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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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      <link>https://rip.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Research for AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways. Task 405. Reevaluation of the Perception and Reaction Time and Deceleration Rates for Stopping</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1877228</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The AASHTO Subcommittee on Highways issued a resolution on Flexibility in Design Standards. The current minimum Stopping Sight Distances (SSDs) in AASHTO’s A Policy for Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 2011 (a.k.a. Green Book) are not threshold values and substantial deviations can be made without impacting crash rates or severity. The very conservative SSD criteria result in lengthy minimum sight distances, which reduce the flexibility for the design and can result in additional costs, additional use of resources, and design exceptions with no apparent safety benefit. SSD is one of the 10 Controlling Design Parameters established by FHWA and should represent a safety threshold.

The research objective is to determine a cost-effective SSD model for 2R/3R, Reconstruction, and New Construction Projects and revised text for an update of the AASHTO Green Book.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2021 13:36:44 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1877228</guid>
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      <title>Development of the 8th Edition of AASHTO's A Policy on the Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (Green Book)</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707200</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' (AASHTO's) A Policy on Geometric Design for Rural Highways (the Blue Book, first published in 1954) and A Policy on Arterial Highways in Urban Areas (the Red Book, first published in 1957) were early nationally recognized standards for geometric design. In 1984, the Blue Book and Red Book were combined to create the first edition of AASHTO’s A Policy on the Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (commonly known as the Green Book). The 1984 Green Book was organized around roadway Functional Classification (Local, Collector or Arterial) and broad Context Classification (Urban or Rural) with design criteria based primarily on motor vehicles. Subsequent Green Book editions retained this basic framework for geometric design guidance. While the basic 10 chapter framework in the Green Book has served practitioners well for new construction or new location projects, it lacks the guidance needed for today's challenging projects where transportation professionals must balance safety, mobility, and other concerns for all modes of travel. The objective of this research is to develop a draft 8th Edition Green Book (GB8) suitable for balloting through AASHTO processes.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2020 18:31:24 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1707200</guid>
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      <title>Research for AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways. Task 398. Development of Performance-Based Geometric Design Content for the Next Edition of the AASHTO Green Book</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1673343</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of NCHRP 20-07/Task 398A was to support activities related to release of the 7th edition of the AASHTO Policy on Geometric Design.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2019 12:14:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1673343</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Update of the Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets Guidance on Acceleration/Deceleration and Stopping Sight Distance Criteria</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628617</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In September 2018, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) published the 7th edition of A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets (also known as the 2018 Green Book). The 2018 Green Book provides guidance for determining geometric design criteria of roadways, including guidance on acceleration/deceleration and stopping sight distance criteria. Acceleration/deceleration is influenced by many factors (e.g., grade, vehicle type, and maneuver type). Stopping sight distance is influenced by many factors (e.g., perception reaction time, object height, and driver’s eye height). In addition, the recent changes in vehicle fleet, vehicle technology, and driver population impact the design criteria. Research is needed to identify the limitations of the 2018 Green Book guidelines for acceleration/deceleration and stopping sight distance criteria, develop improved guidelines, and recommend changes to the 2018 Green Book for consideration and adoption by AASHTO. Improved guidance could result in reduced environmental impacts, savings in construction costs, and reductions in construction time.  
 
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to update the guidelines for acceleration/deceleration and stopping sight distance criteria contained in the 2018 Green Book.

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 08 Jun 2019 05:14:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1628617</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>An Update of the Green Book Design Vehicles Requirements</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516155</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Design vehicle classification, dimensions, and turning path templates have been an important part of AASHTO’s A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets, 7th Edition (Green Book) for over 40 years. Due to limited or nonexistent supporting data and research documentation, these design vehicle dimensions and minimum turning radii are difficult to support and verify. Also, with the increased value of right-of-ways and increased usage of modern roundabout designs and alternative intersection treatments (e.g., thru-turn, continuous flow, and displaced-left turn intersections), accurate vehicle steering angles and swept paths are of the utmost importance.

The Green Book turning path templates do not provide sufficient data for vehicle turn simulation software and computer-aided design (CAD) software to faithfully reproduce them. Critical dimensions for determining a vehicle’s swept path are its front overhang, rear overhang, wheelbase, steering angle, vehicle width, and, in the case of multi-part vehicles, the inter-vehicle angles and kingpin and hitch locations. Rear overhang and mirror widths have also generated safety concerns in the design of bus passenger platforms. Further, with industry movement toward 3D design, loaded ground clearances and heights of the key design vehicles are desirable.


The objective of this research was to develop design vehicle material for the 8th Edition of the Green Book that realistically represents the critical vehicles that influence geometric designs. The research provided conclusions for: (1) Critical dimensions and specifications (or ranges thereof) for design vehicles that can be applied to the design of intersection right and left-turn lanes, roundabout elements, and other roadway elements; (2) Guidance on using this dimensional information in design, including a selection of design vehicle(s) for a project, determination of when to allow large vehicles to encroach upon other lanes, and discussion on balancing the needs of different modes (e.g., trucks and pedestrians); and
(3) An appropriate number of turning path templates that reflect a reasonable range of variability among design vehicles and guidance on when and how they should be applied.
The final report documents the research objectives, methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Other final deliverables will include a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet with the dimensional data for design vehicles. 

]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 18 Jun 2018 19:33:12 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1516155</guid>
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      <title>Operational and Safety Considerations in Making Lane Width Decisions on Urban and Suburban Arterials</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1331125</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In an era of multimodal design and expensive right-of-way, agencies must make decisions on how to best accommodate users of the roadway system within limited budgets. One of the driving decisions is how wide the travel lanes should be while balancing these interests and operational and safety perspectives.
A few recent research projects have examined the relationship between lane width and safety on urban and suburban arterials. These studies found no general indication (with a few exceptions) that the use of lanes narrower than 12 feet increased crash frequencies. While the research provided excellent insight into lane width/safety relationships, it did not address speed, volume, transit, heavy vehicles, on- and off-street neighboring spaces (e.g., turn lane, bike lane, on-street parking, shoulder width, curb and gutter, another lane next to lane of interest, or the proximity of objects such as utility poles, trees, or street furniture on the roadside), bicycle and pedestrian use, and shared versus exclusive lane use. Therefore, additional research is needed to better answer these questions.
 
The objectives of this research were (1) to investigate the effects of urban and suburban arterial lane widths on operations and safety for all users, (2) produce guidelines for practitioners to determine lane configuration for reconstruction and new construction projects, and (3) propose appropriate revisions to the AASHTO Green Book.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 01:00:43 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1331125</guid>
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