Abstract
Engineering improvement of roads is in many cases inseparable from the improvement of at-grade intersections, as one of the most hazardous engineering structures. At-grade intersections in Lithuania are currently subjected to intensive installation of different traffic engineering and safety measures. More and more often, to ensure road safety the measures of experimental nature are used the effect of which has not been specified yet. Therefore, for the research object three intersections were selected provided with safety islands with flexible plastic reflective posts. The research was carried out within the zone of conventional intersections with the left-turn deceleration and waiting lanes on the main roads of Lithuania. During the research the driving speeds were measured in three different locations and the changes in the speeds and in the frequency of traffic conflicts were determined. Using an analogical comparison of similar traffic engineering measures, a preliminary effect of the study measures was identified.
Highlights
Engineering activity aimed at improving and assuring safety on the roads of Lithuania has been progressing on a large scale
Analysis of the currently implemented engineering activity on high-accident locations has determined that more than half of all solutions are related to the engineering improvement of at-grade intersections (Čygas et al 2009; Montella et al 2011; Kulmala 1994) since intersections is often the main factor influencing the occurrence of black spot
When implementing this comparison it is very important that traffic engineering measures were as similar as possible by their structure and operation, i.e. they are used in the same infrastructure objects, they are intended for serving the same traffic organization assurance function and realized by the road users as a measure of the same type
Summary
Engineering activity aimed at improving and assuring safety on the roads of Lithuania has been progressing on a large scale. Analysis of the currently implemented engineering activity on high-accident locations has determined that more than half of all solutions are related to the engineering improvement of at-grade intersections (Čygas et al 2009; Montella et al 2011; Kulmala 1994) since intersections is often the main factor influencing the occurrence of black spot. Accident risk on intersections is explained by the crossing traffic flows and a large difference in their driving speeds. All these factors initiate the occurrence of traffic conflicts (Sayed, Zein 1999; Wang et al 2011). Based on the experience of USA, Sweden and Germany, segregation of traffic lanes reduces the occurrence of conflict zones, the risk of collisions, facilitates the drivers’ orientation at the intersection, directs traffic flows to a necessary direction. Additional deceleration lanes for the left-turning vehicles reduce the number of rear-end collisions but ISSN 1822-427X print / ISSN 1822-4288 online http://www.bjrbe.vgtu.lt doi:10.3846/bjrbe.2013.27
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