Tag Archives: resource

District Two Six-Year Crash Fact Report

Six-Year Crash Fact Report

Posted on by

This FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program’s Six-Year Crash Fact Report provides data for all 18 counties.

The 6-year crash facts covers districtwide numbers, county numbers, population growth, and the emphasis areas of Florida’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan. These include roadway crash facts, user behavior crash facts, and road user crash facts.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Two’s Community Traffic Safety Program mission is to reduce traffic-related fatalities and injuries. This is also the goal of Target Zero – because every life counts, and even one fatality is too many.

The #1 objective of the Community Traffic Safety Program is to reduce the number and severity of crashes. We work at identifying, developing, implementing, and evaluating safety and traffic strategies.

These strategies include planning, design, construction, maintenance, education, and community outreach. We offer traffic safety engineering expertise to the public, and with the help and assistance of our partners, we serve as transportation safety champions.

The six-year historical report is a fundamental evaluation tool as we work toward zero deaths and severe injuries on our Florida roadways.

Take a moment to flip through District Two’s Six-Year Crash Fact Report

Traffic Safety Countermeasures

Posted on by

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program in Northeast Florida created an educational countermeasure series based on proven measures of effectiveness by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The three videos below highlight cost effective safety engineering countermeasures which help reduce lane departure crashes and intersection crashes, and protect vulnerable road users.

Lane Departure Countermeasures
Intersection Countermeasures
Pedestrian/Bicyclist Countermeasures

These top three safety emphasis areas are part of Florida’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan and FDOT’s Vital Few safety focus. Fifteen digital cards were created to share, download, and print for Community Traffic Safety Team members, which include the 4E’s (Engineers, Educators, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Medical Personnel), city/county/state agencies, private industries, and local citizens. Visit the three blogposts below for more information and to access the educational cards.

Lane Departure Countermeasures
Intersection Countermeasures
Pedestrian/Bicyclist Countermeasures

Five Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Preventing Roadway Departures:

  • Curves – Enhanced Delineation (Curve Signs) and Increased Pavement Friction
  • Rumbles – Center Line, Edge Line and Shoulder Rumble Strips and Stripes 
  • Barriers – Roadside and Median Barrier Terminals and Crash Cushions
  • Clear Zone – Clear Zones and Widening Shoulders Provide for a Safe Recovery 
  • SafetyEdgeSM – SafetyEdgeSM Technology Shapes Edge of Pavement at 30 Degrees

Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Reducing Intersection Crashes:

  • Roundabouts Reduce Severe Crashes
  • Backplates with Retroreflective Borders
  • Left and Right Turn Lanes at Intersections Reduce Severe Crashes
  • Well-Timed Yellow Change Intervals Reduce Red-Light Running
  • Benefits of the Flashing Yellow Arrow Left Turn Signal

Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Reducing Pedestrian-Vehicle Crashes:

  • Walkways, Shared Use Paths, and Sidewalks Improve Safety and Mobility
  • Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPI) Give Pedestrians a Head Start
  • Pedestrian Crossing Islands and Medians Reduce Pedestrian Crashes
  • Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs) Assist with Safe Crossing 
  • Road Diets – Roadway Reconfigurations Improve Safety for All Road Users

Additional Resources and Information:

Intersection Countermeasures

Posted on by

Cost Effective Safety Engineering Countermeasures Help Reduce Intersection Crashes 

FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program in Northeast Florida continues the educational series of proven safety countermeasures. These five informational pieces help explain intersection countermeasures. The traffic safety strategies and treatments of roadway markings and traffic lights at intersections reduce serious injury and fatal crashes. They are based on proven measures of effectiveness by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Click on the five educational Intersection Countermeasure cards below to download a copy. They may be printed or shared digitally through email or social media with our Northeast Florida Traffic Safety Teams, communities and agencies.

Motorists and other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, cross paths at intersections. This is where the greatest potential for roadway conflicts exist. Turning, changing lanes and traveling through intersections are among the most complex in the transportation system. They require appropriate roadway design, signage, traffic control devices, lighting, and other safety measures. Innovative safety improvements and operations at signalized and unsignalized intersections can help enhance everyone’s safety.

Click here for a PDF document of these intersection countermeasures used in Northeast Florida, provided by the FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program.

Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Reducing Intersection Crashes:

1. Roundabouts Reduce Severe Crashes

Roundabouts are a circular intersection that feature channelized approaches and a center island that safely and efficiently moves traffic. Motorists entering the roundabout yield to vehicles already circulating which leads to improved operational performance. Roundabouts are an effective countermeasure resulting in lower speeds and fewer conflict points.

2. Backplates with Retroreflective Borders

Backplates are a low cost countermeasure being introduced in Northeast Florida on traffic signal heads to improve visibility of the illuminated face. The dark backplate provides a controlled-contrast background. The framing with a retroreflective border makes the signal easily seen in both daytime and nighttime conditions. This treatment enhances visibility for aging motorists and color vision deficient drivers, and is also beneficial during power outages or inclement weather, providing a visible cue for all motorists.

3. Left and Right Turn Lanes at Intersections Reduce Severe Crashes

Left or right auxiliary turn lanes provide measurable safety and operational benefits at intersections, reducing the number of crashes. Turn lanes give a physical separation between slower turning traffic and the free flowing main route of traffic. They provide space for deceleration prior to a turn and storage for vehicles that have stopped and are waiting to complete a turn.

4. Well-Timed Yellow Change Intervals Reduce Red-Light Running 

Red-light running is a leading cause of severe crashes at signalized intersections, and it is critical that the length of time a yellow signal is displayed following a green signal is appropriately timed. If the yellow light changes too quickly, motorists may be unable to stop safely and cause unintentional red-light running. If the yellow light changes too slowly, this may result in drivers treating the yellow signal as an extension of the green phase and invite intentional red-light running.

5. Benefits of the Flashing Yellow Arrow Left Turn Signal

Fewer crashes and better traffic flow are benefits of the flashing yellow left turn arrows as an effective engineering countermeasure. The updated design of left turn signals with a flashing yellow arrow creates a safer, more efficient left turn at intersections. When the flashing yellow arrow is illuminated, drivers must first yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, then they may proceed to turn with caution. This new signal system presents motorists with a more direct message and reduces confusion by replacing the green ball with the yellow and green left turn arrows so the display is not the same as the adjacent thru lane. 

Lane Departure Countermeasures

Lane Departure Countermeasures

Posted on by

Cost Effective Safety Engineering Countermeasures Help Reduce Lane Departure Crashes 

Many fatal and serious injury crashes in Northeast Florida are the result of lane departures. A series of proven safety countermeasures cards has been created for use by the FDOT District 2 Traffic Safety Team and its communities to help explain safety treatments and strategies that prevent lane departures on our local roadways, proven by FHWA to be effective. Click on the cards below to download and share.

Lane departure crashes include running off the road, crossing the center median into an oncoming lane of traffic, and sideswipe crashes. Running off the road may also involve a rollover or hitting a fixed object.

One of the most severe types of crashes occurs when a vehicle crosses into an opposing traffic lane and crashes head on with an oncoming vehicle. A driver who is speeding, distracted, drowsy, or impaired is likely to have difficulty staying in their lane. Efforts to reduce serious injuries and fatalities resulting from lane departures include keeping vehicles from leaving the road or crossing the center median, reducing the likelihood of vehicles overturning or crashing into roadside objects, and minimizing the severity of an overturn.

View and print this PDF document by the FDOT District Two Community Traffic Safety Program of lane departure countermeasures used in Northeast Florida.

Five Traffic Safety Countermeasures that Work in Preventing Roadway Departures:

1. Curves – Enhanced Delineation (Curve Signs) and Increased Pavement Friction 

Advance warning signs such as chevrons alert drivers to the severity of curvature and operating speed on curves. High friction surface treatment (HFST) compensates at curves where pavement friction is not adequate to support operating speeds. These countermeasure treatments are effective to reduce curve, nighttime and wet road crashes. 

2. Rumbles – Center Line, Edge Line, and Shoulder Rumble Strips and Stripes 

Rumble strips are elements embedded in pavement that cause vibration and sound) to alert drivers if they are leaving the travel lane. These have proven to reduce roadway departure crashes caused by inattentive, distracted, or drowsy drivers who drift from their lane. 

3. Barriers – Roadside and Median Barrier Terminals and Crash Cushions 

Guardrail barriers help reduce crash severity by redirecting and slowing vehicles and protecting them from obstacles such as opposing traffic, rigid fixed objects, bodies of water, or steep slopes. 

4. Clear Zone – Clear Zones and Widening Shoulders

Clear zones are areas free of rigid, fixed objects such as trees and light poles that provide an unobstructed, traversable area beyond the edge of the road. Widening shoulders allows drivers more recovery time to regain control in the event of a roadway departure. 

5. SafetyEdgeSM

SafetyEdgeSM is a paving technique that prevents tire-scrubbing, which often can result in rollovers and run-off-road and head-on crashes by allowing vehicles to safely return to the travel lane. It also improves durability and reduces pavement edge drop-off. 

Engineering Concerns

Posted on by

We are asking all FDOT District Two Traffic Safety Team members for help in reporting traffic safety and engineering concerns.

One of the most important functions of our Traffic Safety Team is the identification of problems on our local roadways. You and your colleagues are the experienced “eyes” we need on our local roads.

As a Traffic Safety Team member, we value your insight and knowledge of your community’s traffic safety issues. Some of the safety issues identified include: signs, pavement markings, signals and areas that may benefit from increased enforcement.

You and anyone within your organization may submit a traffic safety engineering concern through our Roadway Concerns online form and include detailed location information, issue descriptions, photos and area maps.

Submit a NE Florida Engineering Concern

Read: How to Submit Better Engineering Concerns presentation. Bringing the 4E’s of safety together: Engineering, Education, Emergency Medical Services and Enforcement.

Watch: Communicating Community Traffic Safety Concerns + Virtual Volunteer Challenge

Together we can solve roadway issues, reduce crashes and help prevent serious injuries and fatalities. If you see a roadway safety issue in any of our 18 Northeast Florida Counties, please submit online through the Roadway Concerns form.

Roadway Concerns

Additional Team Member Resources and Virtual Volunteer Information available online.

Team Materials
Virtual Volunteer