RURAL INTERSECTION ACCIDENTS

A STUDY HAS BEEN MADE OF ALL THE RURAL INTERSECTIONS IN ONE STATE TO DEVELOP NFORMATION WHICH WOULD INDICATE THE INTERSECTIONS OF RURAL HIGHWAYS WHICH HAVE HAD THE HIGHEST ACCIDENT FREQUENCY AND ALSO THE GREATEST NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS. THIS STUDY WAS PERFORMED IN DELAWARE BY THE TRAFFIC AND PLANNING DIVISION OF THE STATE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT. THE INFORMATION OBTAINED IS BEING MADE AVAILABLE FOR THE USE OF ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES THROUGH STATE POLICE AND LOCAL POLICE CHANNELS TO ENGINEERING AGENCIES, AND EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS. IN THE STUDY,TRAFFIC-VOLUME STATISTICS AND ACCIDENT STATISTICS FOR EACH INTERSECTION ARE GATHERED TOGETHER, AND BY THE USE OF KEY PUNCH CARDS AND TABULATING EQUIPMENT, STATISTICAL INFORMATION IS GATHERED. THERE WERE 2,914 INTERSECTIONS STUDIED, 1,235 (25.8 PERCENT) OUT OF THE 4,784 ACCIDENTS REPORTED BY STATE POLICE DURING 1952 WERE STUDIED. (THESE WERE THE ACCIDENTS OCCURRING AT INTERSECTIONS IN THE STATE). TABULATIONS WERE MADE SHOWING THE ACCIDENT FREQUENCY IN EACH COUNTY AND ALSO VARIOUS TABLES WERE MADE SHOWING THE FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE BY INTERSECTIONS, BY ACCIDENTS, BY TRAFFIC VOLUMES, AND BY OTHER FEATURES. THE STUDY POINTED OUT THE HIGH-HAZARD LOCATIONS AND THE RELATIVELY LOW PERCENTAGE OF INTERSECTIONS WHICH CAN EXPECT ACCIDENT OCCURRENCE, PARTICULARLY IN THE LOW-VOLUME GROUPS. /AUTHOR/