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Rosemarie Anderson, Federal Highway Administration, shared information about addressing rural road safety in this session at the 2012 National Rural Transportation Peer Learning Conference, April 25-27 in Burlington, VT.
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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• 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 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://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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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
[email protected]‐366‐5007
Systemic Approach/[email protected]
609‐637‐4207
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