Applying Intelligent Transportation Systems to Decrease Hydroplane Related Traffic Crashes in Greenville County, South Carolina

摘要

Rural roads carry approximately 40 percent of the vehicle miles traveled in the United States, yet annually they account for nearly 55 percent of the fatalities. In 2006, there were 23,339 vehicle fatalities in rural areas compared with 18,359 that occurred in urban areas. This is even more alarming considering that only 23 percent of the U.S. population resides in rural areas.(l) Further, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the fatality rate for rural crashes is more than twice the fatality rate in urban crashes. The fatality rate for rural areas in 2006 was 2.25 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT), compared with 0.93 fatalities per 100 million VMT in urban areas.(2)