Published: June 2009 | Category: Safety, security and public health , Research programme , Research & reports | Audience: General
The management of speed is considered an important safety issue at roundabouts. The approach speed and negotiating speed through roundabouts depends on the geometric design of the roundabout and sight distance. In New Zealand and in Australia, the design standards recommend long approach sight distances and provision of relatively high design speeds. This is in contrast to European roundabouts, where visibility is normally restricted and the geometric design encourages slow approach and negotiation speeds. This work, undertaken in 2006, extends previous research by the authors developing crash prediction models at roundabouts to include sight distance, intersection layout and observed speed variables.
Models have been produced for the major motor vehicles only, pedestrians versus motor vehicles and cyclists versus motor vehicle crash types. Flow-only models have also been produced for roundabouts on roads with high speed limits. The models produced indicate that roundabouts with lower speeds (observed and speed limit), fewer approach lanes and reduced visibilities have lower crash rates.
Keywords: accident, accident prediction models, crash, cyclists, modelling, New Zealand, pedestrians, prediction, roundabouts, sight distance, speed, visibility
