Abstract
Objective:We evaluated the effectiveness of a Cable Safety Barrier (CSB) system in preventing Run-Off-Road (ROR) Vehicle Immersions (VIs) and fatalities in canals along the I-75 freeway (Alligator Alley) in Collier County, Florida. The CSB system, which runs along both sides of the 80-km stretch of freeway and was installed between 2003 and 2004.Methods:Data from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) were used to compare annual VIs and VI fatalities between pre-installation of the CSB system (1995-2002) to post-installation (2005-2012). As well, post-installation data from the Florida Department of Transport (FDOT) (2007-2011) and police reports were reviewed to determine the number of, and manner in which, vehicles were either contained by, or crossed, the CSB by either penetrating or overriding the barriers.Results:Pre- to post-installation, total accidents increased from 81.4/y to 106.2/y, accidents resulting in VIs decreased from 13.8% to 2.4%, and accidents resulting in VI fatalities decreased from 3.4% to 0.4% (FDOT). Fatal vehicle immersions decreased from 2.4/y to 0.9/y (P<0.01) and vehicle immersion fatalities decreased from 3.3/y to 1.4/y (P<0.05) (FARS). Post-installation, 531 accidents occurred with 110 ROR vehicles travelling towards the canals; 91 vehicles contacted the CSB with only 14 vehicles (15.4%) penetrating the barrier, and 7 (7.7%) overriding the barrier (FDOT).Conclusion:The CSB system along I-75 in Collier County dramatically decreased ROR vehicles from reaching the parallel canals, and consequent vehicle immersion fatalities. Results support the installation of lateral CSB systems on other high-risk roadways to reduce ROR crashes into water, or with other secondary hazards.
Highlights
Traffic-related fatalities are a growing global problem reaching epidemic levels [1]
There was a rise in overall accident rates from pre- to post-installation of the cable safety barrier (CSB) system [annual total accidents increased from 81.4/y to 106.2/y]; this corresponds to increased traffic volumes from
Comparing the pre- to post-installation periods, the percentage of all accidents resulting in ROR vehicle immersions decreased from 13.8% to 2.4%, and the percentage of all accidents that resulted in vehicle immersion fatalities decreased from 3.4% to 0.4% (FDOT data) (Table 1)
Summary
Traffic-related fatalities are a growing global problem reaching epidemic levels [1]. In the case of vehicle submersions ( referred to as immersions), there are four general approaches: public education [6], warning systems [7 - 9], road and vehicle design [2], and spatial or physical barriers [7] to reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities. In Florida, in the early 1990s approximately 45 motor vehicle occupant drownings occurred annually. This was double the national average per 100 million vehicle miles travelled [10]. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) identified a section of Interstate 75 (I-75) in southern Florida (known as Alligator Alley) as an area where increased vehicle immersions and occupant drownings were occurring. In 2003-2004, a novel cable safety barrier (CSB) system was installed along the canals to prevent vehicle submersions [11]; this was the first highway in Florida to have such an installation
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