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Rural Road Safety
- 1. Rural Road Safety National Rural Transportation Conference April 26, 2012
- 2. Rural Road Safety Why is Rural Road Safety Important? Focuses on where the majority of highway fatalities and serious injuries take place – rural roads 2
- 3. Rural Road Safety • Approximately 8.4 million lane miles • Rural Roads account for over 6 million 3
- 4. Rural Road Safety • National Fatality Trends National Fatality Trends Fataility Rates 30,000 3 25,000 2.5 Fatility Rate 20,000 2 Fatalities Rural Rural 15,000 1.5 Urban Urban 10,000 1 0.5 5,000 0 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Year Year 4
- 5. Rural Road Safety • Fatality Rates Per 100 MVMT All Interstate Other Urban 0.82 0.48 0.93 2008 Rural 2.13 1.00 2.50 Urban 0.72 0.43 0.81 2009 Rural 1.98 0.85 2.35 Urban 0.74 0.44 0.84 2010 Rural 1.85 0.86 2.18 5
- 8. Rural Road Safety Benefits of LRSP • An LRSP offers a proactive approach for local road agencies to address safety issues. • Promote road safety awareness. • Develop lasting partnerships that may benefit future projects. • Instill or enhance a sense of collaboration among different disciplines. • Assist local agencies to better leverage funding. 8
- 9. Rural Road Safety Some Success Factors • Champion: A champion advocates for the LRSP and gathers the political support to assist in its implementation. • Clear vision and mission: A strategic vision and mission unite all stakeholders with a common goal. • Collaborative partners: Partners collaborate to implement the plan. • Appropriate resources: Manpower and management are essential for ensuring a plan’s success. • Open communication: The LRSP owners should foster open and frequent communication with stakeholders, community partners, and citizens as they develop and implement the plan. 9
- 10. Rural Road Safety LRSP development process involves six steps: • Step 1: Establish Leadership • Step 2: Analyze Safety Data • Step 3: Determine Emphasis Areas • Step 4: Identify Strategies • Step 5: Prioritize and Incorporate Strategies • Step 6: Evaluate and Update the LRSP 10
- 13. Systemic Approach Site Analysis Approach • Substantial number of fatal crashes on local roads • Low density of crashes rural and local roadways • Difficult to isolate high crash locations 13
- 15. Fatal crash types 2005 2006 2007 2008 1-15
- 17. Systemic Problem Identification • System‐wide crash analysis • Crash characteristics at the system level Identify Select focus Select focus common crash type(s) facilities characteristics 17
- 18. Potential Risk Factors Roadway Features Intersection Features Number of lanes Intersection skew angle Lane width Intersection traffic control device Shoulder surface width/type Number of signal heads vs. number of lanes Median width/type Presence of backplates Horizontal curvature Presence of advanced warning signs Roadside or edge hazard rating Intersection located in/near horizontal curve Driveway density Presence of left‐turn or right‐turn lanes Presence of shoulder or Left‐turn phasing centerline rumble stripsPedestrian‐related Features Allowance of right‐turn‐on‐red Presence of lighting Crosswalk presence Presence of on‐street parking Crossing distance Signal head type Adjacent land uses Lighting
- 19. Systemic Problem Identification • Risk Assessment – Identify similar facilities – Document crash history and patterns – Document physical and traffic characteristics – Conduct evaluation of system – Prioritize elements of system 19
- 20. Identifying Systemic Countermeasures • Initial list of strategies – Low cost – Significant crash reduction • Evaluation – Effectiveness – Implementation costs – Policies/practices/ experiences 20
- 21. Identifying Systemic Countermeasures • Resources • Countermeasures – NCHRP Report 500 series – Rumble strips/stripes – FHWA Website – Cable median barriers – HSM – Safety Edge – CMF Clearinghouse – Signal, sign, and marking – Intersection Safety Plans improvements – Roadway Departure – Turn phase adjustments Improvement Plans – Roundabouts 21
- 22. Systemic Project Prioritization • Identify the appropriate project for high priority locations • Consider multiple locations with similar risk characteristics • Countermeasure(s) appropriate and affordable for widespread implementation 22
- 23. Minnesota’s Crash Surrogates Facility Surrogates Rural segments ADT, curve density, access density, edge rating Rural curves ADT, radius, intersection, visual trap Rural intersections ADT, geometry, RR crossing, commercial development Urban signals Speed, geometry, commercial development 23
- 24. Benefits of Systemic Approach • States reporting staggering results in terms of crash reductions • Best approach to address: – Rural and local roads – Locations with few crashes • Potential applications in urban settings 24
- 25. Challenges to the Systemic Approach • Overcoming institutional history • Redistributing limited HSIP funds • Training/retraining staff to use new methods and procedures • Accessing information to support identification of crash risk factors 25
- 26. Systemic Safety Project Selection Tool • Step‐by‐step process to conduct systemic safety analysis and planning • Method for balancing systemic safety improvements and spot safety improvements • Mechanism to quantify benefits of systemic safety improvements 26
- 27. Additional Information Local and Rural Road Safety Rosemarie.anderson@dot.gov 202‐366‐5007 Systemic Approach/Tool Karen.scurry@dot.gov 609‐637‐4207 27