Investigation of Wrong-Way Driving

The objectives of this project are to: assess the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice as it relates to countermeasures to address wrong-way driving; and investigate the nature and magnitude of wrong-way driving issues occurring in the state of Iowa. This investigation will involve three primary tasks: (1) Review existing research literature; (2) Investigate wrong-way driving data in Iowa; and (3) Develop preliminary report. (Task 1) Review existing research literature: A significant amount of research literature has been generated over the past five years focused on wrong-way driving. The initial task of this study will be to critically review the extant literature in consideration of the following questions: What types of roadway facilities are most prone to wrong-way driving? Which driver, temporal, and environmental factors increase the risk of wrong-way driving events? What design and traffic control practices can be used to decrease the incidence of wrong-way driving? (Task 2) Investigate Wrong-Way Driving Data in Iowa: The research team will conduct an extensive investigation of wrong-way driving data that is currently available through the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT). This analysis will include an investigation of police reported crash data, as well as available data as to the incidence of wrong-way driving based upon sensor and video inventories. These data will be used to address the following questions: What is the scope/magnitude of wrong-way driving related issues in Iowa? What specific types of roadways (e.g., Interstate, freeway, and expressway), geographic areas of the state, or individual corridors are most prone to wrong-way driving? What driver (e.g., age), behavioral (e.g., driving impaired), temporal, and environmental factors are most strongly associated with wrong-way driving in Iowa? (Task 3) Develop Preliminary Report: Based upon the results of the literature review and investigation of Iowa data, a preliminary report will be prepared that documents the nature of wrong-way driving issues specific to the state. This report will also present a series of recommendations as to next steps that have the potential to reduce the propensity for wrong-way driving on a site-specific and system level. It is anticipated these next steps may include specific action strategies for design and traffic control elements, as well as follow-up research to better understand avenues for improvement.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $20,000
• Contract Numbers:

  Addendum 623

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Iowa Department of Transportation

  800 Lincoln Way
  Ames, IA  United States  50010
• Project Managers:

  Gent, Steve

• Principal Investigators:

  Savolainen, Peter

• Start Date: 20170701
• Expected Completion Date: 20180531
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Countermeasures; Crash data; Data analysis; Literature reviews; Recommendations; State of the practice; Wrong way driving
• Geographic Terms: Iowa
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01648498
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Iowa Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: Addendum 623
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 16 2017 3:24PM