Researchers Evaluated the Performance of CV Projects and TSMO Strategies, including the Rapid Incident Scene Clearance, and the Road Ranger Service Patrol Program in Florida.
Florida, United States
Performance Evaluation of Connected Vehicle (CV) and Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) Projects in Florida
Summary Information
Connected Vehicle (CV) technologies and Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSM&O) strategies are becoming increasingly popular amongst transportation agencies looking to improve transportation network safety and mobility.
The primary goal of this project was to assist the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in developing approaches to evaluate the performance of CV projects and the existing and developing TSM&O strategies, including the Rapid Incident Scene Clearance (RISC) program, and the Road Ranger Service Patrol (RRSP) program. The study conducted benefit/cost (B/C) analysis to quantify the mobility and safety benefits associated with implementing the RISC and RRSP programs along selected interstate roads in Florida, using traffic, incident and geometric data collected in 2016 through 2019.
METHODOLOGY
Both investment costs and benefits were converted to monetary values to conduct the B/C analysis. To estimate the savings in secondary crashes and incident-related delays that would result from the RISC program, the study identified incidents along the study corridor that occurred during the study period with similar characteristics as those attended to by RISC vendors, making up the ‘control incidents’ in the study. The difference in secondary crash count and incident-related delays associated with treatment and control incidents was then considered as the anticipated safety and mobility benefits of the RISC program. For the RRSP evaluation, the study used speed data recorded for roadways by dividing them into traffic message channels, spanning a stretch from one exit or entrance ramp to the next. Then the spatiotemporal impact area of the incidents was estimated by defining temporal thresholds by the incident impact duration, that is, from the time the incident was first detected to the time the traffic came back to normal, for each impacted traffic message channel.
FINDINGS
- Results indicated that for every dollar spent on the RISC program, $5.78 was returned in secondary crash savings, and $1.20 was returned in incident-related traffic delay savings.
- For every dollar spent on the RRSP program, $5.15 was returned in secondary crash savings, and $7.44 was returned in incident-related traffic delay savings.
