Safety Effectiveness of Centerline Plus Shoulder Rumble Strips on Two-Lane Rural Roads
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 5
Abstract
The combined application of centerline and shoulder rumble strips is intended to reduce the frequency of crashes by alerting drivers that they are about to leave the traveled lane. To date, this combination treatment has not been rigorously evaluated with a multistate database. To fill this void, this study evaluated treated two-lane rural road locations in three states. To account for potential site selection bias, an empirical Bayes (EB) before-after analysis was conducted. The combined results for all states indicate statistically significant crash reductions for all crash types analyzed. The crash type with the smallest crash modification factor (CMF) (i.e., the greatest crash reduction) is head-on with a CMF of 0.632 (i.e., a crash reduction of 36.8%). For run-off-road, head-on, and sideswipe-opposite direction crashes combined (i.e., lane departure crashes), the estimated CMF is 0.733. Benefit:cost (B:C) ratios were estimated to range from 28.2 to 67.7, depending on the treatment cost and service life assumption.
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Acknowledgments
This work was managed by Ms. Roya Amjadi of the Federal Highway Administration. The authors wish to acknowledge her vision and guidance to the project. This work is based on data provided by Kentucky, Missouri, and Pennsylvania. The following individuals contributed not only data but also their time and insight to make this study successful: Mr. Tracy Lovell, P.E., Kentucky Transportation Cabinet; Ms. Ashley Reinkemeyer, P.E., Missouri Department of Transportation; Mr. John Miller, P.E., Missouri Department of Transportation; Mr. Girish Modi, P.E., Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; Mr. Jeffrey Roecker, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; and Mr. Steven Fink, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 5 • May 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 24, 2015
Accepted: Sep 30, 2015
Published online: Jan 22, 2016
Published in print: May 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Jun 22, 2016
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