Category Archives: Traffic and Safety

research, Traffic and Safety

TZD Traffic Safety Hotdish: A Roadmap for Traffic Safety Culture Research and the Road Ahead

2 Comments

Wednesday, July 17, 2024  
10:00 – 11:15 a.m. CDT

Register

About the Event

This free virtual event will highlight the Traffic Safety Culture Research Roadmap, recently released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 

Wes Kumfer, who led the creation of the roadmap, will review its development and contents. Jay Otto will share example projects and show how they fit into research on traffic safety culture. Join us to learn how you can identify traffic safety culture research needs and get insights to take back to your own organizational cultures!

Speakers

Dr. Wes Kumfer is an engineering research associate at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) with a focus on crash analysis and workforce development. His primary research interest is traffic safety management through a systems-oriented approach. While at HSRC, Kumfer has worked on pedestrian crash modeling, Safe System implementation, and engineering evaluation. He uses this experience as a member of the Road to Zero Coalition steering group and as an instructor for HSRC’s Road Safety Academy.

Jay Otto is a researcher and co-director for the Center for Health and Safety Culture at Montana State University. He received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in engineering and is fascinated by human behavior, how mindsets and systems influence behavior, and ways of growing cultures within communities and organizations that foster improved health and safety.

Registration 

The webinar is free to attend, but registration is required. Once you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation with a Zoom link. The link should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.

Credit

Attendees are eligible for 1.25 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Download the PDH credit form (PDF) for your records.

More Information

Contact Linda Dolan at ldolan@umn.edu.

Sponsors

This event is offered by the Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Program and the Minnesota Departments of Health, Public Safety, and Transportation, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is hosted by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies.

research, Traffic and Safety

Evaluating the Traffic Safety Benefits of J-Turns in Minnesota

Leave a comment

MnDOT traffic engineers are increasingly installing J-turn intersections on high-speed, multilane expressways to limit potential crash points. An analysis of crash data from intersections before and after the installation of J-turns demonstrated significant safety benefits from this alternative design. MnDOT researchers also explored crash history differences among J-turn intersections with varying characteristics. Consistent with the results from a previous study, this analysis found a clear decrease in fatal and other serious crashes after a J-turn was installed.

Continue reading Evaluating the Traffic Safety Benefits of J-Turns in Minnesota →
Multi-modal, Pedestrian, research, Traffic and Safety

Understanding Factors That Influence Driver Yielding to Pedestrians

Leave a comment

Vehicle speeds, type of pedestrian, road characteristics and other variables can impact whether drivers yield to pedestrians attempting to cross a road at an unsignalized intersection. An analysis of data collected from 18 intersections identified human and site attributes that correlate to higher rates of driver yielding. Knowledge of these potentially influential factors will help local engineers build safer crossings at intersections.

Continue reading Understanding Factors That Influence Driver Yielding to Pedestrians →
Policy and Planning, research, Traffic and Safety

Effectively Alerting the Public About Local Road Closures

Leave a comment

Navigation apps can be valuable timesavers for drivers in Minnesota. To maximize their use, these apps need traffic information that is timely and accurate. While state highway closures are reported effectively, reporting road closures on local roads and highways is inconsistent. This project aimed to improve local road closure reporting by exploring the development of a streamlined reporting system and creating guidance for reporting local road closures to third-party navigation apps.

Continue reading Effectively Alerting the Public About Local Road Closures →
Traffic and Safety

New Project: Development of a System to Report School Bus Stop Arm Violations

2 Comments

When a motorist ignores an extended school bus stop arm, it creates a direct and serious risk to children boarding and exiting a school bus. Capturing information about such incidents is a critical step in better understanding why they occur and how they can be prevented.

Continue reading New Project: Development of a System to Report School Bus Stop Arm Violations →
Traffic and Safety

New Project: Evaluation of Static and Dynamic No Right Turn on Red Signs at Traffic Signals

1 Comment

Making signalized intersections safer for pedestrians can be achieved by reducing points of conflict between pedestrians and vehicles. One source of conflict occurs when a vehicle makes a right turn on red (RTOR) onto a street in which pedestrians are crossing. During this turn, the driver must cross the path of pedestrians while at the same time searching for gaps in conflicting vehicle flow.

Continue reading New Project: Evaluation of Static and Dynamic No Right Turn on Red Signs at Traffic Signals →
Traffic and Safety

A Mobile App to Report Driver Intrusions Into Work Zones

Leave a comment

Transportation workers face critical safety risks when drivers fail to comply with traffic control instructions in work zones. These intrusions threaten not only the flaggers who are directing traffic, but all workers on the job site and the drivers themselves. Knowing the nature and frequency of intrusions is necessary to develop effective prevention strategies. A new mobile phone app enables workers to quickly and easily report incidents, allowing MnDOT to analyze risks and improve worker safety.

Continue reading A Mobile App to Report Driver Intrusions Into Work Zones →
research, Traffic and Safety

Skid-resistant pavement markings could help stop slips

Leave a comment

Reprinted from Catalyst, January 23, 2024

Retroreflective pavement markings such as bike lane indicators, crosswalks, and lane lines are designed to increase safety. However, the same retroreflective properties that add nighttime visibility can also make them slippery for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists—especially in wet or icy conditions.

Continue reading Skid-resistant pavement markings could help stop slips →
Traffic and Safety

Drivers Correctly Interpret Flashing Yellow Arrows for Left Turns

1 Comment

Permissive left turns, where a driver does not have a green arrow and must wait for a gap in oncoming traffic before turning, can be indicated by different traffic signal configurations. Flashing yellow arrows are becoming a preferred signal type in Minnesota and across the nation. New research provides traffic engineers with confidence that drivers understand the meaning of the signal, even without an accompanying Left Turn Yield sign.

Continue reading Drivers Correctly Interpret Flashing Yellow Arrows for Left Turns →
Traffic and Safety

Reevaluating City Speed Limits with Public Safety in Mind

Leave a comment

A recent legislative change has given Minnesota cities greater authority to set lower speed limits on streets in their jurisdiction—a decision that could potentially have positive impacts on public safety, especially pedestrian and bicycle traffic. A recent analysis of speed-setting practices and the effectiveness of speed limit changes resulted in a decision-making process for changing speed limits and alternative strategies to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety. 

Continue reading Reevaluating City Speed Limits with Public Safety in Mind →