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https://www.nationalacademies.org/trb/events

Developing Guidance on the Safety Performance of Edge Line Pavement Markers and Guardrail Delineations on Rural Oregon Roads

Despite Oregon's efforts to reduce fatalities and serious injuries, crashes along curves (statewide) continue to be high-risk locations, particularly those involving roadway departures. Contributing factors such as speed, visibility, pavement quality, limited delineation, and adverse weather conditions exacerbate these risks. While Oregon incorporates edge line pavement markers and guardrail delineations, there is limited research on their safety performance on Oregon specific rural roads. It will also investigate whether combining edge line pavement markers with guardrail and barrier delineations as part of a systemic safety countermeasure strategy provides greater safety benefits than applying treatments individually. This research will produce a guidance document outlining recommendations for the use of edge line pavement markers and guardrail delineations on rural curves. The document will provide: (1) criteria for identifying high-risk curves where these treatments will be most effective, considering factors such as crash history, speed, curve geometry, and environmental conditions; (2) guidance on combining edge line pavement markers with guardrail and barrier delineations as a systemic safety countermeasure strategy to achieve greater safety benefits; (3) scalable solutions tailored to rural curves that address Oregon’s unique roadway environments and crash patterns; and (4) performance evaluation framework for ongoing assessment and monitoring of these countermeasures.