Rural Road Safety

National Rural Transportation Conference

April 26, 2012

Rural Road Safety

Why is Rural Road Safety Important? Focuses on where the majority of highway fatalities and serious injuries take place – rural roads

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Rural Road Safety

• Approximately 8.4 million lane miles

• Rural Roads account for over 6 million

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Rural Road Safety• National Fatality Trends

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0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Fata

litie

s

Year

National Fatality Trends

Rural

Urban

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Fatil

ity R

ate

Year

Fataility Rates

Rural

Urban

Rural Road Safety• Fatality Rates Per 100 MVMT

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All Interstate Other

2008Urban 0.82 0.48 0.93

Rural 2.13 1.00 2.50

2009Urban 0.72 0.43 0.81

Rural 1.98 0.85 2.35

2010Urban 0.74 0.44 0.84

Rural 1.85 0.86 2.18

Rural Road Safety

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Two Tools:• Local Road Safety Plans• Systemic Tool

Rural Road SafetyLocal Road Safety PlansA locally‐focused plan addressing the uniqueconditions that contribute to safety problems and toassist local practitioners in making informed safetyinvestment decisions. 

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Rural Road SafetyBenefits 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.

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Rural Road SafetySome 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. 

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Rural Road SafetyLRSP 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

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Rural Road Safety

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http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa12017/

Rural Road Safety

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http://mpo.lafayettela.gov/plans/2010SafetyPlan/text/Local_Safety_Draft_6‐3.pdfhttp://mpo.lafayettela.gov/plans/2010SafetyPlan/text/MPO_Transportation_Safety_Plan_Implementation_Program.pdf

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

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Fatal crash types

1-15

2005 20072006 2008

What do we mean by “systemic safety improvement”?An improvement that is widely implementedbased on high‐risk roadway features that arecorrelated with particular severe crash types. 

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Systemic Problem Identification

• System‐wide crash analysis• Crash characteristics at the system level

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Select focus crash type(s)

Select focus facilities

Identify common 

characteristics

Potential Risk Factors

Roadway FeaturesNumber of lanesLane widthShoulder surface width/typeMedian width/typeHorizontal curvatureRoadside or edge hazard ratingDriveway densityPresence of shoulder or centerline rumble stripsPresence of lightingPresence of on‐street parking

Intersection FeaturesIntersection skew angleIntersection traffic control deviceNumber of signal heads vs. number of lanesPresence of backplatesPresence of advanced warning signsIntersection located in/near horizontal curvePresence of left‐turn or right‐turn lanesLeft‐turn phasingAllowance of right‐turn‐on‐redPedestrian‐related Features

Crosswalk presenceCrossing distanceSignal head typeAdjacent land usesLighting

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

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Identifying Systemic Countermeasures

• Initial list of strategies– Low cost– Significant crash reduction

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• Evaluation– Effectiveness– Implementation costs– Policies/practices/experiences

Identifying Systemic Countermeasures

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• Resources– NCHRP Report 500 series– FHWA Website– HSM– CMF Clearinghouse – Intersection Safety Plans– Roadway Departure Improvement Plans

• Countermeasures– Rumble strips/stripes– Cable median barriers– Safety Edge– Signal, sign, and marking improvements

– Turn phase adjustments– Roundabouts

Systemic Project Prioritization

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• Identify the appropriate project for high priority locations

• Consider multiple locations with similar risk characteristics

• Countermeasure(s) appropriate and affordable for widespread implementation

Minnesota’s Crash Surrogates

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Facility SurrogatesRural segments ADT, curve density, access 

density, edge ratingRural curves ADT, radius, intersection, visual 

trapRural intersections ADT, geometry, RR crossing, 

commercial developmentUrban signals Speed, geometry, commercial 

development

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 

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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

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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

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Additional InformationLocal and Rural Road Safety

Rosemarie.anderson@dot.gov202‐366‐5007

Systemic Approach/ToolKaren.scurry@dot.gov

609‐637‐4207

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