Development of Safety Performance Functions for Intersections in Virginia – Phase II

About the project:

Safety performance functions (SPFs) link the frequency of crashes by severity to causal factors on specific types of roads.  SPFs help estimate the potential long-term safety impact of implementing appropriate countermeasures and are the basis for prioritizing such options.  This project involves developing appropriate safety performance functions for different types of intersections and crash severity in Virginia.  They can also be used with the Safety Analyst Software the Federal Highway Administration is developing for the same purpose. 

In addition to a literature review to identify existing SPFs to determine their suitability for Virginia’s traffic and geometric conditions, the researcher will calibrate models using suitable statewide data for specific intersections types and crash severity.  New models will be developed for which suitable existing models are not identified.  The project will also tap VDOT data from 2000 to 2007 as well as data collected in the field.

Project Team

Principal Investigators