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• 1. [Article] Understanding the Safety Effects of Roadway Illumination Reductions

  In 2001, Oregon’s governor responded to a perceived future energy shortage in the Pacific Northwest by directing all state agencies to reduce power consumption by 10 percent. After review of power saving ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Understanding the Safety Effects of Roadway Illumination Reductions Author: Monsere, Christopher M., Yin, Thareth, Wolfe, Michael Year: 2007 In 2001, Oregon’s governor responded to a perceived future energy shortage in the Pacific Northwest by directing all state agencies to reduce power consumption by 10 percent. After review of power saving opportunities, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) elected to include selective illumination reductions on Oregon interstate highways as part of their energy saving strategy. The illumination reductions occurred at interchanges and along lineal highway sections between October 2001 and April 2002. A total of 47 interchanges and 6.03 miles of interstate highways were modified. Changes in illumination were broadly classified as either full (including high-mast) to partial designs, partial plus to partial designs, or lineal reductions. In this study, no before or after field measurements were taken of actual luminance values, lighting coverage, or other design specific values. This research evaluated the changes in safety performance using crash, geometry, weather and volume data from years 1996 to 2005 using observational before-after evaluations using the : 1) the simple before-after and 2) empirical-bayes approach. The empirical-bayes approach found a 3.47 percent increase (4.65 standard deviation) in total night crashes where full interchange lighting was reduced to partial lighting. Fatal and injury night crashes, however, were found to decrease by 11.38%. For interchanges where illumination was reduced from partial plus to partial, a 35.24 percent decrease in total night crashes was found. A 29 percent increase in total night crashes (18.21 standard deviation) on sections where the lineal lighting was modified was found. Weighing all evidence, the research concludes that a decrease in safety performance occurred on the lineal freeway sections and at full to partial design locations. An observed decrease in safety performance was not found at the partial plus to partial lighting design modifications. Title: Understanding the Safety Effects of Roadway Illumination Reductions Author: Monsere, Christopher M., Yin, Thareth, Wolfe, Michael Year: 2007 In 2001, Oregon’s governor responded to a perceived future energy shortage in the Pacific Northwest by directing all state agencies to reduce power consumption by 10 percent. After review of power saving opportunities, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) elected to include selective illumination reductions on Oregon interstate highways as part of their energy saving strategy. The illumination reductions occurred at interchanges and along lineal highway sections between October 2001 and April 2002. A total of 47 interchanges and 6.03 miles of interstate highways were modified. Changes in illumination were broadly classified as either full (including high-mast) to partial designs, partial plus to partial designs, or lineal reductions. In this study, no before or after field measurements were taken of actual luminance values, lighting coverage, or other design specific values. This research evaluated the changes in safety performance using crash, geometry, weather and volume data from years 1996 to 2005 using observational before-after evaluations using the : 1) the simple before-after and 2) empirical-bayes approach. The empirical-bayes approach found a 3.47 percent increase (4.65 standard deviation) in total night crashes where full interchange lighting was reduced to partial lighting. Fatal and injury night crashes, however, were found to decrease by 11.38%. For interchanges where illumination was reduced from partial plus to partial, a 35.24 percent decrease in total night crashes was found. A 29 percent increase in total night crashes (18.21 standard deviation) on sections where the lineal lighting was modified was found. Weighing all evidence, the research concludes that a decrease in safety performance occurred on the lineal freeway sections and at full to partial design locations. An observed decrease in safety performance was not found at the partial plus to partial lighting design modifications. Close

• 2. [Article] The Application of Smart Phone, Weight-Mile Truck Data to Support Freight-Modeling, Performance Measures and Planning

  Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed a data-collection system – Truck Road Use Electronics ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: The Application of Smart Phone, Weight-Mile Truck Data to Support Freight-Modeling, Performance Measures and Planning Author: Bell, Katherine E., Figliozzi, Miguel A. Year: 2013 Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed a data-collection system – Truck Road Use Electronics (TRUE) – to simplify WMT collection. The TRUE system includes a smart phone application that collects and records Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The TRUE data has enormous advantages over GPS data used in previous research due to its level of geographic detail and the potential to also integrate trip origin and destination, vehicle class, and commodity-type data. This research evaluates the accuracy of the TRUE data and demonstrates its use for significant ODOT ancillary applications. Specifically, ancillary applications that address ODOT freight modeling, performance measures, and planning needs are explored. The use of the data for highly accurate trip-generation rates and mobility performance measures is demonstrated. In addition, it is shown that the TRUE data has strong potential to be used for safety, accessibility and connectivity, system condition and environmental stewardship performance measures. The potential use of the TRUE data for emissions estimates that take into account truck-type details, truck weight and detailed speed profiles is considered. Results indicate that TRUE data, integrated with ODOT weigh-in-motion (WIM) data, will greatly improve the accuracy of emission estimates at the project and regional level. This research confirms the potential use of the TRUE data for significant ancillary applications and demonstrates the regional value of the TRUE data to enhance existing freight modeling, performance measures and planning. Title: The Application of Smart Phone, Weight-Mile Truck Data to Support Freight-Modeling, Performance Measures and Planning Author: Bell, Katherine E., Figliozzi, Miguel A. Year: 2013 Oregon is one of the few states that currently charge a commercial truck weight-mile tax (WMT). The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has developed a data-collection system – Truck Road Use Electronics (TRUE) – to simplify WMT collection. The TRUE system includes a smart phone application that collects and records Global Positioning System (GPS) data. The TRUE data has enormous advantages over GPS data used in previous research due to its level of geographic detail and the potential to also integrate trip origin and destination, vehicle class, and commodity-type data. This research evaluates the accuracy of the TRUE data and demonstrates its use for significant ODOT ancillary applications. Specifically, ancillary applications that address ODOT freight modeling, performance measures, and planning needs are explored. The use of the data for highly accurate trip-generation rates and mobility performance measures is demonstrated. In addition, it is shown that the TRUE data has strong potential to be used for safety, accessibility and connectivity, system condition and environmental stewardship performance measures. The potential use of the TRUE data for emissions estimates that take into account truck-type details, truck weight and detailed speed profiles is considered. Results indicate that TRUE data, integrated with ODOT weigh-in-motion (WIM) data, will greatly improve the accuracy of emission estimates at the project and regional level. This research confirms the potential use of the TRUE data for significant ancillary applications and demonstrates the regional value of the TRUE data to enhance existing freight modeling, performance measures and planning. Close