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FHWA Highway Safety Programs

Roadway Departure Safety: A Manual for Local Rural Road Owners

fhwasa1109.pdf (2.62 MB)

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

 

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof.

 

Technical Documentation Page

1. Report No.
FHWA-SA-11-09		 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle
Roadway Departure Safety: A Manual for Local Rural Road Owners		 5. Report Date
January, 2011
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
Golembiewski, G.A. and Chandler, B.		 8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
8301 Greensboro Drive, Mailstop E-12-3
McLean, VA 22102-3600		 10. Work Unit No.
11. Contract or Grant No.
DFTH61-05-D-00025, T-09-003
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Safety
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590-9898		 13. Type of Report and Period Covered
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
HSSP
15. Supplementary Notes
The Contracting Officer's Task Manager (COTM) for this document was Rosemarie Anderson, FHWA Office of Safety.

The Technical Oversight Working Group included John Dewar, Cathy Satterfield, Joseph Glinski, and David Morena, FHWA; David Engstrom, MNDOT; Stephen Ford, Mendocino County (CA); John Goodknight, Marion County (FL) ; Dale Wegner, Coconino County (AZ); Jim Wiechart, Mercer County (OH); Benjamin Colucci, Puerto Rico LTAP; and Nick Jones, Utah LTAP.
16. Abstract
According to the Federal Highway Administration, over 6 million lane-miles are in rural areas, and more than two-thirds of these rural roads are owned and operated by local entities. Rural areas face a number of highway safety challenges due to the nature of their facilities. Roadway departure crashes are frequently severe and account for the majority of fatalities in rural areas.

This document provides information on effectively identifying roadway departure safety issues in local areas, choosing the countermeasures that address them, and evaluating the benefits of those treatments. It is geared toward local road managers and other practitioners with responsibility for operating and maintaining their roads. This document offers information on the procedures and processes to improve the safety of local rural roadways and to reduce the potential for future roadway departure crashes.
17. Key Words: Roadway Departure, Lane Departure, Safety, Final Report, Local, Rural, Run Off Road, Crashes, Systematic, Countermeasures, Analysis 18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions.
19. Security Classif. (of this report)
Unclassified		 20. Security Classif. (of this page)
Unclassified		 21. No. of Pages
68		 22. Price
N/A

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed pages authorized