Safety Impacts of Using Wider Pavement Marking in Two Lane Rural Highways in Idaho

This project evaluated the safety effects of wider pavement markings on rural two-lane highways in Idaho using two analyses: 1) Observational Before-and-After Studies using a before-and-after comparison group analysis and an Empirical Bayes before and-after analysis, and 2) Driver Simulation-Based Studies. The study also examined and modeled the deterioration characteristics of pavement marking used in Idaho highways. The findings from the Empirical Bayes analysis were consistent with those obtained from the comparison group. Both showed that wider pavement markings reduce the number of crashes by 17 percent and fatal and severe injury crashes by 14 percent, reducing crash rates at 5.53 percent and 12.59 percent respectively. The reduction in crash rates for total crashes is statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level while the reduction in crash rates for fatal and severe injury crashes is statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level. The results of the driver simulation study have showed subtle differences in driver behavior that occur at different deterioration levels and different widths. With such crash reduction potential, the cost-to-benefit ratio of implementing wide pavement marking throughout the state’s two-lane rural highway segments is approximately 1:25.

• Record URL:
  https://apps.itd.idaho.gov/apps/research/Completed/RP244.pdf
• 

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $174,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  RP 244

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Idaho Transportation Department

  P.O. Box 7129, 3311 West State Street
  Boise, ID  United States  83707-1129
• Project Managers:

  Jennings, Brent

  Hopkins, Jared

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Idaho, Moscow

  Office of Sponsored ProgramsNational Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology
  P.O. Box 443020
  Moscow, ID  United States  83844-3020
• Principal Investigators:

  Abdel-Rahim, Ahmed

• Start Date: 20150112
• Expected Completion Date: 20171229
• Actual Completion Date: 20171229
• Source Data: RiP Project 39583

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway safety; Road markings; Rural highways; Two lane highways; Width
• Uncontrolled Terms: Lane position
• Geographic Terms: Idaho
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01560822
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Idaho Transportation Department
• Contract Numbers: RP 244
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Apr 23 2015 1:00AM