After 17 vehicular accidents two years ago in a given intersection, the mayor of Boulder proposed to reduce the number of crashes by making improvements at the intersection. Assuming the appropriate CRF is 0.53, what will be the reduction in number of crashes at that intersection achieved by the mayor
To determine the reduction in the number of crashes achieved by the mayor, we need to calculate the reduction factor. The reduction factor (RF) is calculated using the Crash Reduction Factor (CRF), which represents the percentage reduction in crashes achieved by a certain intervention or improvement.
In this case, the appropriate CRF is given as 0.53, which means that for every 100 crashes, the intervention is expected to reduce the number of crashes by 53%.
To calculate the reduction in the number of crashes, follow these steps:
Step 1: Calculate the number of crashes per year at the intersection by dividing the number of crashes two years ago by 2 (since the data is from two years ago):
Number of crashes per year = Number of crashes two years ago / 2
In this case:
Number of crashes per year = 17 / 2 = 8.5 (rounded down to 8 crashes per year)
Step 2: Calculate the reduction in crashes using the CRF:
Reduction in crashes = Number of crashes per year * CRF
In this case:
Reduction in crashes = 8 * 0.53 = 4.24 (rounded to 4 crashes)
Therefore, the reduction achieved by the mayor's proposed improvements at the intersection is estimated to be 4 crashes per year.