Amish Buggy Safety on Ohio’s State Roadway System Analysis and Action Plan Ohio Department of Transportation FINAL REPORT September, 2000 Special recognition and acknowledgment is given to The Honorable Senator Anthony A. Latell, Ohio Senate, 32nd District and former ODOT Director Jerry Wray, who established the Amish Buggy Safety Study Committee and began this study in October, 1998. The analysis and resulting report is the result of research, ideas, and other contributions by staff from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS), local law enforcement agencies, the State Highway Patrol, hundreds of members from Ohio’s Amish community, and other interested citizens from the many Northeast Ohio counties. ODOT Gordon Proctor, Director ODOT Team Members Steve Barbour, Central Office Brian Bosch, District 5 Tom Culp, District 3 Mike Dotts, District 11 Suzann Gad, Central Office Dave Griffith, District 4 Greg Gurney, District 11 (Project Chairperson) Wendy Hitchcock, District 11 John Motl, District 12 Bryan Newell, Central Office Dave Speer, District 11 Others Chris Biler, Amish Schools Robert Wakefield Many Bishops from the Old Order Amish Church This final report was prepared September, 2000, by the ODOT Office of Urban and Corridor Planning, 1980 West Broad Street, Columbus Ohio 43223 www.dot.state.oh.us/planning 614 466-2307 Contents Page Executive Summary ........................................................... i Section 1.0 Introduction .....................................................1 1.1 Existing Condition Overview ...............................................1 1.2 ODOT Amish Buggy Committee .............................................1 1.3 Content of this Report .....................................................2 Section 2.0 Analysis .........................................................3 2.1 Assumptions ............................................................3 2.2 Findings ...............................................................3 2.3 Location of Accidents .....................................................4 2.4 Analysis ...............................................................4 Section 3.0 Affected Groups and Public Involvement ..............................6 3.1 Affected Groups .........................................................6 3.2 Public Meetings .........................................................7 3.3 Public Opinion Survey and Results ..........................................9 Section 4.0 Current Projects .................................................13 4.1 District 12.............................................................13 4.2 District 11.............................................................13 4.3 District 3..............................................................13 4.4 District 11 - Projects currently being done or discussed .........................13 4.5 District 4 - Proposed projects .............................................13 4.6 Ohio State Extension Service and ODPS .....................................14 Section 5.0 Alternatives .....................................................15 5.1 Alternative Solutions ....................................................15 5.1.1 Roadway Improvements ...........................................15 5.1.2 Types of Treatments ...............................................16 5.1.3 Roadway Changes ................................................17 5.1.4 Buggy Improvements ...............................................17 5.1.5 Bus Service for the Amish ..........................................17 5.1.6 Education and Enforcement Programs ................................18 5.2 Priority Roadways ......................................................18 5.2.1 State Roadways to consider for Possible Improvements ...................18 5.2.1 Roadway Prioritization Criteria ......................................19 5.3 Estimated Costs ........................................................19 5.4 Evaluation of Alternatives ................................................19 Section 6.0 Proposed Action Plan .............................................20 6.1 Proposed Strategy .......................................................20 6.2 Funding Alternatives.....................................................21 6.3 Timetable .............................................................21 Appendices Appendix A ............................... Accident Maps Reports Charts, and Tables Appendix B .................................... Survey Questionnaire and Responses Appendix C .......................................... Relevant Legal Requirements Appendix D ............................................ Asphalt Mix Specifications Appendix E ........................................... Construction Cost Estimates Appendix F .................................... Buggy Safety Educational Materials Appendix G ............................... Roadway Prioritization Maps from Surveys Appendix H .................................... Information on the Amish Life Style EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Amish Buggy Safety on Ohio’s State Roadway System Overview Ohio has the largest Amish population in the world. It is estimated that over 50,000 Amish live in Ohio. Most live in the Northeastern portion of the state. The Old Order Amish, who include over 35,000 of the Amish population, do not drive cars or motorized farm equipment. This ODOT report analyzes the potential safety issues that occur when horse drawn vehicles, moving at approximately 5-8 mph, share Ohio’s roadways with motor vehicles traveling at speeds up to 55 mph. This report also recommends the best methods to address the physical and roadway safety problems through improvements to roadway design and maintenance. ODOT worked with ODPS during this 18 month study. The companion ODPS report presents recommendations for the best methods to address safety through education and enforcement. Findings • From 1990 - 97 over 500 buggy/motor vehicle crashes occurred on the state system • Approximately 63 / year • 1% Fatalities • 51 % Injuries • 48 % Property Damage • Crashes occurred primarily • 56% During daylight • 50% on straight roadways • 61% at intersections • 42% rear end crashes • 81% under no adverse weather conditions • Typical cause (61%) is listed as “following too close” • Distribution, please see Appendix A map Improvement Options Considered • Additional warning signs • Shoulder widening / alternative treatments or materials • Hill climbing lanes • Buggy pull-offs • Buggy improvements • Roadway geometric improvements / vertical and horizontal • Separate Buggy trails • Roadway maintenance changes Public Involvement / Public Opinion Survey Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Executive Summary Page i • Over 800 Amish and “English or non Amish” attended three public involvement meetings to discuss this issue and identify realistic solutions. • Over 1250 public opinion surveys were completed and returned with comments and recommendations concerning desired solutions, improvements, and prioritizing locations that are the most critical to address. • This information helped shaped the recommendations in the report. Report Recommendations • Widen shoulders to 6 to 8 feet on state roadways heavily traveled by horse drawn vehicles ( Primarily ODOT Districts 3, 4, 11, 12) • Estimated per mile cost is $ 150,000 to $1.2 million /mile depending on right-of-way owned, drainage conditions, adjacent land slope, etc. (see Appendix E) • Use heavy duty asphalt mix as specific in Appendix D to report • Plow shoulders during snow removal • Cut vegetation to improve sight distance for drivers of horse drawn vehicles who sit further back than motor vehicle drivers. • Re-evaluate signage based on perspective of horse drawn buggy drivers • Consider changing speed limits by conducting new speed zone studies which include “slow moving vehicle” factors • Re-evaluate vertical and horizontal geometries on state roadways heavily traveled by horse drawn vehicles Funding Recommendations and Next Steps • ODOT Funds Management is establishing a $1 million / year special fund to address the findings and recommendations of this report. • Amish Buggy Safety Committee will meet to finalize selection criteria to prioritize state roadways for improvements based on this report, findings from public opinion surveys and available funding. NOTE: • An additional benefit from implementing recommendations in this report is that slow moving motorized farm vehicle can use the improvements which will make the roadways safer for them. • Typically, the number and types of crashes at a specific location would not receive high priority, under the selection criteria outlined in the Highway Safety Policy, for a project to qualify for ODOT safety funding. The potential costs for making the needed improvements would be overly burdensome to District’s budgets. Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Executive Summary Page i Amish Buggy Safety on Ohio’s State Roadway System Analysis and Action Plan Section 1.0 Introduction Many different groups share Ohio’s roadways. This report looks at potential safety issues that arise when a horse drawn buggy, traveling at a slow speed (5 to 8 miles per hour), shares the road with motor vehicles traveling at comparatively high speeds (up to 55 miles per hour). This report also identifies potential construction and educational improvements that could improve the safety of Ohio’s roadways. The analysis conducted for this report and the solutions recommended focus on Ohio’s state roadway system. The Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) primary responsibility and available funding is dedicated to the state roadway system. It is recognized that similar safety concerns may exist on local and township roadways. Unfortunately, the data for these roadways has some gaps in it which may skew the analysis and is not included in this report. Preliminary review of crash data on the local roadway system appears to demonstrate similar patterns to the findings on the state system. It may, therefore, be possible that the recommendations from this report could also apply to the local roadway systems. 1. Existing Condition Overview Over 575 crashes involving horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles occurred on Ohio roadways in the past 9 years. Of this approximately 64 crashes per year, approximately 1.0%, resulted in human fatalities; 51% resulted in injuries; and 48% resulted in property damage only. In most crashes, the victims were members of Ohio’s Amish communities. A detailed data analysis concerning this situation is presented in Section 2 of this report. Data for the analysis was taken from the Ohio Highway Patrol crash reports involving horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles. This data analysis identifies trends and patterns in the crashes, as well as areas with the highest number of crashes. 1.2 ODOT Amish Buggy Committee ODOT recognizes crashes involving motor vehicles and Amish Buggies as a very serious issue. To begin to address this issue, in October 1998, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) established an Amish Buggy Safety Committee. The Committee, organized in response to concerns raised by The Hon. Senator Latell, Ohio State Senate District 32, was originally composed of ODOT staff from affected Districts and Central Office. The committee’s purpose was to better understand the situation on the state roadway system, identify and recommend improvements to the roadway to address the situation, and to insure a smooth and timely implementation of solutions. Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Final Report Page 1 While developing this report, ODOT discovered that Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) was about to begin an initiative to work with local law enforcement agencies and the Amish community on issues involving buggy safety. After initial discussions ODOT and ODPS determined the public would best be served if the two agencies worked together to address the issues and needs. Public involvement activities and efforts to develop and implement recommendations therefore proceeded jointly. This partnership provided a broader base for ideas and improved public involvement with the Amish community. The Committee’s mission was to: Analyze the existing conditions and work with the Amish communities, local officials and law enforcement agencies to find safe, cost effective recommendations that would create a transportation environment in which horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles can better share Ohio’s State roadways. To accomplish the mission the Committee: • Worked with local law enforcement officials and the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) to conduct community/public meetings and data analysis to define and understand the existing conditions; • Identified programs and projects that address the situation; • Estimated the costs for recommended alternatives; and, • Recommended a strategy for funding the program and a timetable to implement the strategy. 1.3 Content of this Report This report includes an analysis and a proposed action plan. It: • presents an analysis of the situation created when horse drawn and motorized vehicles share the road; • identifies the locations within Ohio where horse drawn buggies are prominent and where transportation safety issues are a concern; • presents the results of a survey of over 1,000 Amish residents of Ohio; • describes ODOT’s current projects and actions to address this situation; • identifies and evaluates alternative solutions to improve safety for all roadway users; and, • presents an action plan / strategy that: • recommends a program and projects to address the situation; • estimates the cost for various improvements; • identifies funding alternatives; and , • recommends a timetable for addressing the situation. Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Final Report Page 2 Section 2.0 Analysis Before recommending solutions, the Committee conducted an analysis to better understand why and where crashes involving horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles were occurring. Data on the state roadway system was gathered from the Ohio Highway Patrol and the ODOT Office of Traffic Engineering. Analysis of this existing data focused on identifying trends and patterns that explained why crashes are occurring. This included: type of crashes; under what conditions, locations of crashes; times of crashes; the geometrics of the road, and design factor which may contribute to the crashes. Section 2.2 presents the results of the analysis. Detailed results can be found in chart form in Appendix A at the back of this report. Section 2.3 of this report and the crash location map, in Appendix A, identify the crash locations in more detail. 2.1 Assumptions The committee first hypothesized that the primary factor in the crashes was visibility. Visibility issues include: buggies going over hills and “disappearing” from sight; darkness; bad weather; or issues involving intersections and sight distance. The committee initially felt the problem was that drivers were not “seeing” the buggies until they were right on top of them and then they are unable to avoid hitting them. A review of the data revealed that the assumed lack of visibility as the primary factor in the crashes may have been overstated. While visibility is a factor, a combination of speed differential and motor vehicle drivers’ misjudging the paths and turning movements of the horse drawn buggies seem to be more of the primary cause than visibility. The committee realized that a far more typical reason for crashes was the motor vehicle drivers inaccurately estimating the speed of the horse drawn buggies and how long it would take their vehicle to overtake or come up behind the buggy. 2.2 Findings (please see Appendix A for maps, charts and figures) • Over the last nine years 575 crashes have occurred on the state highway system involving horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles. This averages approximately 64 crashes per year. Figure 1 presents a chart showing the number of crashes by year for the study years of 1990 through 1997. • Of the crashes involving horse drawn buggies and motor vehicles, approximately 1.0% resulted in human fatalities; 51% resulted in injuries; and 48% resulted in property damage only. This compares to motor vehicle crashes for the state which have a 0.7% fatality rate; a 32% injury rate ; and a 68% property damage rate. [source: Crash Data from the Ohio Highway Patrol] • A majority of the crashes, 56%, happened during daylight hours [Figs. 4, 5]. Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Final Report Page 3 • Approximately 50% of crashes happened on straight, level roadways (290 out of 577), [Fig. 6]. • Approximately 81% of all crashes happened under “no adverse [weather] conditions.” and dry pavement conditions, [Figs. 7, 8]. • Approximately 61% happened at non intersection locations, [Fig. 9] • Approximately two-thirds of the crashes involve vehicles going in a straight direction, with “following to close” as the reason for the crash most often given, [Figs. 11, 12]. • The most common crash type were rear end crashes at 42%, [Fig. 13] 2.3 Location of Crashes The majority of horse drawn buggy and motor vehicle crashes have occurred in the northeast region of Ohio. This area includes ODOT Districts 3, 4, 11, & 12, (ODOT District map, Appendix A) and contains the highest concentration of Ohio’s Amish population. However, all Districts have experienced some crashes involving horse drawn buggies in the last eight years. • Based on the nine years of data (1990 - 1998) available, Districts 3 and 11 combined were the locations for 54 % of all buggy crashes. Districts 12 and 4 combined were the sites for 29% of the crashes. The remaining 17 % were spread across Districts 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and10. [Fig. 10] • Percentage by District - Eleven 28%, Three 26%, Twelve 18%, Four 11% ,Five 6% of the crashes. All other Districts are between .35% and 2.5%, [Fig. 10]. • Preliminary density analysis has shown that SR 87 in Geauga County over the period from 1990 - 97 has had more crashes per mile, 7:1, (21 crashes over 3 miles), than any other road in the state. When added to Trumbull SR 87 the ratio only drops to 6:1. Other smaller roadway sections in Holmes, Wayne, Ashland and Tuscarawas Counties had crash rates from 3:1 to 5:1. These sections are mapped by year using GIS format to determine the sections that are becoming increasingly worse. [See crash map, Appendix A] 2.4 Analysis In attempting to conduct an analysis of these findings, one missing piece of data was “buggy counts” (“Buggy count” would include the number of buggies traveling on each roadway by time of day.) The committee considered trying to get buggy counts, including time of day, number and location of heavily traveled roadways, but this was deemed beyond the scope of the committee. The best guess for the counts came from the replies to question 4 on the Public Opinion Survey on Amish Buggy Safety (see Appendix B) conducted in conjunction with this study. Responses Ohio Department of Transportation September, 2000 Amish Buggy Safety - Final Report Page 4