SHOULDERS AND ACCIDENT EXPERIENCE ON TWO-LANE RURAL HIGHWAYS: A SUMMARY

SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE BEEN MADE ATTEMPTING TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FREQUENCY OF ACCIDENTS AND THE WIDTH OF SHOULDERS ON 2-LANE RURAL HIGHWAY SECTIONS. THIS REPORT BRINGS TOGETHER THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THESE PAST STUDIES AND CORRELATES THEM WITH OREGON'S CONCLUDING RESEARCH ON THIS PHASE. THE STUDIES OF GRAVEL SHOULDERS ON 2-LANE RURAL HIGHWAYS HAVE INDICATED A TENDENCY FOR TOTAL ACCIDENTS AND PROPERTY-DAMAGE ACCIDENTS TO DECREASE AS THE SHOULDER WIDTH INCREASED FOR THE INTERMEDIATE TRAFFIC VOLUME RANGES. NO RELATIONSHIP WAS INDICATED FOR THE LOW AND HIGH TRAFFIC VOLUME RANGES, NOR WAS ANY RELATIONSHIP FOUND FOR PERSONAL-INJURY ACCIDENTS. IN CONTRAST TO THE GRAVEL SHOULDER STUDIES, THE STUDIES OF PAVED SHOULDERS ON 2-LANE RURAL HIGHWAYS HAVE INDICATED A TENDENCY FOR TOTAL ACCIDENTS AND PROPERTY-DAMAGE ACCIDENTS TO INCREASE AS THE PAVED SHOULDER WIDTH INCREASED. FOR PERSONAL-INJURY ACCIDENTS THE SAME RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN INDICATED IN ONE STUDY, BUT WAS NOT FOUND IN ANOTHER STUDY. IN SUMMARY, IT APPEARS RATHER CERTAIN THAT HIGHER AVERAGE ACCIDENT FREQUENCY OCCURS ON SECTIONS HAVING WIDE PAVED SHOULDERS. THE FINDINGS OF THE STUDIES COULD BE STATED TO THE EFFECT THAT IT CANNOT BE SHOWN THAT INCREASING THE WIDTH OF PAVED SHOULDERS IS ACTUALLY HELPFUL IN REDUCING ACCIDENT FREQUENCY ON 2-LANE RURAL HIGHWAYS. ALTHOUGH THERE APPEARS TO BE AN ADVERSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHOULDER WIDTH AND ACCIDENTS, IT MUST BE KEPT IN MIND THAT THIS IS ONLY ONE ELEMENT OF MANY GOVERNING THE SELECTION OF PROPER SHOULDER WIDTH. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/266/266-003.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 266, pp 28-33, 1 FIG, 7 REF 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:
  • Blensly, R C
  • Head, J A
• Publication Date: 1960

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: 6p
• Monograph Title: Pavement edge markings, shoulders and medians
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 266
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash rates; Gravel roads; Injuries; Paved shoulders; Road shoulders; Rural highways; Two lane highways; Width
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220228
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 12 1994 12:00AM