Strategy #35
Roadway Safety Design
Use technology to improve roadway/infrastructure safety.
Background
Passenger and commercial vehicle operators occasionally veer off the roadway, resulting in serious incidents. Technology is available to alert the driver when the vehicle is leaving the traveled portion of a roadway (e.g., rumble strips). This technology is applicable to rural and urban roadways and highways, and would be a safety asset for roadway geometrics that involve curves and/or adjacent obstacles and concerns (drainage ditches, utility poles, trees, drop-offs, and the like).
Actions
- Encourage and support the installation of raised and inverted profile and/or roadway delineation devices.
- Encourage and support the use of illuminated warning devices equipped with vehicle sensing activation technology.
- Seek involvement in roadway safety design.
Benefits
- Reduced vehicle collisions and incidents.
- Reduced motorist fatalities and injuries.
- Reduced property damage.
Other Considerations
- Cost of the technology.
- Increased skills, expertise and training for personnel to support and operate.
- Accuracy and reliability of technology.
- Potential increase in support staff requirements, which may cause a reduction in existing personnel levels.
- Inter-connectivity with other systems and privacy issues of shared systems.
- All use of technology in work zones should conform to appropriate industry standards.