Using Detector Data to Identify and Examine Crashes and Incidents on Freeways. USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center Final Report

摘要

Traffic incidents, such as crashes and vehicular breakdowns, result in reductions in roadway capacity and are the primary cause of non-recurrent congestion in urban areas. In addition to contributing to congestion and delay, incidents adversely affect the safety of other motorists, as well as first responders. To address these issues, transportation agencies have initiated incident management programs aimed at detecting and responding to incidents in order to restore freeways to full capacity by clearing the incident scene as soon as possible. Such programs play an important role in the operation of the transportation system and require collaboration and efficient communication among various agencies, including fire and rescue, police, towing and recovery, transportation engineers, and freeway service patrols. In the Detroit metropolitan area, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) operates a Freeway Courtesy Patrol (FCP) program as part of its freeway incident management program from the Michigan Intelligent Transportation Systems (MITS) Center in downtown Detroit. As a part of its operations, the MITS Center maintains a series of databases that detail freeway operations, as well as the activities of the FCP.