Toll Facility Safety Study Report to Congress - About

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Toll Facility Safety Study Report to Congress facility types, lane types, geographic locations, amount of truck traffic, union vs. non-union, etc. However, as the study progressed it became evident that such a level of diversity could not be achieved given the relatively small number of agencies that collect and maintain this kind of data in a readily-accessible format. Consequently, the team elected to solicit data from all agencies that reported in their survey response that they have electronic data available. It should be noted that the team did also explore the possibility of using national databases including the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Unfortunately it is not possible to identify collisions occurring in the vicinity of a toll plaza from the FARS since the database does not include a field to denote whether a crash occurred within the vicinity of a toll plaza. In collecting data on vehicular accidents, the team asked that agencies include data for any crashes occurring in the vicinity of a toll plaza (for the purposes of this study, this was defined as those incidents occurring between the upstream transition zone and the downstream transition zone). The team made a similar request for worker injury data. However, in a few cases, the responding agencies were unable to isolate the injury data in this way. In total, the team received vehicular crash data from 7 agencies (totaling to 10,322 incidents), and worker injury data from 15 agencies (totaling to 2,662 incidents). The study team analyzed the data to determine trends, which can be found in Section 3, Findings – Characteristics of Accidents and Injuries Occurring at Toll Plazas. 2.4 Agency Site Visits The team visited seven agencies to directly obtain information about safety practices and procedures at toll facilities and to observe facility operations. To select sites, the team first developed a list of site selection criteria, aiming to include facilities that span the range of characteristics that represent the wide variety of toll agencies across the United States. The selection criteria included: Consideration of geographic region. Availability of data to the study team. Variety in types of facilities (e.g., road, tunnel, bridge, or combination). Traffic volume. Percent of truck traffic. Facility characteristics (e.g., electronic toll collection, open road tolling, etc.). After considering all sites that had expressed interest in a visit in their survey response, the team, along with the project panel, narrowed the list down to the following seven agencies: Florida Turnpike. Golden Gate Bridge (California). New York State Thruway. Pennsylvania Turnpike. Port Authority of New York / New Jersey (PANY/NJ). Study Methodology Page 6
Toll Facility Safety Study Report to Congress Denver E-470 (Colorado). Illinois Tollway. Two team members attended each site visit, and each visit occurred over a 1-to-2 day period depending on the number and diversity of the facilities that the agency operates. During the visits the study team emphasized the need to meet with a variety of agency staff involved in different aspects of the toll operation, including those involved with enforcement, training, toll facility management, toll collection, safety, operations, and design. During each of the site visits the team interviewed a wide range of staff including the following: Representatives who deal with enforcement issues at one or more plazas (speeding, violations, etc.). Staff responsible for facility management or facility operations. Toll collectors (both union and non-union where applicable). Those who directly supervise toll collectors. Maintenance staff who perform work in the immediate vicinity of the plaza (including electrical work, construction, and other repairs). Those responsible for training toll collectors and/or maintenance staff. Those involved with plaza design. Those responsible for safety programs at the agency (where applicable). The detailed findings of the site visits can be found in Appendix D. 2.5 Agency Interviews The team also conducted phone interviews with agencies to obtain additional information on safety strategies being used across the country to improve worker and traffic safety. The team had the following three goals in mind when conducting these interviews: (1) to obtain information about specific safety strategies to assist in preparing the Report to Congress; (2) to obtain information about innovative safety strategies from toll agencies that did not respond to the survey; and (3) to obtain more detailed information about innovative safety strategies reported on surveys returned from toll agencies. In contacting agencies to request focused interviews, the team contacted the same IBTTA points of contact who had received the original survey. The seven toll agencies that participated in site visits were excluded from the interview process since the team had already gathered in-depth information about their safety strategies. A total of 40 toll agencies were contacted by study team members via e-mail requesting phone interviews. Twenty-one agencies responded to the e-mail and agreed to grant interviews. Of the 21 interviews that were conducted, 5 of these were agencies who had not previously responded to the survey. In most cases interviews were conducted with someone from the agency’s Operations section. Phone calls typically lasted 30 to 45 minutes and team members found interview participants to be extremely willing to share detailed information about the strategies they had implemented to increase safety at their toll plazas. Many toll agencies submitted exhibits, such as pictures, Study Methodology Page 7
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