EVALUATING THE SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF ROUNDABOUTS

Abstract

The use of roundabouts is wellrecognized for sustaining an efficient and safe intersection. However, the safety results may vary based on the prevailing conditions. Therefore,thisstudy assesses the safety performance of roundabouts in Jordan. Thisstudy developeda predictive model by collecting and analyzing all accident records of 12 major urban roundabouts in the countryover 3 years. For developing the model, thisstudy employed an accident frequency analysis. The model calculated the rate ofaccidents and incorporatedthe geometric and operational characteristics of roundabouts. This was followed by ranking the safety performance of the roundabouts. It was concluded that driverbehavior ofviolating the traffic rules, lack ofclear lane markings in the circulating area and inadequate signage at the roundabouts entries are the main causesofroundabout accidents. The research recommends includingthe developed predictive model in future traffic controland planning studies, for identifying hazardous locations, or for prioritizing roundaboutimprovements based on safety performance.

Keywords

• operational model
• accidents prediction model
• roundabouts evaluation
• roundabouts safety performance