What is an RCI?
Reduced Conflict Intersections (RCIs) are an innovative way to reduce the potential for deadly T-bone style crashes at divide highway intersections like the one near Pablo. T-bone or right-angle crashes are among the most devastating crashes, representing more than 50 percent of all automobile accident deaths.
RCIs decrease fatalities and injuries caused by right-angle, T-bone style crashes on four lane divided highways.
Reduced Conflict Intersections (RCIs) decrease fatalities and injuries caused by right-angle, T-bone style crashes on four lane divided highways by eliminating the most high-risk crossing and left turning movements. This approach is modeled after Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Proven Safety Countermeasures that are utilized in several states to reduce injuries on the road.
RCIs aren’t a new idea. They’ve been used for decades in other states to make intersections safer. RCIs installed at intersections similar to the one south of Pablo have been shown to reduce:
RCIs installed at intersections similar to the one near Pablo have been shown to reduce:
- intersection crashes by 49%
- injury crashes by 42%
- fatalities by 70%
With an RCI, drivers don’t have to wait for a gap in traffic to cross the highway. Motorists approaching a divided highway from a side road simply turn right onto the highway and then make a U-Turn at a designated location.
See an RCI in Action
Video courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Transportation