Performance Measures After the Crash

Crash Analysis with TomTom Traffic Stats

One performance measure for congestion management is the time needed to clear the roadway and re-establish normal traffic flow. This is easily measured using TomTom’s TrafficStats application.?This example examines the immediate aftermath of a fatal crash on June 7, 2019. The site of the crash on I-295 is shown below.

The following graphic is a compilation of screenshots from TrafficStats showing traffic conditions every 15 minutes. The orange section in the first 15-minute period identifies the crash location and early “rubber necking”. The subsequent images show a closure event and then the eventual recovery.

This analysis, however, is only half the story. State Route 1 runs parallel to I-295 and serves as the alternate route when I-295 has congestion problems. TrafficStats provided the same data about # probes, travel time and speed for Route 1 so we can see the impact simultaneously on both roadways and measure the effectiveness of both the clearance operation on I-295 and the overflow capabilities of Route 1.?

Please reach out to me if you want to see the "rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say.