Citation

Gross F, Donnell ET. J. Saf. Res. 2011; 42(2): 117-129.

Affiliation

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, (VHB), Inc. 333 Fayetteville St, Suite 1450, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, U.S. National Safety Council, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsr.2011.03.003

PMID

21569894

Abstract

PROBLEM: While observational before-after studies are considered the industry standard for developing crash modification factors (CMFs), there are practical limitations that may preclude their use in highway safety analysis. There is a need to explore alternative methods for estimating CMFs. METHOD: This paper employs case-control and cross-sectional analyses to estimate CMFs for fixed roadway lighting and the allocation of lane and shoulder widths. RESULTS: Based on the case-control method, the CMF for intersection lighting is 0.886, while the cross-sectional study indicates a CMF of 0.881. The CMFs developed for lane and shoulder widths are also similar when comparing the two methods. CONCLUSIONS: This paper suggests that case-control and cross-sectional studies produce consistent results if care is taken in the study design and model development. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Case-control and cross-sectional studies may provide a viable alternative to estimate CMFs when a before-after study is impractical due to data restrictions.

Language: en