Michigan Department of Transportation Local Safety Initiatives

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Michigan Department of Transportation Local
Safety Initiatives

• Dale Reed Lighthizer, P.E. - MDOT
• Tracie Kalliainen, E.I.T. - MDOT
• Wayne Schoonover, P.E. - Ionia County Road
  Commission

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This Session

• MDOT Local Safety Initiatives
• Example series of countermeasures
• A local perspective

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Michigan Department of Transportation Local
Safety Initiative

• Getting the Ball Rolling

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For Local Agencies

• On- going safety Efforts
• Why local safety?
• Process
• Tools
• Countermeasures

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Safety Initiatives

• AASHTO Strategic Safety Plan
• Michigan Strategic Safety Plan
• Michigan Intersection Action Plan
• Crash Data Improvement
• Michigan legislative initiatives
• Local Safety Initiative

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22 Safety Emphasis Areas
AASHTO Strategic Safety Plan

• The 4 Es of Highway Safety

Engineering
Emergency Response (EMS)
Education
Enforcement
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Michigan Strategic Safety Plan

• Developed by Governors Traffic Safety Advisory
  Commission (GTSAC)
• Identifies focus areas
• Local emphasis

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Michigan Intersection Safety Action Plan

• Developed by GTSAC sub committee
• MDOT set aside additional 1M in 2004 to fund
  local agency intersection safety projects.

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Crash Data Improvement

• Crash Data Redesign Project
• Goal to give easy access to High Crash locations

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Michigan Legislative Highway Safety Initiatives

• 0.08 BAC Law (July 2003)
• 500 lives saved yearly nationwide
• (3.22 Million incentive to Michigan in
• Sept. 2003)
• Work Zone Laws
• Speed Limits Double Fines (1997)
• Andys Law (2001) Increase Points (2002)
• Work Zone Defined (2003)
• Graduated Drivers Licensing
• (In effect April, 1997. Crashes involving 16
  year old drivers dropped 25 in 1999).
• Primary Seat Belt Law (March 2000)

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The Case for Traffic Safety . . .

• Michigan has . . .
• 122,000 miles of highway
• 101.8 Billion vehicle miles traveled in 2004
• 370,000 crashes yearly
• 100,000 crash injuries yearly
• 1,000 1,200 fatalities yearly

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Unacceptable Cost in terms of . . .

• Loss of Life 1,159 Michigan, 2004
• (42,000 Nationwide)
• Economic Impact - 9.8 Billion loss to Michigan
• (230 Billion Nationwide)
• Every tragic event
• involves someones
• family member!

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AASHTO Safety Goal

• 1.5 Fatalities per 100 Million VMT, 2004
• (Michigan Fatalities 1.1 per Million VMT)
• The Goal? Reduce to
• 1.0 Fatalities per 100 Million VMT by 2008
• (Save 350 lives per year in Michigan)

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Michigan Road Mileage
MDOT Non-freeway
6.4
City County
MDOT Freeway
1.6
92
122,000 miles
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Michigan Traffic Volume
City County
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MDOT Non-freeway
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MDOT Freeway
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2004 Michigan data
101.8 Billion vehicle miles
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Michigan Traffic Crashes
MDOT Non-freeway
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MDOT Freeway
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2004 Michigan data
373,363 crashes / year
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MI Crash Rate - per Million miles driven
City County 6. 61 crashes / mvm
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MDOT Non-freeway 4. 09 crashes / mvm
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MDOT Freeway 1. 58 crashes / mvm
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Michigan Traffic Deaths
61
MDOT
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2004 Michigan data
1,159 deaths
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Integrated Approach to Highway Safety

• GTSAC established May 2002
• State Local Governmental Agencies
• Safety and Insurance Industry
• Safety Advocacy Groups
• Team Approach to
• Saving Lives

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GTSAC Brings Together The 4 Es of Highway Safety

• Engineering
• Enforcement
• Emergency Medical Services
• Education

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Transportation Focus Areas

• Highways
• Truck Transit
• Mass Transit
• Railways
• Aeronautics
• Pedestrians/Non-Motorized Travel

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Highway Focus Areas

• Intersection Safety (29.5 fatal crashes)
• Roadway Departure (48.3 fatal crashes)
• Traffic Signal Timing and Modernization (15 year
  cycle)
• Geometrics/Hazard Elimination
• Young/Elder Driver Groups
• Highway Work Zones
• Car Deer/Animal Crashes
• Seatbelt Use
• Crash Data Improvement

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In Addition...The Fifth E Effective,
Enthusiastic Partnerships

• Share knowledge base
• Share solutions
• Share ideas

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Local Safety Initiative

• Local roadway network
• Voluntary
• Analyze crash data
• Topics
• Yellow Book
• Suggest fixes
• Education
• Improve ROADSOFT tools for local use

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What We Offer

• Crash review
• Review of safety performance
• Safety assessment
• Engineering countermeasures
• Other countermeasures
• Follow up evaluations

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Finding the Problem Areas

• Data Collection
• Network Screening
• Site Selection

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Finding the Problem Areas

• High level analysis of county wide data
• Examine safety performance
• Target locations
• Target other safety concerns
• Detailed analysis of crash data

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LTAP Local Technical Assistance
Program
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Why ROADSOFT?

• Already in place used by counties/ cities
• All roads in state
• Common referencing
• GIS
• Easy to use simple access to data
• Basic reporting

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Site Study Phase

• Detailed Crash Analysis
• Site Visit
• Safety Assessment
• Geometric Analysis
• Operational Analysis

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Engineering Studies

• Number of vehicles entering the intersection
• Traffic movement volumes
• Pedestrian volume counts
• Facilities for young, elderly, or disabled
• Speeds (posted and 85)
• Condition diagram

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Feedback Phase

• REQUIREMENTS
• Identification of deficiencies
• Selection of countermeasures

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Countermeasures

• Situational NCHRP 500 reports
• Low cost
• Signing
• Pavement markings
• Signal modifications
• Improve sight distance/ visibility
• Moderate costs
• Signal improvements
• Barrier
• Major cost
• Construction

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Uncomplicated Traffic Control
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AAA Michigan Case Study

• AAA Michigan, Local governments, Office of
  Highway Safety Planning, Regional Planning,
  Michigan DOT
• Provides funding for safety improvements

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Roadway Departure InitiativesForgiving Roadside
Hardware
Crash-Safe Guard Rail Endings
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Whats Next?

• Local agency implements various countermeasures
• Performs/ contracts design services
• Apply for funding
• Apply treatment

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Post Report Phase

• Evaluation
• Before/ after analysis

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Conclusions

• Clear some action is necessary
• LSI is just the beginning
• Team effort

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Safety is . . .

• Everybodys business
• A coordinated effort
• Organization-wide
• A strategic focus

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To Achieve 1.0 by 2008

• Continue
• Engineering, Education Enforcement
• Road, Driver Vehicle
• Partnering

Take advantage of the MDOT LSI!!
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Partnering
Traffic Engineers
Citizen Groups
Health Care Professionals
Law Enforcement
Local and State Government
Insurance Companies
Federal Government
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Local Safety Initiative

• A Year in Review

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Program Successes

• To date the Local Safety Initiative has worked
  with 5 counties
• 4 additional Counties going through initial
  analysis
• Including crash analysis within 11
  cities/villages
• Begin with County Engineer/Rep.
• Countermeasure suggestions provided

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Commonalities

• Larger/brighter signing
• Additional signing on curves
• Upgraded pavement markings
• Wider lines
• Wet/night markings
• Cut back tree line/Improve clear zone
• Remove sight distance obstructions at
  intersections

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Curves

• Improve signing
• Improve delineation
• Check superelevation

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Upcoming Typicals

• Ultra Low Volumes
• Defined by MMUTCD
• Outside built up areas
• 400 ADT or less
• Paved or unpaved
• Less extensive

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Intersections

• Unsignalized
• Improve sight distances
• Control access points
• Improve visibility of intersection
• Verify choice of traffic control

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Sufficient Sight Distance
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Intersections

• Signalized
• 12 signal lens and improved placement
• Appropriate Clearance Intervals
• Re-timing
• Add turn lane
• Add turn phase

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Before a Signal Consider

• Improving visibility
• Advance warning signs(with or without beacons)
• Relocating stop bars
• Flashing red beacon
• Roadway lighting

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Before a Signal Consider

• Improving traffic operation
• Additional lanes
• Revised geometrics
• Restricted turning movement

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Now for Something Completely Different

• Welcome to Ionia County

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IoniaCounty
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Ionia CountyRural, and growing
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Ionia Safety Efforts

• Developed a road safety audit
• Team review of locations
• Low cost fixes
• Funding issues
• Working to define county warrants for various
  treatments
• Need rational basis treatments
• Local Agency Programs (LAP) applications
• Crash review
• Input engineering, maintenance, management

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Federal Local Safety Program (MDOT - LAP)

• Upgrading guardrail at structures
• Intersection upgrade project
• township jog
• Y to T reconstruction
• Drain relocation
• Guardrail upgrade

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LSI - A Local Perspective

• Early involvement can be a benefit
• Complacency is a killer .
• Another pair of eyes
• Saves time I would not be able to do this level
  of analysis
• Might be an opportunity
• Provides some additional data in support of
  safety project applications

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In Depth look

• Patterns
• Fatals
• Intersections
• Segments

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Site Visits

• Some locations were a surprise
• Provide an in depth look at systems
• Another set of experts
• Supporting data for garnering resources
• Uniformity

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Cautious Enthusiasm

• Maintenance issues
• Warranted treatments
• Level of long term commitments

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Benefits

• Additional expertise
• Identification of atypical problem locations
• High risk

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This is a Journey

• This program could change how we do business
• Not an end in itself
• Could be a way to fund some projects
• Low cost solutions
• Another way to identify problems