Crash reduction following installation of centerline rumble strips on rural two-lane roads

Abstract

Rural two-lane roads generally lack physical measures such as wide medians or barriers to separate opposing traffic flows. As a result, a major crash problem on these roads involves vehicles crossing the centerline and either sideswiping or striking the front ends of opposing vehicles. These types of opposing-direction crashes account for about 20% all fatal crashes on rural two-lane roads and result in about 4,500 fatalities annually in the US. The present study evaluated a potential engineering countermeasure for such crashes-installation of rumble strips along the centerlines of undivided rural two-lane roads to alert distracted, fatigued, or speeding motorists whose vehicles are about to cross the centerlines and encroach into opposing traffic lanes. Data were analyzed for approximately 210 miles of treated roads in seven states before and after installation of centerline rumble strips. An empirical Bayes before-after procedure was employed to properly account for regression to the mean while normalizing for differences in traffic volume and other factors between the before and after periods. Overall results indicated significant reductions for all injury crashes combined (14%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 5-23%) as well as for frontal and opposing-direction sideswipe injury crashes (25%, 95% CI = 6-44%)--the primary target of centerline rumble strips. In light of their effectiveness and relatively low installation costs, consideration should be given to installing centerline rumble strips more widely on rural two-lane roads to reduce the risk of frontal and opposing-direction sideswipe crashes.

Effects of Pay-As-You-Drive vehicle insurance on young drivers’ speed choice: Results of a Dutch field experiment

“…Similarly, speed violations of 6% or more are infrequent events at 120 km/h roads, and adding a financial incentive may not reduce speeding much further. Interestingly, accident statistics show that most fatal car accidents occur at undivided two-lane rural roads (Persaud et al, 2004), of which 80 and 100 km/h roads in the Netherlands are typical examples. As such, PAYD appears especially effective at roads where reduced speeding may result in relatively large safety gains.…”

The effect of three low-cost engineering treatments on driver fatigue: A driving simulator study

“…Until now, the main purpose of implementing chevrons and centre-line rumble strips in the UK has been to encourage a reduction in speed, for example on approach to villages, in the case of centre line rumble strips (Persaud, Retting & Lyon, 2004), or along motorways in the case of chevrons (Helliar-Symons & Butler, 1995). Likewise, Variable Message Signs are used mainly for information and advice on UK roads.…”

“…Research on rumble devices has shown a 15-20% reduction in fatigue-related accidents as a result of centre line rumble strips (Persaud, Retting & Lyon, 2004), whilst edge line rumble strips are thought to have reduced such accidents by around 40% (Mahoney, Porter & Donnell, 2003;Räsänen, 2005).…”

The Comparison Study on Observational Before-After Studies: Case Study on Safety Evaluation on Highways

“…외국의 선행연구로는 회전교차로 구조변경 (Persaud et al, 2001;Brabander and Vereeck, 2007), 교 차로 운영방식의 개선 Persaud et al, 2003;Sayed and El-Basyoun, 2006), 교차로 접근로의 개선 (Yuan et al, 2001;Harwood et al, 2003), 고속도로 차로운영방식의 변 경 (Bauer et al, 2004), 노면안전시설 설치 (Persaud et al, 2004a), 노면요철포장의 설치 (Persaud et al, 2004b;Patel et al, 2007), 여러 가지 안전시 설개선 (Sharma and Datta, 2007) 되었다 (Benekohal and Hashmi.1992 ;Al-Masaeid, 1997 ;Griffith, 1999 ;Griffin and Flowers, 1997 ;Hauer, 1997). 본 연구에서는 Hauer ( …”