Year
2020
Season
Fall
Paper Type
Master's Thesis
College
College of Computing, Engineering & Construction
Degree Name
Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)
Department
Engineering
NACO controlled Corporate Body
University of North Florida. School of Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Thobias Sando
Second Advisor
Dr. Priyanka Alluri
Third Advisor
Dr. Ramin Shabanpour
Department Chair
Dr. Osama Jadaan
College Dean
William Klostermeyer
Abstract
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has identified secondary crashes (SCs) on United States (US) highways as one of the core transportation issues that needs to be addressed. These crashes contribute to increased property damage, injuries, and fatalities and a decline in traffic flow conditions on freeways and adjacent arterials. The purpose of this study was to 1) propose a communication plan that leverages connected vehicle (CV) technologies to increase awareness to road users to target the mitigation of SCs, and 2) to evaluate the potential benefits of the proposed communication plan with CV technologies in alleviating SCs.
This study used VISSIM microscopic software to model a freeway road segment on Florida’s Turnpike system and Lyons Road, a parallel arterial. The software was used to replicate the proposed communication plan and CV applications to issue advisories, such as speed, lane-change, or detour advisory to drivers during an incident. A safety evaluation was performed using the Surrogate Safety Assessment Model (SSAM) software by importing trajectory files from VISSIM to analyze generated traffic conflicts. The change in the number of simulated conflicts was used to evaluate the mitigation of SCs.
The results showed significant safety benefits using the proposed communication plan with CV technologies. A conflict reduction of up to 98% was observed with full penetration of CVs at low traffic volume. Statistical analysis indicated that different penetration rates of CVs were required to achieve significant safety benefits depending on the analyzed scenario, i.e., traffic volume, number of lanes closed, side of the road the lane is closed, and dissemination of detour advisory.
Suggested Citation
Monyo, Denis Elia, "Developing and Simulating a Communication Plan for Mitigation of Secondary Crashes: Leveraging Connected Vehicle Technologies" (2020). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 981.
https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/981