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Safety impact of Gateway Monuments
Zhirui Ye1, David Veneziano, Dominique Lord
1Western Transportation Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA. jared.ye@coe.montana.edu
Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|November 25, 2010
Summary
Gateway Monuments, roadside structures identifying cities, do not negatively impact traffic safety. Research indicates their presence does not increase crashes, allowing continued program participation by Caltrans.
Area of Science:
- Transportation Engineering
- Traffic Safety Research
Background:
- Gateway Monuments are roadside structures identifying municipalities.
- Their recent placement on state-controlled right-of-way in California prompted safety research.
- No prior studies quantified the crash impacts of these monuments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the safety impact of Gateway Monuments on traffic crashes.
- To determine if these roadside structures influence accident frequency or severity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Empirical Bayes (EB) before-after study method.
- Adapted reference groups and Safety Performance Functions from existing studies.
- Applied naive study methods for comparison.
Main Results:
- No individual monument sites showed a deterioration in safety.
- Collective analysis indicated potential crash reductions of 2.2% and 32.0%.
- Naive methods also suggested no negative safety impact.
Conclusions:
- Gateway Monuments do not appear to negatively impact roadway safety.
- Caltrans can proceed with the Gateway Monument Program cautiously.
- Careful selection of reference groups is advised when using the EB technique.
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