TRB/FHWA Performance Evaluations: Evaluation of FHWA’s Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD) Program

Roadway departures (also known as lane departures) on the rural road network account for one-third of traffic fatalities. Systemic application of proven roadway departure countermeasures, such as rumble strips, friction treatments, and clear zones, helps keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the potential for crashes, and reduce the severity of those crashes that do occur. The Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Reducing Rural Roadway Departures (FoRRRwD) Program initiative encourages agencies to reduce rural roadway departures on all public roads. The FoRRRwD Program is supported by four pillars that work together to address lane departures. • Addressing Rural Roadway Departures on All Public Roads - States must collaborate with local agencies to reduce rural roadway departures on all roads. Road ownership varies throughout the country, but arterials are typically under the jurisdiction of state departments of transportation (DOTs), while collectors and roads functionally classified as local are more likely to be under the jurisdiction of others. • Proven Countermeasures - FoRRRwD has three objectives for reducing the number or severity of rural lane departures: keep vehicles in the lane, reduce the potential for crashes if vehicles do leave their lane, and minimize severity if a crash does happen. Specific countermeasures apply to each objective. • Systemic Approach to Rural Roadway Departures - A fundamental challenge on rural roads is that roadway departure crash locations are random and tend to change from year to year. It is not cost-effective to apply countermeasures where crashes already happened when they are unlikely to happen again at the same location in the near future. • Safety Action Plans - Reducing rural roadway departure crashes requires an integrated, disciplined approach. Safety action plans help prioritize improvements, justify investments, communicate with stakeholders, and access funding. The FHWA Research & Technology (R&T) evaluation program was initiated in 2013 to assess and communicate the value and effectiveness of FHWA R&T investment. The objective of the R&T evaluation program is to document the impact of the projects, demonstrate accountability to funders and policymakers, and identify lessons learned and best practices that can be applied to future projects/programs, thus completing the innovation lifecycle.  The Transportation Research Board (TRB), in collaboration with the FHWA, is overseeing the TRB/FHWA Program Evaluation (TFPE) to evaluate such programs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop and execute an evaluation plan for the FHWA’s FoRRRwD Program to answer these fundamental questions: • Efficiency: Are the FoRRRwD Program activities conducted with an appropriate use of resources, such as budget and staff time (e.g., research and implementation approach, funding level)? • Implementation: Is the FoRRRwD Program being applied and/or adopted by the users, including state DOTs and local agencies? If yes, how is it being applied or adopted? What is the highest degree a local agency could implement? Are there local agencies that struggle to implement this program? • Effectiveness: Is FoRRRwD Program achieving the intended goals and objectives (e.g., impact)? What datasets will be used to measure effectiveness? • Cost-effectiveness: Does the value or benefit of achieving the FoRRRwD Program goals and objectives exceed the cost of FHWA producing them (e.g., return on investment and cost-benefit ratio)? • Attribution: Is the FoRRRwD Program addressing the following FHWA Strategic Goals? ◦ Safety: Make the transportation system safer for all people. Advance a future without transportation-related serious injuries and fatalities. ◦ Economic strength and global competitiveness: Grow a sustainable economy. Invest in the transportation system to provide reliable and efficient access to resources, markets, and good-paying jobs to American workers and businesses. ◦ Transformation: Design for the future. Invest in purpose-driven research and innovation to meet the challenges of the present and modernize a transportation system of the future that serves everyone today and in the future. ◦ Organizational excellence: Strengthen this world-class organization. Advance FHWA's mission by establishing policies, processes, and an innovative culture to serve communities effectively and steward the public’s resources responsibly.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5752
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Funding: $300,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 09

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Cooperative Research Programs

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Zelinski, Patrick

• Start Date: 20250505
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highway safety; Ran off road crashes; Research management; Rural highways; Strategic planning
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01927530
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 09
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 20 2024 9:45AM