HomeMy WebLinkAboutSS4 - Traffic Collisions Resulting from Red Light Violations• CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Study Session Item No. ss4
August 10, 2004
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Public Works Department
Richard Edmonston, P.E.
949 - 644 -3311
red monston @city.newport- beach.ca.us
SUBJECT: TRAFFIC COLLISIONS RESULTING FROM RED LIGHT VIOLATIONS
The City Council requested an analysis of intersections in the vicinity of John Wayne
Airport to determine if photo enforcement of red light violations might be appropriate. A
review was conducted of the intersections along the Bristol Street corridor as well as
the ,jamboree/MacArthur intersection. Data was compiled for the years of 2001, 2002,
and 2003. The following table shows the ratio of broadside collisions resulting from a
vehicle violating a red light to the total number of reported accidents for each year.
Intersection
2001
2002
2003
Average Red
Light
Violation
Collisions
Average
Total
Collisions
Average % of
Collisions
Caused by Red
Light Violations
Jamboree /MacArthur"
2/9
2 / 7
J 5/19
3.00
6.67
45%
Bristol North /Jamboree
1 /2
2/11
3 / 8
2.00
7.00
29%
Bristol /Jamboree
11 / 24
10 / 24
6/34
9.00
27.33
33%
Bristol North /Birch
1 3/5
5 / 8
3/9
3.67
7.33
50%
Bristol Campus
1 5/10
3/5
3 / 5
3.67
6.66
55%
Bristol North /Campus
6T8 8 11 _/1 5
10/15
9.00
12,67
71%
*Collisions reported by NBPD only, no data from City of Irvine
The two intersections with the greatest number of accidents resulting from red light
violations over the three years are Bristol Street and Jamboree Road and Bristol Street
North and Campus Drive with twenty -seven collisions each. Further review of the
Collision Reports for these two locations was conducted to determine if there were any
patterns or concentrations to the collisions.
At the Bristol Street and Jamboree Road intersection there was no clear pattern, with
• approximately equal numbers of collisions due to northbound and eastbound drivers
running a red light. The trend at this location has been a reduction in right -angle
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collisions over time. The average collision rate due to red light violations was nine per
year.
At the Bristol Street North and Campus Drive intersection there is a more definite
pattern with 20 of the 28 collisions over the three years where a driver was westbound
on Bristol Street North and ran a red light. In reading the narrative portion of the
Collision Reports, many drivers indicated that they had looked away from the
intersection and when they looked up, the light had turned red, but it was too late to
stop. It is not possible to tell how many of these drivers were being truthful, but it
appears that driver inattention is the major problem at this intersection.
A related issue is that the signals along Bristol Street and Bristol Street North operate
on a relatively short, sixty second cycle. During relatively heavy traffic, motorists may
assume that they will have a long enough green light to clear the intersection and they
then may do other actions that distract them from the driving task. The cycle length
cannot be extended due to the short space between these two streets. With a longer
cycle, cars would back up into the adjacent intersection which would create more
severe safety and operational concerns.
Conclusion
i
Staff is not aware of a specific threshold of collisions that might make the use of photo
enforcement a practical tool. Staff in Costa Mesa indicated that their vendor performs •
some sort of study to determine the number of red light violators prior to deciding if an
intersection is a good candidate for this form of enforcement. Staff hopes to have more
information on the Costa Mesa program to share at the Study Session.
Prepared by:
E
Richard Edmonston, P.E.
Transportation and Development
Services Manager
Submitted by:
rn G. Badum
Works Director
Ll