Abstract
Fatal run off the road crashes make up a fairly large percentage, approximately 33% of the total fatal crashes in the state of Florida. To address the problem of fatal crashes involving running off the roadway, a study was undertaken here to suggest various countermeasures that could help preventing such crashes. Run off the road crashes have always been a concern in the United States of America, as they account for a large number of fatal crashes each year. Traditionally, ROR crashes usually involve only a single vehicle, although an ROR vehicle hitting a parked vehicle is a multi- vehicle crash. The overall study has been undertaken in view of 1) minimizing the number of vehicles leaving the roadway and 2) minimizing the consequences of leaving the roadway. . A systematic approach was adopted to study the run off the road crashes in the state of Florida. The research methodology adopted included data collection, data base development, case study review and analysis of data. The main sources of database collection were Florida Traffic Crash Reports, Florida Department of Transportation Roadway Characteristics Inventory, crash scene photos, video log photos and site visits. Data was processed using Structured Query Language (SQL). All the crashes were studied on a case- by- case basis to reach conclusion on factors that contributed to both the crash itself and resulting fatalities. The study examined ROR crashes by number of factors including crash type, vehicle and posted speed, driver’s age, etc It was found that 25% of the ROR vehicle overcorrected and either hit another vehicle or left the other side of the roadway. It was also found that vast majority of crash occurred where there were no rumble strips, it is therefore recommended that rumble strips should be installed on all the roads. However, because rumble strips are associated with possible over correction, therefore careful attention of design and placement of rumble strips is needed. For no seatbelts use and overturn cases and fixed objects-seatbelts cases educational program for seatbelts use and moving/protecting fixed objects have been recommended. All recommendations have been suggested to Florida Department of Transportation
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