Road Departure Safety
Of the 42,643 people killed on our nation's highways in 2003, over 25,000 died when their vehicle left their lane and crashed. In some cases the vehicle crossed the centerline and was involved in a head-on crash or opposite direction sideswipe. In others, the vehicle encroached onto the shoulder and beyond to rollover or impact one or more natural or man-made objects, such as utility poles, bridge walls, embankments, guardrails, parked vehicles, or trees.
This web site provides highway designers, decision makers, and practitioners with information and guidance that will lead to safer roads and roadsides. Our first priority, of course, is to keep drivers on the road. This is done in part by giving drivers the information they need to safely control their vehicles. Retroreflective signs and pavement markings can help the driver stay in the proper lane. Rumble strips can alert a distracted or drowsy driver that they are starting to drift.
If the car veers off the traveled way, we then must make every effort to make sure that a severe crash will not occur. Wide shoulders and flat, traversable roadsides will let the driver recover and safely return the vehicle to the roadway. Properly designed breakaway sign and light supports, roadside barriers, and bridge railings will help keep motorists from encountering greater harm. Median barriers can help prevent a high-speed head-on crash.
We are also working to ensure the safety of context sensitive solutions that provide a driving, riding, and walking environment that incorporates community values into street and road design.
- NEW Low-Cost Treatments for Horizontal Curve Safety [HTML][PDF - 5.61 MB]
- NEW Good Practices: Incorporating Safety into Resurfacing and Restoration Projects [HTML][PDF - 1.87 MB]
- FHWA and Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS)
- NEW Free DVD : "Highway Safety and Trees - The Delicate Balance"
- Roadside Hardware Guidance
- Utilities and Roadside Safety
- Work Zone Safety
- Nighttime Visibility
- NEW Safer Sign Supports - Are Yours Breakaway Yet ?
Road Departure Safety Counter Measures
- Pavement Edge Drop Offs
- Ongoing Research
- "Investigation of Median Trees and Collisions on Urban and Suburban Conventional Highways in California" sponsored by CALTRANS
- Contacts
Strategic Highway Safety Plan - Implementation Guides
- A Guide for Addressing Run-Off-Road Collisions
- A Guide for Addressing Collisions with Trees in Hazardous Locations
- A Guide for Reducing Collisions on Horizontal Curves
- A Guide for Reducing Collisions Involving Utility Poles
Plan for Improving Roadside Safety
- Lane Departure Example Plan - NEW
- Strategic Plan for Improving Roadside Safety
- Strategies for Improving Roadside Safety
Rumble Strips
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