Advancing Self-Enforcing Streets Phase 1: The Relationship between Roadway Environment and Crash Severity

Abstract

The concept of self-enforcing roadways (SER) has been proposed as a speed management strategy to achieve harmony in drivers’ speed selection and to address safety issues associated with excessive speeding. While numerous examples of SER implementation exist outside of the United States (particularly in European countries), this concept is fairly new in the United States. Only a few states in the U.S. have explored the possibility of implementing SER and evaluated its potential impacts on roadway safety. Accordingly, this study aims at (1) providing a comprehensive review of the literature on SER implementation and impact assessment across the world and (2) examining how roadway elements influence operating speeds and, consequently, crash outcomes, in Illinois, shedding light on the potential impact of roadway design and features on crash severity. A specific before-and-after study is required to analyze carefully the impacts of various SER strategies on safety in the state of Illinois.

Yanlin Zhang

Ph.D. Candidate

My research interests lies in the intersection of behavioral science and mixed autonomy traffic flow.