Dangerous Intersections.

A Michigan auto insurer finds road-safety improvements cut losses.

Dr. Emeral Crosby, principal of Pershing High School in Detroit, sleeps better at night since road crews fixed the intersection of Seven Mile and Ryan roads near his school. The intersection was a frequent site of crashes in a city that averages 50,000 reported collisions per year. While the modifications seemed minor-retimed traffic signals, larger signal heads and a left-turn lane--the result was not. The improvements resulted in 48% fewer crashes, 70% fewer injuries and the knowledge that a joint demonstration project could lead to lower insurance-claim costs and serve as a national model for improved urban highway safety.

Historically, research by auto insurers has focused on automobile safety and has spurred the automotive industry to develop safer and more forgiving vehicles. This strategy has proven effective in saving lives and reducing costs through safety features such as seat belts and air bags. Less was understood about the positive impact that road-safety improvements could have on the driving environment. Three years ago, AAA Michigan began a demonstration road-improvement project in partnership with state and municipal governments that is credited with reducing claims and injuries.

AAA Michigan is a group of affiliated organizations that includes the Automobile Club of Michigan and the Auto Club Insurance Association Family of Insurance Cos., a reciprocal insurance exchange that insures about 22% of Michigan's drivers. AAA Michigan's traffic-safety department, working directly with municipal engineers, developed a safety program in Michigan's two largest cities to improve the roads in areas where crash experience and losses were high.

"When it comes to making recommendations to traffic engineers, the insurance company has some valuable insight, which results in fewer crashes and injuries for the motorists in the cities of Detroit and Grand Rapids," said Terry Shea, chief operating officer and president of Auto Club Insurance Association. The first phase of the road-improvement demonstration program in Detroit has resulted in 44% fewer crashes and 66% fewer injuries at three intersections that have frequent collisions.

AAA Michigan contributed seed money for road-improvement projects at targeted locations based on an estimated reduction in insured motorists' claims from traveling through those intersections or corridors.

Road to Safety

The road-improvement project began in the fall of 1996 when Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer asked insurers what could be done to reduce auto insurance rates in the city.

The AAA Michigan board of directors initially allocated $250,000 for demonstration projects in Detroit. Other project participants included the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Wayne County Department of Public Services, the Michigan State Police Office of Highway Safety Planning, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and the Wayne State University Civil Engineering Department.

AAA Michigan President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Steffens formed an executive partner agreement with the mayor to help the city address safety problems at several dangerous intersections. AAA Michigan participated in all aspects of the engineering-safety process and contributed funds equal to an amount where a minimum 2-to-1 benefit-cost return would result over a three-year period. Benefits were derived from potential claims reductions based on engineering estimates of reduced crashes attributed to safety enhancements.

A steering committee was created to approve target locations and road-improvement demonstration projects, discuss funding agreements and oversee construction planning. The committee included representatives from all of the project participants.

The engineering/technical subcommittee did the engineering analysis and design and made recommendations to the steering committee. AAA Michigan's professional traffic engineer managed the program and acted as a liaison for multijurisdictional projects.

Safety improvements generally have been achieved through the installation of new and larger traffic signals, replacement of missing or worn signs and the addition of left-turn signals and lanes. The timing of lights was adjusted to add all-red clearance intervals.

The AAA's $1.5 million contribution attracted another $7.5 million for safety improvements at more than 100 locations in Detroit and Grand Rapids. In addition to local and federal transportation funds, the total includes $4 million allocated by the Michigan Legislature.

Rewarding Results

The first demonstration projects involved improvements at three Detroit intersections.

* Seven Mile and Ryan roads: The intersection had two lanes of traffic in each direction and a two-phase traffic signal with 8-inch lenses on each display. Parking was allowed at the intersection, and many signs were missing or worn out. An average of 26,645 vehicles entered the intersection every day, with an average of 59 crashes each year. The safety project replaced the existing traffic signal with a more modem three-phase traffic signal that added left-turn green arrows on Seven Mile and increased the size of the signal lenses to 12 inches. The traffic signal was retimed, and the intersection was restriped to add left-turn lanes at each approach. The pavement was resurfaced. Parking was eliminated at the intersection to accommodate the left-turn lanes, and all traffic signs were replaced.

* Seven Mile Road and John R Street: This intersection in northeast Detroit was a fairly typical urban arterial intersection with two lanes of traffic in each direction and a two-phase traffic signal with 8-inch lenses on each display Parking was allowed, and the signs were old. An average of 24,284 vehicles passed through the intersection daily, with about 57 crashes each year. The traffic signal was replaced with a more modern three-phase traffic signal that included left-turn green arrows on Seven Mile, and the size of the signal lenses was increased to 12 inches. The traffic signal was retimed, and the intersection was restriped to add left-turn lanes at each approach. The pavement was resurfaced, parking was eliminated, and all traffic signs were replaced.

* Hubbell and Puritan avenues: This northeast Detroit intersection is in a residential area and has less traffic volume--about 20,705 vehicles a day and an average 37 crashes per year. The intersection had one lane of traffic in each direction and a two-phase traffic signal with 8-inch lenses. The intersection was restriped to add left-turn lanes, and the traffic signal was replaced with a new two-phase signal with 12-inch lenses. An all-red clearance interval was added as a safety buffer. The pavement was resurfaced.

The road improvements resulted in fewer collisions and a substantial reduction in the number of physical injuries. "Mayor Archer told us he wanted to reduce insurance costs and make Detroit safer in every way," AAA Michigan's Steffens said. "This is a first and important step in that direction."

Looking Ahead

In addition to the demonstration program, AAA has been working with the University of Michigan Business School to study the impact that other infrastructure projects have had on urban losses. AAA Michigan's traffic safety and actuarial departments, in cooperation with the business school, have linked AAA claim data with Detroit municipal police accident records and with records from the state, city and county on recent intersection improvements within Detroit. By linking these data, the study has been able to examine--for the first time-the connection between insurance claim costs, accidents and specific intersection improvements.

The analysis demonstrated that with the addition of a left-turn lane, for example, AAA claims could decrease, on average, by $3,100 to $8,000 monthly. Extrapolating these results to the entire insurance industry would result in an average monthly claims reduction of $14,600 to $37,200 per improved location.

AAA's initial success with the first public/private demonstration road-improvement project in the United States has led to a rollout of similar programs on a national level by other insurance companies. In 1998, AAA Michigan earned the Peter K. O'Rourke Special Achievement Award from the National Association of Governor's Highway Safety Representatives and an award recognizing front-line delivery of safety programs to the traveling public from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.

While it is clearly not the role or responsibility of an auto club, the insurance industry or other private concerns to maintain the nation's infrastructure, this project provides rationale for a new safety-enhancement model that creates a safer environment and helps reduce both societal and insurance costs.

AAA Michigan has data that traditionally has not been available to municipal traffic engineers when identifying and redesigning locations with high crash rates to make them safer. "There are clear statistical linkages between road improvement and crash rates, injury rates and, inevitably, claims frequency," said Jerry Basch, community safety services manager at AAA Michigan.

Follow-up studies show conclusively that claims are reduced in frequency and severity after specific safety initiatives are implemented. Basch said he hopes the project "will spark the beginning of an evolutionary process that expands the focus of traffic safety from inside the car--air bags, [antilock brake systems], child safety seats--to include the outside, resulting in improved highway infrastructure and safety."

After 14 years of witnessing crashes in front of Pershing High School, Crosby, the principal, said the safety project has helped tremendously. "This is a very, very busy corner. With the new lights and signs, it's much more regulated he said. "In the past, kids would have been hit. This is one of the best things to happen at that corner."

David Feber is transportation engineering manager and Judith Feldmeier is vice president and chief actuary, AAA Michigan. Keith Crocker is the Waldo 0. Hildebrand Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at the University of Michigan Business School.