Crash prediction methods, which are used to identify crash hotspots or crash severity, consist of safety performance functions (SPFs), crash modification factors, and severity distribution functions. These tools use annual average daily traffic data along with geometric and operational characteristics to predict the annual average crash frequency. NCHRP Research Report 1073: Development of Crash Prediction Models for Short-Term Durations , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, provide...

The crash performance of roadside safety hardware, such as guardrails, is typically evaluated using full-scale crash tests with vehicles striking the device in representative worst-case impact scenarios. Each test is evaluated based on vehicle response, device response, and potential for injury to vehicle occupants. NCHRP Research Report 1095: Evaluation and Comparison of Roadside Crash Injury Metrics , a pre-publication draft from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, evaluates existing r...

Effective emergency management minimizes impacts on the community, enhances the safety of responders and others, reduces risk and economic cost, and enhances the overall response and recovery to any type of emergency event. NCHRP Research Report 1088: State DOT Models for Organizing and Operating Emergency Response: A Guide , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, shows how state departments of transportation have organized to manage and respond to emergencies of all types and sizes, i...

State departments of transportation and other state transportation organizations have many challenges in establishing and maintaining emergency management programs and plans that are proactive, responsive, flexible, and coordinated with the other local, tribal, state, regional, and federal agencies that may be involved in preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery. In addition, states vary in how they organize their emergency management activities. NCHRP Research Report 1093: An Emergency Management...

The assessment of climatic and extreme weather risks is increasingly becoming important to the operation of transportation agencies. There are easy-to-use tools and techniques that can be implemented by agencies. NCHRP Research Report 1066: Risk Assessment Techniques for Transportation Asset Management: Conduct of Research , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, discusses how to assess risks and summarizes 12 studies that demonstrate how to enhance the measurement of risks, quantify r...

Advancement in sensing and transmitting technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), barcodes, e-ticketing, global positioning systems, and other associated technologies, has significantly increased the capabilities of these technologies to assist in construction and asset management. NCHRP Research Report 1063: Applications of RFID and Wireless Technologies in Highway Construction and Asset Management: A Guide , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program, addresses the sign...

Dedicated right-turn lanes (RTLs) are typically installed on highways and arterial roads at intersections to improve motor vehicle traffic operations and avoid high-speed rear-end crashes. However, vehicles decelerating or queued in an RTL may obstruct the view of drivers turning onto or crossing the major road from the minor road at stop-controlled intersections where operating speeds are relatively high on the major road. NCHRP Research Report 1062: Assessing the Impacts of Right-Turn Lanes on Rural an...

State state departments of transportation (DOTs) own and manage fleets of vehicles and equipment. An important part of fleet management is the process of disposing of fleet assets once vehicles and equipment reach an age, level of use, or condition that limits usefulness for state DOT operations. Once the decision is made to dispose of these assets, a key objective is to maximize net proceeds from the sale. NCHRP Research Report 1074: Maximizing Proceeds from the Fleet Asset Disposal Sales Process , from...

Big data is evolving and maturing rapidly, and much attention has been focused on the opportunities that big data may provide state departments of transportation (DOTs) in managing their transportation networks. Using big data could help state and local transportation officials achieve system reliability and safety goals, among others. However, challenges for DOTs include how to use the data and in what situations, such as how and when to access data, identify staff resources to prepare and maintain data...

Streets make up more than 80 percent of public space in cities and towns. From one edge of the right-of-way to the other, planners, engineers, and community groups are coming together to decide how they want to allocate this precious resource. NCHRP Research Report 1036: Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation: A Guide , from TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program,   describes how street design decisions impact communities and clarifies how different street elements influence not just transp...