423.
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NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM NCHRP REPORT 500 SUBJECT AREAS Safety and Human Performance Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan Volume 12: A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections NICHOLAS D. ANTONUCCI KELLY KENNEDY HARDY KEVIN L. SLACK CH2M HILL Herndon, VA RONALD PFEFER Maron Engineering, Ltd. Zikhron Yaacov, Israel TIMOTHY R. NEUMAN CH2M HILL Chicago, IL T R A N S P O R T A T I O N R E S E A R C H B O A R D WASHINGTON, D.C. 2004 www.TRB.org Research Sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in Cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Note: The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 500: Volume 12 Project G17-18(3) FY’00 ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN 0-309-08760-0 Library of Congress Control Number 2003104149 © 2004 Transportation Research Board Price $24.00 NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished schol- ars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and techni- cal matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achieve- ments of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Acad- emy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a division of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board’s mission is to promote innovation and progress in transportation through research. In an objective and interdisciplinary setting, the Board facilitates the sharing of information on transportation practice and policy by researchers and practitioners; stimulates research and offers research management services that promote technical excellence; provides expert advice on transportation policy and programs; and disseminates research results broadly and encourages their implementation. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 5,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 500 ROBERT J. REILLY, Director, Cooperative Research Programs CRAWFORD F. JENCKS, NCHRP Manager CHARLES W. NIESSNER, Senior Program Officer EILEEN P. DELANEY, Managing Editor ELLEN CHAFEE, Assistant Editor NCHRP PROJECT G17-18(3) PANEL Field of Traffic—Area of Safety THOMAS E. BRYER, Camp Hill, PA (Chair) LEANNA DEPUE, Central Missouri State University ADELE DERBY, Alexandria, VA BARBARA HARSHA, Governors Highway Safety Association, Washington, DC BRUCE IBARGUEN, Maine DOT MARGARET “MEG” MOORE, Texas DOT KIM F. NYSTROM, Nystrom Consulting, Gold River, CA PETER F. “PETE” RUSCH, FHWA RUDY UMBS, FHWA ANTHONY D. WYATT, North Carolina DOT JESSE BLATT, NHTSA Liaison Representative RAY KRAMMES, FHWA Liaison Representative KEN KOBETSKY, AASHTO Liaison Representative RICHARD PAIN, TRB Liaison Representative

The goal of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan is to reduce annual high- way fatalities by 5,000 to 7,000. This goal can be achieved through the widespread application of low-cost, proven countermeasures that reduce the number of crashes on the nation’s highways. This twelfth volume of NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan provides strategies that can be employed to reduce the number of collisions at signalized intersections. The report will be of particular interest to safety practitioners with responsibility for imple- menting programs to reduce injuries and fatalities on the highway system. In 1998, AASHTO approved its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which was devel- oped by the AASHTO Standing Committee for Highway Traffic Safety with the assis- tance of the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Transportation Research Board Committee on Transportation Safety Management. The plan includes strategies in 22 key emphasis areas that affect highway safety. The plan’s goal is to reduce the annual number of highway deaths by 5,000 to 7,000. Each of the 22 emphasis areas includes strategies and an outline of what is needed to implement each strategy. NCHRP Project 17-18(3) is developing a series of guides to assist state and local agencies in reducing injuries and fatalities in targeted areas. The guides correspond to the emphasis areas outlined in the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Each guide includes a brief introduction, a general description of the problem, the strate- gies/countermeasures to address the problem, and a model implementation process. This is the twelfth volume of NCHRP Report 500: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan, a series in which relevant informa- tion is assembled into single concise volumes, each pertaining to specific types of highway crashes (e.g., run-off-road, head-on) or contributing factors (e.g., aggressive driving). An expanded version of each volume, with additional reference material and links to other information sources, is available on the AASHTO Web site at http://transportation1.org/safetyplan. Future volumes of the report will be published and linked to the Web site as they are completed. While each volume includes countermeasures for dealing with particular crash emphasis areas, NCHRP Report 501: Integrated Management Process to Reduce High- way Injuries and Fatalities Statewide provides an overall framework for coordinating a safety program. The integrated management process comprises the necessary steps for advancing from crash data to integrated action plans. The process includes method- ologies to aid the practitioner in problem identification, resource optimization, and per- formance measurements. Together, the management process and the guides provide a comprehensive set of tools for managing a coordinated highway safety program. FOREWORD By Charles W. Niessner Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

Contents Acknowledgments I Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-1 General Description of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-2 Objectives of the Emphasis Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-3 II Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . II-1 III Type of Problem Being Addressed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III-1 General Description of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III-1 IV Index of Strategies by Implementation Timeframe and Relative Cost . . . . . . . . . . . IV-1 V Description of Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-1 Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-1 Types of Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-3 Related Strategies for Creating a Truly Comprehensive Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-4 Objective 17.2 A—Reduce Frequency and Severity of Intersection Conflicts through Traffic Control and Operational Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-6 Objective 17.2 B—Reduce Frequency and Severity of Intersection Conflicts through Geometric Improvements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V-29 Objective 17.2 C—Improve Sight Distance at Signalized Intersections . . . . . . . . . . . . V-50 Objective 17.2 D—Improve Driver Awareness of Intersections and Signal Control . . . V-51 Objective 17.2 E—Improve Driver Compliance with Traffic Control Devices . . . . . . V-57 Objective 17.2 F—Improve Access Management near Signalized Intersections . . . . . V-71 Objective 17.2 G—Improve Safety through Other Infrastructure Treatments. . . . . . . V-74 VI Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan . . . . VI-1 Outline for a Model Implementation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-1 Purpose of the Model Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-2 Overview of the Model Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-2 Implementation Step 1: Identify and Define the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-5 Implementation Step 2: Recruit Appropriate Participants for the Program . . . . . . . . . VI-9 Implementation Step 3: Establish Crash Reduction Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-11 Implementation Step 4: Develop Program Policies, Guidelines, and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-12 Implementation Step 5: Develop Alternative Approaches to Addressing the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-13 Implementation Step 6: Evaluate Alternatives and Select a Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-15 Implementation Step 7: Submit Recommendations for Action by Top Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-17 Implementation Step 8: Develop a Plan of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-18 Implementation Step 9: Establish Foundations for Implementing the Program . . . . VI-20 Implementation Step 10: Carry Out the Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-21 Implementation Step 11: Assess and Transition the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI-22 VII Key References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII-1 Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Acknowledgments This volume of NCHRP Report 500 was developed under NCHRP Project 17-18(3), the product of which is a series of implementation guides addressing the emphasis areas of AASHTO’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The project was managed by CH2M HILL, and the co-principal investigators were Ron Pfefer of Maron Engineering and Kevin Slack of CH2M HILL. Timothy Neuman of CH2M HILL served as the overall project director for the team. Kelly Hardy, also of CH2M HILL, served as a technical specialist on the development of the guides. The project team was organized around the specialized technical content contained in each guide, and the overall team included nationally recognized experts from many organizations. The following team of experts, selected based on their knowledge of signalized intersections, served as lead authors for the signalized intersection guide: • Nicholas D. Antonucci CH2M HILL • Kelly K. Hardy CH2M HILL • Kevin L. Slack CH2M HILL Development of the volumes of NCHRP Report 500 utilized the resources and expertise of many professionals from around the country and overseas. Through research, workshops, and actual demonstration of the guides by agencies, the resulting documents represent best practices in each emphasis area. The project team is grateful to the following list of people and their agencies for supporting the project by providing material, participating in workshops and meetings, and providing input and comments during the development of the signalized intersection guide: City of Winston-Salem, NC Stan Polanis Federal Highway Administration Joe Bared Greg Evans Pat Hasson Hari Kalla Fred Ranck Howard County Maryland Police Department Lt. Glenn Hansen Minnesota Department of Transportation Mark Briese Loren Hill Missouri Department of Transportation Mike Curtit Tom Evans Grahm Zieba In addition, the authors wish to recognize Taylor Fleet of CH2M HILL for his assistance in making this document possible.

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TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 500 Volume 12: Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan -- A Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections provides strategies that can be employed to reduce the number of collisions at signalized intersections.

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