Where the rubber meets the road: Implementing the Southeast Michigan Traffic Safety Plan

This article first appeared in the summer issue of SEMCOG’s quarterly magazine, Semscope.

At the end of 2015, SEMCOG’s Executive Committee approved the policy recommendations contained in the Southeast Michigan Traffic Safety Plan. These recommendations aim to reduce fatalities and severe injuries due to traffic crashes, and 2016 marks the first year of implementation. As part of the plan, Southeast Michigan has enlisted in the Toward Zero Deaths national strategy for highway safety. Within this framework, Southeast Michigan’s goals are to achieve a five percent reduction in traffic fatalities and a 10 percent reduction in severe injuries by 2019.

The safety plan was a collaborative effort of the Road Safety Task Force, led by Romulus Mayor LeRoy Burcroff and composed of transportation system stakeholders from state and local government. This summer, a safety plan implementation team begins work to collaboratively apply the plan’s key principles and make Southeast Michigan a safer place for all road users.

Based on crash data trends and task force input, four high-priority emphasis areas were identified in the safety plan. These include intersection crashes, lane departure crashes, pedestrian crashes, and crashes involving drivers age 24 and younger. SEMCOG and the Michigan Department of Transportation will work with the implementation team to promote an array of safety solutions (see examples below) in these four areas, in addition to several additional emphasis points.

Intersection

Intersections, while making up an extremely small portion of the road network, are involved in 28 percent of all traffic fatalities in our region. An even higher percentage of all severe injury crashes in Southeast Michigan occur at intersections.

Red-light running is involved in 14 percent of intersection fatalities. One technique to help drivers recognize a traffic signal and its current phase (color) is the use of retroreflective borders on signal backplates. These improve visibility both in daytime and at night, and have been shown to reduce crashes at intersections.

Roundabouts have also been shown to improve operations and safety with appropriate application.

Lane departure crashes

Lane departure crashes occur when a vehicle crosses an edge line, centerline, or otherwise leaves the traveled way. Though a relatively small proportion of total crashes (14 percent), lane departure crashes account for nearly 34 percent of Southeast Michigan traffic fatalities.

Centerline rumble strips have been shown to reduce run-off-the-road crashes by 46 percent and fatalities from such crashes by more than half.

Pedestrian

Southeast Michigan’s pedestrian fatality rate exceeds statewide and national averages. While pedestrian crashes account for only one percent of total crashes in Southeast Michigan, they are responsible for 28 percent of traffic fatalities.

Countdown signals allow pedestrians to judge how much time they have to safely cross within a crosswalk. This countermeasure is especially beneficial for elderly pedestrians.

Drivers age 24 and younger

Michigan’s young drivers were involved in 32 percent of all traffic fatalities despite only comprising 14 percent of the state’s licensed drivers. Throughout the SEMCOG region, crashes involving young drivers meet or exceed the statewide average for incapacitating injuries.

Improving driver education, especially about the laws of the road, is critical to improving young driver safety. Curbing issues inherent to adolescent novice drivers is essential to building safer driving habits at the novice level. Problem behaviors associated with inexperience and youth include speeding, driving too fast for conditions, failure to recognize hazards, errors in attention, and allowing shorter headways.

Taking action on these high-priority areas, along with many other safety issues, will be critical to improving safety for drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists throughout Southeast Michigan’s transportation system. More information on the plan implementation team will be available soon in SEMCOG’s Regional Update.