1、 DrivingDown Lane-DepCrashes A National Priority arturepage 8 Ways You Can Save Lives 1. Ensure that your Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP) is a living document 2. Develop action strategies to implement your SHSP and provide appropriate resources for safety, including staff, dollars, and policies
2、 3. Assign a multidisciplinary champion for safety 4. Conduct weekly/monthly safety program meetings with your safety staff/team 5. Share safety expectations with key management staff 6. Establish safety as a leadership performance measure 7. Provide safety program assistance to local governments 8.
3、 Fully utilize all funding resources available for safety 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page Dear Friends,As you turn the pages of Driving Down Lane Departure CrashesA National Priorit
4、y, think of this. By the time you have finished reading this report, one more person will have died as a result of a run-off-the-road crash. Every 21 minutes a highway death occurs from lane departure.All of us within the state Departments of Transportation have a responsibility for improving the sa
5、fety of people on our roads, but some states have emerged, through top level leadership, as true champions. As shown throughout this report, they have implemented systematic, low-cost improve- ments that have resulted in dramatic reductions in crashes and fatalities. It is something you can do in yo
6、ur own state beginning right now.A key concept here is a systematic approach. Oftentimes we act to improve a high-incident location, when there may be another identical situation elsewhere on our system. The improvements described in this report are most effective when they are applied throughout th
7、e highway system, as a means to prevent future crashes from occurring.While this report highlights a number of remedies for keeping drivers on the road, the es- sential ingredient in improving our safety record is your commitment as the leader of a state depart- ment of transportation. Through AASHT
8、O we have set an aggressive goal to reduce the nations cur- rent level of highway fatalities by 1,000 every year for the next two decades. That will reduce highway deaths by half, on our way to the ultimate goal of eliminating them entirely.W e have many partners in this campaignlaw enforcement, eme
9、rgency services, educators, and safety advocates. Y ou can be the catalyst that, working with them, sets in motion a highway safety program that delivers more than promises, it delivers a son, a daughter, a family to their home at the end of a journey alive and well. Make that commitment today. Pete
10、 K. Rahn, President 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page Illinois has continued to see a downward trend in traffic-related fatal crashes, in particular for roadway departure crashes. Key
11、 to this success has been Illinois multi-disciplined approach to implement corridor and systematic improvements. This has entailed retrofitting of milled rumble strips, upgrading guardrail, and installing median cable rail on Illinois freeways. Also, IDOT has funded an Illinois State Police Motorcyc
12、le Patrol program to implement strict speed enforcement on Illinois freeways to further reduce roadway departure crashes related to speed. On rural two-lane roads, increased use of chevron signs to mark sharp curves and widening of paved shoulders at selected locations, especially curves have been c
13、ost-effective safety measures. Milton R. Sees, Secretary Illinois Department of Transportation “ ” 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.Of the more than 42,000 people killed on our nations hi
14、gh- ways annually, over 25,000almost 60 percentdied in crashes caused when their vehicles veered from the lane. In some cases, the vehicle crossed the centerline and was involved in a head-on crash or opposite direction sideswipe. In others, the vehicle left the roadway to roll over or impact one or
15、 more natural or man-made objects, such as trees, utility poles, bridge walls, embankments, or guardrails. And even though the rate of highway deaths has continued to decrease over the past two decades, the number of high- way fatalities in the United States has remained steady. The highway fatality
16、 rate has gone down from over 2.76 fatali- ties per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1982 to 1.41 in 2006. However, during that same period, the number of fatalities has fluctuated primarily within a range of 40,000 to 45,000 deaths per year. T o address these devastating statistics, members of
17、 the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), by resolution of their Board of Directors in October 2007, embarked on a plan to cut fatalities by half within two decades, with an ultimate goal of zero deaths on our nations highways. T o accomplish this goal, we nee
18、d to reduce the number of traf- fic fatalities by approximately 1,000 per year.Achieving this bold goal requires solutions related to all aspects of the transportation system, including planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. In addition, legislating and enforcing transportation
19、 safety laws, educating drivers of laws and safe driving techniques, improving and coordinating emergency medical services, and improving vehicle technology will also contribute to a reduction in fatalities. However, state DOT s can have Executive Summary page A lane-departure fatality occurs every
20、1 minutes. 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page an immediate impact on fatal and injury crash reduction through low-cost, quick implementation, highway infra- structure improvementsand f
21、urther still, by focusing a concerted effort on lane-departure crashes, which are such a substantial portion of all fatal crashes. Our highway system must be engineered, operated, and maintained to help pre- vent crashes and to minimize the consequences and severity of those that do occur. Several s
22、tates have already recognized the benefits of spe- cifically addressing lane-departure crashes and have taken countermeasures to prevent them. This report focuses on how these state DOT s have made simple safety improve- ments to prevent lane and roadway departures, minimize the likelihood of a cras
23、h when a departure occurs, and reduce the severity of crashes. 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 Number of Fatalities 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 Year Motor Vehicle Fatalities Fatalities FatalityRate Fatality Rate per
24、100 Million Vehicle Miles Motor Vehicle Fatalities 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page Colorado Fatal Crash Reduction Since 2002 -12.0% -18.2% -24.8% -28.4% -17.3% -30% -25% -20% -15% -
25、10% -5% 0% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Year Percent Change Change Since 2002 Since the majority of Colorados fatal lane departure crashes occur on rural roadways, Colorado has developed a new methodology for identifying locations with potential for crash reductionthe Hazard Elimination and Safety (HES)
26、 Programand has been applying it to all of their projects. Focus areas include preventing vehicles from leaving the roadway, removing roadside obstacles, and reducing intersection crashes. The significant reduction in rural fatal crashes in Colorado is a result of identifying crashes that are suscep
27、tible to cor- rection in a cost-effective manner and applying the proper fix to that crash type. Colorado Fatal Crash Reduction Since 2002 Colorados Hazard Elimination and Safety Program 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication
28、is a violation of applicable law.page Progress has been made over the past 25 years to reduce the highway fatality rate from 2.76 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1982 to 1.41 in 2006. However, while this improvement is substantial, there are still some 42,000 deaths every year i
29、n the United States due to motor vehicle crashes. Almost 60 percent of these fatalities involve vehicles leaving their lane and crashing and, of these, more than half result from vehicles leaving the road and overturning or hitting fixed objects, such as trees or utility poles. Recognizing the need
30、to address this challenge, national safety leaders gathered in 1996 to develop a strategic plan for preventing injuries and saving lives. Introduction In South Dakota, vehicle roadway departures result in more fatalities than all other crash types. As a contributing cause to fatal crashes, it is sec
31、ond only to drinking drivers. The vast majority of the roadway departures are single-vehicle events. Source: South Dakota Strategic Highway Safety Plan. South Dakota Statistics 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a viola
32、tion of applicable law.page AASHTO, along with the Federal Highway Administration (FHW A), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Transportation Research Board, convened a meeting of national safety experts representing driver, vehicle, and highway issues. T ogether, the
33、y produced the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP), which identifies 22 goals to pursue to achieve a significant reduction in highway crash fatalities. One of the hallmarks of the plan is to approach safety problems in a comprehensive manner. The SHSP provides guidance and direction for the
34、national deployment of effective countermeasures in areas where they can have the greatest im- pact. T o advance its implementation, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) developed a series of Implementation Guides published collectively as NCHRP Report 500. Each guide provides d
35、efinitive informationdata, strategies, countermeasures, and supporting documentationfor each emphasis area in the broad arenas of Missouri has not solved the problem of highway fatalities, but we are taking major steps and producing tremendous results in driving down the number of people dying on ou
36、r roadways. Pete Rahn, Director, Missouri DOT “ ” Missouri DOT has focused on lane departure coun- termeasures over the past three years, resulting in a 25 percent reduction in lane departure related fatali- ties from 2005 to 2007. System-wide safety solutions they incorporated include: Requiring a
37、minimum four-foot paved shoulder on major roads Providing edge line and centerline rumble stripes for all major roads, as well as for minor roads with a history of crashes Using six-inch stripes for all edge line and multi- lane skips on all major roads Using curve speed plaques for every curve/turn
38、 sign to indicate appropriate speeds Providing guardrail and median guard cable de- lineation on major roads Installing emergency reference markers every 0.2 miles on Interstates Upgrading signs for better visibility Missouris System-Wide Safety Solutions AASHTOs Goal: Cut fatalities by half within
39、two decades. 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page 10 drivers, special highway users, vehicles, highways, emer- gency management services, and management. In 2003, AASHTO launched a “Lead
40、 States” initia- tive to help identify proven, cost-effective strategies for national deployment. States volunteered to develop comprehensive highway safety plans addressing one or more emphasis areas identified in the SHSP . Their plans establish specific statewide goals for reducing fatalities in
41、one or more emphasis areasby a certain number and within a specific time frameusing strategies that are cost-effective and acceptable to the public. From the results achieved in these states, all states will gain a bet- ter understanding of strategies effective for addressing specific highway safety
42、 challenges. Further, at the AASHTO Annual Meeting in October 2007, the Board of Directors passed a resolution with a goal to cut in half the number of highway fatalities within two decades. In order to achieve the newly ad- opted goal, DOT s are adapting and implementing their SHSPs with this goal
43、in mind. Using the NCHRP 500 Series reports and other innovative improvements, states have made significant reductions in crashes and fatalities, in many cases with relatively low costs. The purpose of this report is to highlight low-cost, quick-implementation strategies transportation agencies can
44、use to reduce lane-departure collisions and result- ing injuries and fatalities. Based on examples from states that have successfully implemented these efforts, states can evaluate effective countermeasures and be proactive in achieving the goal of halving fatalities in two decades and moving toward
45、 zero fatalities. In 2005, lane-departure-related crashes in Tennessee accounted for over 833 fatalities, approximately 66 percent of all the fatalities statewide. Source: Tennessee Strategic Highway Safety Plan Traffic Fatalities in Lane Departure Crashes 950 900 850 800 750 700 70% 68% 66% 64% 62%
46、 60%Lane Departure Fatalities % Lane Departure Fatalities 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Tennessee Statistics 2008 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.page 11 OVERVIEW Nearly 4 out of every 10 fatal mo
47、tor vehicle crashes over 16,000 a yearinvolve a single vehicle leaving its lane and/or the roadway, and there are more than twice as many fatal lane-departure crashes on rural roads than on urban roads. Some 42 percent of fatal lane departure crashes occur on curves (50 percent in rural areas), and
48、the life-threatening events most likely to occur are roll- overs (42 percent) and collisions with trees (25 percent). Keeping Drivers on the Road MA 279 778 583 331 38 146 302 160 144 762 533 628 693 763 281 1,911 378 286 608 267 NJ 276 CT 191 NH 93 1,099 940 Lane Departure Fatalities 2006 Source: F
49、ARS/NHTSA DC 7 DE 102 RI 49 PR 276 585 256 296 150 214 2,158 165 195 141 64 706 450 429 498 641 762 859 608 1,047 MD 403 1,383 94 VT 74 0 250 251 500 501 1,000 1,001+ Number of Lane Departure Fatalities: Total Lane Departure Fatalities: 25,082 Lane-Departure Fatalities2006 Total Nationwide: 25,082 Reducing lane-departure fatalities by just five percent in one year will save 1,0 lives, AASHTOs first-year goal toward cutting fatalities by half in 0 years. 2008 by the American Association of State Highway
