How this traffic treatment is reducing serious, fatal crashes in Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department rolls out signal upgrades to boost intersection safety citywide, new data from Vision Zero noted that treated intersections have led to a large decrease in left-turning vehicle crashes involving injuries or fatalities.

Intersections with signal timing and phasing tweaks or advancements to signage are reporting a 47% to 72% reduction in injuries or deaths from left-turning vehicle crashes.

The data analysis is broken down as follows:

• Intersections with protected only left turns:
  • All crashes have dropped 42%, from 496 per year to 288 per year
  • All injury and fatal crashes have nearly halved, dropping 48% from 142 crashes to 73 crashes
  • Opposite-direction left-turn crashes have declined 74%, decreasing from 162 crashes to 42 crashes
  • Opposite-direction left-turn injuries and fatal crashes have decreased 72%, from 52 crashes to 15
• All other signalized intersections (as a five-year average vs. 2023 figures):
  • All crashes have dropped 3%
  • All injury and fatal crashes have decreased 9%
  • Opposite-direction left-turn crashes have declined 6%
  • Opposite direction left-turn injury and fatal crashes fell by 18%

Low-cost improvements employed by the city and its Vision Zero program include signal timing changes, new signal heads, changes to protect left turns, added or enhanced signage as well as flashing yellow areas. However, this latest analysis did note that opposite-direction left-turn injuries and crashes, while decreasing 47%, were a lower percentage than the initial 64% reduction noted in Vision Zero's 2022 report.

Within the past 14 months, Austin Transportation and Public Works Department crews have launched more than 100 protected left turns, after evaluating sites for their crash histories or contributing risk factors. The result was a 72% reduction in crashes involving injuries or deaths per year when compared to the previous five years.

More details on Vision Zero's efforts are available online.