Highway Safety and Roadside Hazards

Almost 40% of all highway fatalities occur when a vehicle leaves the roadway. To promote safe roadsides, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has encouraged a major safety upgrading effort of Federal-aid highways. To find out if this is succeeding, in 1978, a safety review examined the progress of the states in applying the concepts of Highway Design and Operational Practices Related to Highway Safety. Some of the devices whose purpose is to make a highway environment more forgiving, will not perform as intended. The review has been successful in that the states and FHWA are examining the safety performance of new highways and initiating programs to correct deficiencies on older highways. Of great importance in assuring safety improvements to the highway environment is safety awareness, and concern on the part of highway designers, constructors, and maintenance personnel.