Products Developed

TxDOT Report 0-5439-P1 - Horizontal Curve Signing Handbook. J. Bonneson, M. Pratt, J. Miles, and P. Carlson. The procedures described in this handbook are intended to improve consistency in curve signing and driver compliance with the advisory speed. The handbook describes guidelines for determining when an advisory speed is needed, criteria for identifying the appropriate advisory speed, an engineering study method for determining the advisory speed, and guidelines for selecting other curve-related traffic control devices. ENTIRE REPORT (PDF) PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

TxDOT Report 0-4703-P5 - Procedure for Using Accident Modification Factors in the Highway Design Process. James Bonneson and Karl Zimmerman. This document describes a procedure for using accident modification factors (AMFs) in the highway design process. Application of the procedure entails the use of several AMFs, where each AMF addresses one specific design element (such as lane width, shoulder width, curve radius, etc.). The procedure can be used to evaluate the safety benefits associated with alternative geometric designs.

TxDOT Report 0-4703-P4 - Interim Roadway Safety Design Workbook. James Bonneson, Karl Zimmerman, and Kay Fitzpatrick. This document provides information describing the relationship between various highway geometric design components and crash frequency. It is intended to be used by engineers for the purpose of explicitly evaluating the potential safety trade-offs associated with various design alternatives. ENTIRE REPORT (PDF) -PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET Updated 8/30/06

Manual of Traffic Detector Design. J. A. Bonneson and P.T. McCoy. This manual is available from the ITE Bookstore WWW.ITE.ORG . The procedures described in the manual are automated in the following spreadsheet.PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

TxDOT Report 0-4538-3 - Recommended Ramp Design Procedures for Facilities without Frontage Roads. J. A. Bonneson, K. Zimmerman, C. Messer, and M. Wooldridge. This report describes design procedures for interchange ramps on facilities without frontage roads. The procedures described include models for evaluating the operational and safety benefits of alternative ramp configurations. They also include guidelines for designing ramps of adequate length, appropriate horizontal and vertical curvature, and reasonable accommodation of larger vehicles. ENTIRE PRODUCT (PDF - 1.37 MB)PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

TxDOT Report 0-4538-1 - Review and Evaluation of Interchange Ramp Design Considerations for Facilities Without Frontage Roads J. Bonneson, K. Zimmerman, and M. Jacobson. This report describes the findings from the first year of a two-year project. Current ramp design practices were reviewed, and the operational features of interchange ramps in non-frontage-road settings were evaluated. The findings from the evaluation of the field and simulation data indicate that a rational approach to interchange type selection and operational evaluation is feasible using the critical movement analysis approach. A spreadsheet was developed to implement the guidelines. ENTIRE PRODUCT (PDF) PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

TxDOT Report 0-4196-3 - Red-Light-Running Handbook: An Engineer’s Guide to Reducing Red-Light-Related Crashes. James Bonneson and Karl Zimmerman. The objective of this handbook is to describe guidelines for identifying and treating locations that have an unusually large number of red-light violations or related crashes. Separate guidelines are presented for the treatment of red-light problems at individual intersections and within entire cities. The guidelines address countermeasures in both the engineering and the enforcement categories. A spreadsheet was developed to implement the guidelines. ENTIRE PRODUCT (PDF) PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

NCHRP Report 457 - Evaluating Intersection Improvements: An Engineering Study Guide. James A. Bonneson. This interactive guide describes a process for evaluating the operational effectiveness of various intersection improvements. It focuses on problematic unsignalized intersections. ENTIRE PRODUCT

TxDOT Report 4285-2 - Intersection Video Detection Manual. James Bonneson and Montasir Abbas. This manual assists engineers with the planning, design, and operation of a video detection system.

TxDOT Report 4285-3 - Intersection Video Detection Field Handbook. James Bonneson and Montasir Abbas. This handbook is intended to assist engineers and technicians with the design, layout, and operation of a video detection system. It is a condensed version of the Intersection Video Detection Manual.

Bridge Size and Clearance Time of the Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). James A. Bonneson. This paper describes a procedure for quantifying the impact of various SPUI design elements on signal phase clearance time and right-of-way requirements. The procedure is automated in an accompanying spreadsheet. ENTIRE PRODUCT (PDF) PROCEDURE SPREADSHEET

Recent Reports

TxDOT Report 0-5439-1 - Development of Guidelines for Establishing Effective Curve Advisory Speeds. J. Bonneson, M. Pratt, J. Miles, and P. Carlson. This document summarizes the research conducted and the findings from a two-year investigation of driver behavior on horizontal curves on rural two-lane highways. The findings from the research were used to develop criteria for setting the curve advisory speed, a method for determining this speed, and guidelines for identifying appropriate curve-related traffic control devices.

TxDOT Report 0-4703-4 - Development of Tools for Evaluating the Safety Implications of Highway Design Decisions. James Bonneson, Dominique Lord, Karl Zimmerman, Kay Fitzpatrick, and Mike Pratt. This document summarizes the research conducted and the findings for the initial three years of the project. This research included a review of the TxDOT design and safety evaluation process, identification of the safety information sources and needs, identification of the data needed to use selected safety evaluation tools, assessment of the applicability of accident modification factors for design evaluation, and calibration of selected safety evaluation tools for Texas application.

FHWA Project DTFH68-05X-00012 - Driver Understanding of Red Raised Retroreflective Pavement Markers. Paul J. Carlson and Jeffrey D. Miles. In the United States, the use of red raised retroreflective pavement markers (RRPMs) has been traditionally reserved to mark wrong way direction on one-way roadways. There are some agencies such as the State of Hawaii and surrounding U.S. territories that use red RRPMs on undivided highways to mark wrong way direction on two-way roadways (the red RRPMs are installed on the far edgeline). This application is used in areas with frequent tourists from left-hand drive countries. The red RRPMs are used to remind these tourists that they are driving in the United States, which is a right-hand drive country. When traveling in the correct direction on these undivided highways, the red RRPMs are visible during nighttime conditions. This has raised concerns regarding drivers’ understanding of the red RRPMs.

The research investigated drivers’ understanding of red RRPMs as traditionally used (i.e., to mark wrong way direction on one-way highways) and as used in unique applications (such as described above). A laptop survey was developed and administered to almost 200 survey participants. The laptop survey featured five different roadway configurations, each with four different marking patterns. Survey participants were asked several questions aimed at determining their understanding of the markings and markers while watching the video on the laptop computers. Three participant groups were targeted for the surveys: drivers from left-hand drive countries, drivers from Hawaii, and drivers from right-hand drive countries..VIDEO CLIPS FROM SURVEY (PDF)

TxDOT Report 0-4703-P1 - Roadway Safety Design Synthesis. James Bonneson, Karl Zimmerman, and Kay Fitzpatrick. This document describes the effect of key design components on street and highway safety. The information presented represents the findings from a critical review of the literature and an evaluation of the reported safety trends and relationships

TxDOT Report 5-4022-01-1 - In-Service Evaluation of a Detection-Control System for High-speed Signalized Intersections.. Karl Zimmerman and James Bonneson. This report documents the findings and conclusions reached as a result of a three-year implementation project. An evaluation of before-after data at five intersections equipped with the Detection-Control System indicated that it was able to reduce delay by 14 percent, red-light violations by 58 percent, and severe crash frequency by 39 percent.

TxDOT Report 4538-2 - Development of Ramp Design Procedures for Facilities Without Frontage Roads. J. Bonneson, K. Zimmerman, C. Messer, D. Lord, and M. Wooldridge. The objective of the research is to develop recommended design procedures for interchange ramps on facilities without frontage roads. This report documents the research conducted to develop the ramp design guidelines.

TxDOT Report 0-4196-2 - Development of Guidelines for Identifying and Treating Locations with a Red-Light-Running Problem. James Bonneson and Karl Zimmerman.. This report documents the work performed and conclusions reached as a result of a two-year research project. During the first year, the researchers determined that about 37,700 red-light-related crashes occur each year in Texas. During the second year, red-light-related crash and violation prediction models were developed. These models were used to quantify the effect of various intersection features on crash and violation frequency. The models were also used to quantify the effectiveness of officer enforcement. Procedures were developed to identify and rank problem locations.

TTI/ITS RCE-01/01 Report - Actuated Controller Settings for the Diamond Interchange with Three-phase Operation, James Bonneson, Sangsoo Lee. This project evaluated alternative control sequences and settings for the actuated, three-phase diamond interchange. The settings evaluated include the minimum green interval, maximum green interval, and passage time. The objective of this project was to develop guidelines for establishing controller settings that would yield low-delay operation.

TxDOT Report 4196-1 - Review and Evaluation of Enforcement Issues and Safety Statistics Related to Red-Light-Running. James Bonneson, Karl Zimmerman, and Cesar Quiroga. This report describes: (1) the findings from a review of enforcement issues related to red-light violations, (2) the findings from an evaluation the characteristics of red-light-related crashes in Texas, and (3) a procedure for identifying and quantifying red-light-running-related crashes.

The Use of Wider Longitudinal Pavement Markings. Timothy J. Gates and H. Gene Hawkins. ABSTRACT

TxDOT Report 4285-1 - Video Detection for Intersection and Interchange Control. James Bonneson and Montasir Abbas. This research was conducted to gather information about video detection system planning, design, and operations and to develop guidelines that describe the “best” practices for Texas conditions. This report documents the findings from the information gathering and guideline development activities.

TxDOT Report 4022-2 - Intelligent Detection-Control System for Rural Signalized Intersections, James Bonneson, Dan Middleton, Karl Zimmerman, Hassan Charara, and Montasir Abbas. This report describes the development and evaluation of an intelligent detection-control system that will reduce the number of drivers running the red indication and improve intersection safety.

TxDOT Report 4027-2 - Engineering Countermeasures to Reduce Red-Light-Running, James Bonneson, Karl Zimmerman, and Marcus Brewer. This report describes the evaluation of several engineering countermeasures to red-light-running as well as guidelines for selecting appropriate countermeasures and evaluating their performance.