Researchers: David Noyce (PI), Andrea Bill, Zhixia (Richard) Li
Primary Project Objectives
Roundabouts have gained popularity within recent years due to the increased efficiency and reduction of severe injury accidents. The reason behind the large improvement in safety records at these locations lies in the design features of a roundabout. A roundabout prohibits vehicles from making left-turning movement and only allows vehicles to circulate counter-clockwise with a relatively low speed. By investigating roundabouts at ramp terminals we can conclude if they are also a positive option at these locations.
The objectives for this study were analyzing crash data from before the construction of the roundabout and after, at ramp terminals. The two different locations for this study included STH 42/ I-43, interchange ramps (west/east) as well as US 53 ramps and CTH O (west/east). By sorting the crash data into total crashes as well as fatal/injury crashes, we can determine if the roundabouts at these terminals did in fact increase safety or not.
