Roadway Departure Research and Resources

Research and Resource Links
Current Research
Research Archive

Research and Resource Links

AASHTO / ARTBA / AGC Task Froce 13
AASHTO: Driving Down Lane-Departure Crashes - A National Priority
AASHTO's Technical Committee on Roadside Safety
TCRS is a working group which addresses roadside safety issues in detail and develops AASHTO policies and guides reflecting the state-of-the-practice and the latest technology on roadside safety. The Committee is responsible for and is currently updating the Roadside Design Guide, the essential reference for roadway design related to roadside safety.
AASHTO's Technology Implementation Group
International Road Federation's Road Safety Matters Blog
Midwest Roadside Safety Facility
New England Transportation Consortium
National Crash Analysis Center
Recognize-React-Recover
Using rumblestrips to prevent roadway departure crashes DVD created to educate drivers on how to prevent run-off-road crashes and how to safely recover if they do run off the road. The DVD will be used by drivers’ education teachers, law enforcement and emergency medical service personnel.
Roadside Safety Research Program Pooled Fund Study
Texas Transportation Institute - Texas A&M
The Midwest States Pooled Fund Crash Test Program
TRB Committee on Roadside Safety Design (AFB20)
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Safety Research
Turner-Fairbank Photometric and Visibility Laboratory
The FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center’s Arens Photometric and Visibility Laboratory (PVL) enables researchers to evaluate the photometric and colorimetric properties of signing and marking materials, including fluorescent materials. Studies of human-centered systems related to visibility issues are also performed in this laboratory.

Roadway Safety Solutions

Deception Pass Case Study

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Current Research

Safety Edge

Safety Impacts of Pavement Edge Drop-offs [PDF 2.69 MB]
This 2006 research report focuses on quantification of the contribution of pavement edge drop-offs to crash frequency and severity, particularly on rural two-lane paved roadways with unpaved shoulders. Research was conducted in Iowa and Missouri. The report also contains a useful summary of National, State, and (Canadian) Provincial guidance regarding pavement edge drop-offs. Research panel recommendations for addressing pavement edge drop-offs are included.
Pavement Edge Safety Pooled Fund Research

Nighttime Visibility

Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels for Blue and Brown Traffic Signs [HTML, PDF 1 MB]
This report provides research findings supporting recommendations for minimum maintained retroreflectivity (MR) levels for white-on-blue and white-on-brown signs. The report also includes findings of an investigation of MR levels needed for complex visual conditions, such as glare from oncoming headlamps and fixed roadway lighting. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request report FHWA-HRT-08-029.
Maintaining Traffic Sign Retroreflectivity: Impacts on State and Local Agencies [HTML, PDF 417 KB]
This 2007 report prepared by the FHWA’s Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center analyzes the administrative, fiscal, implementation, and tort liability concerns of State and local transportation agencies in relation to the adoption of minimum maintained retroreflectivity levels for traffic signs. The results are based on input received at four workshops held during the summer of 2002. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request report FHWA-HRT-07-042.
Benefits of Pavement Markings: Renewed Perspective Based on Recent and Ongoing Research
Impact of Edge Lines on Safety of Rural Two-Lane Highways
This before-and-after study of edge line implementation in Louisiana showed that edge lines help drivers confine their traveling path, particularly at night, and edge lines have no or little effect on drivers’ speed.
Preliminary Economic Impacts of Implementing Minimum Levels of Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity [PDF 464 KB]
Researchers developed a spreadsheet analysis tool to calculate the costs associated with implementing minimum retroreflectivity levels. Using the mid-range of assumed pavement marking costs, the analyses show that the economic impacts range from $0 to $150 million annually, depending on the assumptions used in the analysis. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request report FHWA-SA-08-010.
Updates to Research on Recommended Minimum Levels for Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity to Meet Driver Night Visibility Needs [HTML, PDF 659 KB]
This 2007 research report presents new recommendations for minimum levels for pavement marketing reflectivity. The report also presents an analysis of the limitations of the recommendations, and a plan for future research. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request report FHWA-HRT-07-059.

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Research Archive

Rumble Strips

NCHRP Synthesis 339: Centerline Rumble Strips
This 2002 report includes a literature review, case studies, a state-of-the-practice survey, and an analysis of key issues.
Synthesis of Shoulder Rumble Strip Practices and Policies
This synthesis report reviews shoulder rumble strip research and the rumble strip crash reduction record; discusses motorist and bicyclist perceptions; and presents the results of three nationwide surveys on shoulder rumble strips conducted in 2000. Policies, practices, and alternative designs are compared. The report also assesses the need for future research.
Use of Rumble Strips to Enhance Safety
This older NCHRP Synthesis report provides general information on use of rumble strips.
The Effectiveness and Use of Continuous Rumble Strips
New York State Thruway Crash Data
Run-off-road (ROR) crashes comprised 18.4 percent of the crashes on the New York State Thruway in the three years before shoulder rumble strips were installed, and dropped to just 3.6 percent in the three years afterward.
Effectiveness of Shoulder Rumble Strips-A Survey
New York State DOT published this 1997 survey. The authors concluded that rumble strips (termed “audible roadway delineators” in this report) should be used on all rural highways with controlled or partially controlled access, and should be considered for any highway section with a history of “drift off” crashes.
Shoulder Rumble Strip Effectiveness-Drift-Off-Road Accident Reductions on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority reports that crashes involving apparently mechanically-sound, single vehicles that drove, rather than slid, off the right side of the roadway were reduced from 3.81 accidents per 100 MVM before shoulder rumble strip treatment to 1.54/100 MVM after treatment. This is a 60 percent decrease over 348 miles of roadway.
Shoulder Rumble Strips-Effectiveness and Current Practice
In this 1998 study, Wyoming DOT concluded that a milled rumble strip was the more effective design.

Retroreflectivity

Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity Workshops Summary Report
The FHWA is preparing to develop proposed language for the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) regarding pavement marking retroreflectivity. This report summarizes input received during two pavement marking retroreflectivity workshops sponsored by the FHWA in 2007 to gather stakeholder input. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov and request report FHWA-SA-08-003.
Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels for Overhead Guide Signs and Street-Name Signs [HTML, PDF 837 KB]
This 2003 report prepared for the FHWA by Texas Transportation Institute presents the results of a study that investigated the nighttime visibility needs of drivers for viewing overhead guide sign and street name signs. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request report FHWA-RD-03-082.
Updated Minimum Retroreflectivity Levels for Traffic Signs [HTML, PDF 837 KB]
This 2003 report prepared by Texas Transportation Institute for the FHWA updates the minimum levels of traffic sign retroreflectivity for certain types of traffic signs (regulatory, guide, and warning), which were originally generated in 1993. For a hard copy of the report, e-mail Report.Center@fhwa.dot.gov, and request FHWA-RD-02-081.
Retroreflectivity Research Bibliography
Click here for a list of additional reports and research related to retroreflectivity.

Pavement Lane Marking

Benefit-Cost Analysis of Lane Marking [PDF 1.74 MB]
Pavement markings save lives and reduce congestion. This analysis of the benefits and costs of edge lines, center lines, and lane lines concludes that, on average, each dollar spent on pavement striping yields $60 in benefits. The benefit-cost ratio rises with traffic volume. The urban ratio is twice the rural ratio. Published in Transportation Research Record 1334.

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Program Contact

Brian Fouch
Safety Design Team Leader
brian.fouch@dot.gov
(202) 366-0744

What’s New

Guidance memorandum on the Roadside Design Guide - 4^th Edition NEW!

Memorandum - Roadside Safety Hardware-Federal-Aid Reimbursement Eligibility Process NEW!

2009 MUTCD Compliance Dates Revised NEW!

FHWA Technical Advisory T 5040.40: Center Line Rumble Strips NEW!

FHWA Memo: Technical Advisories for Rumble Strips NEW!

Roadway Departure Safety Implementation Plans

Roadway Departure Countermeasures

Roadside Design: Steel Strong Post W-beam. A guidance memo was issued on May 17, 2010 on the height of guardrail for new installations. Guidance regarding existing guardrail will be developed in the next several months, in consultation with AASHTO’s Technical Committee on Roadside Safety.

Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [HTML, PDF]

MUTCD Text of the Proposed Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity Standard

Summary of the MUTCD Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity Standard

Revised Assessment of Economic Impacts of Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity