When people think about intersection crashes, they usually conjure up an image of a vehicle-to-vehicle crash. Or perhaps a vehicle to bike or pedestrian crash comes to mind. And while these are certainly major issues at intersections, there is also an increase in the risk of run-off-road crashes at these locations. Why is this?
Likelihood is up:
- There is an increased chance a driver/rider will need to avoid an errant vehicle in the intersection.
- There are often hazards around the intersection including utility poles, light poles, culverts, and signal pedestals.
- Some vehicles are making turn movements which increases loss-of-control chance.
Severity can be high:
- The point source nature of many of the hazards (listed above) creates high energy transfer to the vehicle occupants or riders.
- Depending on the intersection form, there can be high speeds through intersections.
So what can we do?
- Creating slower speeds through intersections improves the safety of vehicle-to-vehicle crashes, but also single vehicle run-off-road crashes. This can be achieved with different intersection forms (roundabouts, raised intersections, etc.) or through speed limits and will influence both the likelihood and severity of crashes.
- Reducing the complexity of the intersection can reduce the chance a vehicle/rider leaves the road.
- Moving fixed hazards away from the intersection if possible.
- Making any fixed hazards near the intersection frangible (i.e. break away on impact).