Benefit:Cost Analysis of In-Vehicle Technologies and Infrastructure Modifications as a Means to Prevent Crashes Along Curves and Shoulders

Abstract

The State of Minnesota has under way its Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) initiative, the goal of which is to eliminate fatal traffic crashes. This is a daunting task, and with limited financial resources, optimal strategies that provide the greatest benefit for a given cost have to be utilized if the goal of TZD is to be met. This report reviews both infrastructure and emerging in-vehicle solutions as a means to determine the optimal deployment strategy of countermeasures designed to improve highway safety. Infrastructure-based solutions are examined on two levels: 1) an analysis of a cross-section of strategies implemented throughout Minnesota, which 2) produced a before:after analysis that quantified the effectiveness of a variety of strategies utilized in Minnesota. In addition to the standard civil engineering countermeasures studied under the before:after analysis, emerging infrastructure and in-vehicle technology-based solutions were modeled in terms of effectiveness and potential deployment schedules. These cost and effectiveness models facilitated a comparison to the results of the before:after analysis, and from the comparison, optimal strategies for improving safety with limited funds and the TZD goal are presented.