HIGHWAY ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY DESIGN PRACTICES: A TOPICAL REVIEW

HIGHWAYS CURRENTLY DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED CONTAIN SAFETY HAZARDS RESULTING FROM A LACK OF DETAILED INFORMATION CONCERNING SOME ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES. A CONTINUING STUDY OF ALL ASPECTS OF HIGHWAY COLLISIONS IS CONDUCTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TO LOCATE AND DEFINE SAFETY HAZARD AREAS IN THE VEHICLE, DRIVER, AND ENVIRONMENT. ENVIRONEMTAL ROADWAY AND ROADSIDE SAFETY HAZARDS IN RELATION TO LONGITUDINAL AND CROSS-SECTIONAL ELEMENTS ARE DISCUSSED FROM THE COLLISION CAUSATION AND COLLISION SEVERITY POINT OF VIEW. IT WAS FOUND THAT OFTEN THE INTENT OF SAFETY STANDARD SUGGESTIONS WAS IGNORED IN FAVOR OF STRICT STANDARD ADHERENCE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT A LACK OF COMMUNICATION EXISTS BETWEEN THE HIGHWAY DESIGNER AND THE SAFETY RESEARCHER, AND THAT EACH HIGHWAY MUST BE DESIGNED WITH RESPECT TO THE INTENT, AS WELL AS THE "LETTER" OF SUGGESTED SAFETY STANDARDS. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT A GROUP OF ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS BE CREATED IN EACH STATE FOR COORDINATING AND REVIEWING DESIGNS FROM A SAFETY POINT OF VIEW, AND THIS GROUP REVIEW AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING SEVERE COLLISIONS INVOLVING THE ENVIRONMENT ON ALL ROADS WITHIN THE STATE SO THAT APPROPRIATE CHANGES CAN BE MADE. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1970/332/332-002.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Highway Safety and presented at the 49th Annual Meeting. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • VanWagoner, Wayne T
• Conference:
  • 49th Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1970-1-12 to 1970-1-16
• Publication Date: 1970

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 14-27
• Monograph Title: Highway safety improvements
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 332
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Environment; Hazards; Highway design; Highways; Roadside; Safety; Standards; Traffic lanes
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203528
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 26 1971 12:00AM