Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study Annual Meeting October 12, 2012

Dave Pulay, PE Transportation Engineer AMATS Dave Griffith, PE Safety Engineer ODOT District 4 Eric Smith, PE, PTOE Engineer and Vice President URS Corporation – Akron Office

Introduction Highway Safety 101 Crash Trends Areas of Special Concern How To Apply for Safety Funds

The Ohio Department of Transportation has one of the largest safety programs in the country About $72 million is available annually for projects and programs that address high and severe crash locations. Can be used on any public road

Funding available for studies, design, right of way, and construction Typical request is from $50,000 to $5 million Some safety funding is also available for education and enforcement Historically our area has done well with obtaining safety funding. Currently there are 27 projects in the TIP with safety funding worth $29.7 Million.

Crashes are usually studied in three year periods Animal and construction zone crashes are removed, these do not reflect highway deficiencies Crashes are separated into three primary categories Intersection (46%) Segment or Non-intersection (38%) Freeway (16%)

Crash Severity Levels Property Damage Only (PDO) Injury (Approximately 25%) Fatal (Less than 1%, %) Crash Rate Takes into account the number of crashes and the traffic volume Expressed in terms of crashes per million vehicles

The four Es of traffic safety Engineering Emergency Response Education Enforcement Because 93% of crashes involve some driver error ROADWAY 34% DRIVER 93% VEHICLE 13% Contributing Factors to Crashes

The Highway Safety Manual (HSM) is a new analysis tool to help quantify and predict safety related transportation decisions Over ten years of research by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Mathematical relationship for safety performance based on roadway conditions – how many crashes are predicted vs. actual crashes Crash reductions factors

Fatal crashes are more random and evenly distributed than other crashes Alcohol and/or drugs suspected in 41% of fatal crashes Failure to Control and Unsafe Speed are the top contributing factors 43% are Fixed Object type crashes 36% occur on weekends

126 Total

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity that has the potential to distract from the primary task of driving There are three main types of distraction: Visual taking your eyes off the road Manual taking your hands off the wheel Cognitive taking your mind off what youre doing Texting and cell phone use involves all three types of distraction

Nationwide its estimated that 18 percent of injury crashes and 16 percent of fatalities involved distracted driving Ohio House Bill 99 (August 31, 2012) prohibits texting while driving for all ages and also prohibits texting and cell phone use for drivers under 18 The new Ohio police report has a specific section to indicate if distracted driving contributed to the crash

Ages Largest percentage of overall crashes (35%) Largest percentage of fatalities (22%) Experience issues, dont calculate risk well Drive with others in the car (social driving) Largest percentage of distracted drivers???

Age 65 and up, rapidly growing % Driving = Independence 27% of senior related crashes are angle crashes. For all drivers 17% are angle crashes. Vision and reaction time issues, physical limitations More likely to be injured Self regulated, friends, family, and doctors can help

78% of bicycle crashes and 85% of pedestrian crashes result in an injury Nearly 36% of pedestrian crashes occur in dark conditions As non-automobile forms of transportation gain popularity designers are developing Complete Streets concepts

A Complete Street integrates other modes of transportation into the street design

1.Determine Location 2.Engineering Study 3.Apply to ODOT District Office 4.Sent to ODOT Central Office 5.Funding Decisions Yes- Project No or Less-Reevaluate

AMATS analyzes crash data and produces an annual technical memorandum (currently ) ODOT also produces a statewide list of locations including freeways Local safety forces Local maintenance personnel 1. Determine Location

Local residents (use with caution) Look for clues – Skid marks, broken glass and car parts, damaged to roadside appurtenances Locations that are also congested Bottom Line: Minimum of 10 crashes / 3 years and a crash rate of at least 1.0. Others considered on a case by case basis 1. Determine Location

The essential parts of this study are: Existing Conditions Collision Diagrams Crash Data and Analysis Recommendations and countermeasures Short Term-Low Cost Long Term-High Cost Costs and rate of return analysis Photos 2. Engineering Study

Condition Diagram

Collision Diagram

Relative Severity Analysis

Rate of Return Analysis

This process must begin at least two months prior to April 30 and September 30 The District Safety Review Team (DSRT) is a multi- disciplinary committee that reviews the applications The DSRT scores the applications and then produces another safety funding application that is sent to the ODOT Central Office in Columbus 3. Apply to ODOT District Office

Some things that an application is scored on Number of crashes Number of severe injury and fatal crashes Crash rate Congestion (Traffic Volume) Percent trucks Rate of Return on the investment 3. Apply to ODOT District Office

This is done by the District Office safety engineer Deadline for this submittal is April 30 and September 30 A Safety Program Committee at the Central Office evaluates the applications from all the districts statewide Usually a video conference is done between the Central Office and the District Office along with other stakeholders 4. Sent to ODOT Central Office

If a project is approved it is then funded and added to the State Transportation Improvement Program. Funding should be programmed within 30 days. Sometimes a only part of the funding will be approved and the scope of work will need to be altered On a large corridor project, a recommendation may be handed down to do it phases with only one phase being funded at the current time 5. Funding Decisions

Ohio has one of the most aggressive safety programs in the country Around $72 million are allocated toward safety. Can be used on any public road. Safety funds can also be spent on education and enforcement Choose your location and countermeasures wisely. You are competing against the rest of the state for safety funds.

AMATS and ODOT do a safety analysis annually using the last three years of complete crash data and the results are on each agencies website AMATS can do a pre-engineering analysis of any location if requested. Talk to Dave Griffith about locations you are considering. With his many years of experience working with safety he can help you through the process.