SHOULDER IMPROVEMENTS ON TWO-LANE ROADS (ABRIDGEMENT)

An objective approach toward the development of geometric design standards has long been sought. Such an approach should link design variables to user benefits and impacts and should include economic considerations. While the relationship between shoulder design and highway safety has been extensively studied, an objective design approach has yet to be developed. The approach outlined in this paper uses traffic volume as a measure of user exposure, traffic speed as a measure of user risk, and 1975 dollars as a common economic factor to measure costs, benefits, and eventually the net worth of shoulder improvements. The approach, is based on relationships between accident rate and shoulder width that are drawn from the literature. These relationships appear to remain consistent among various independent studies and are generally supported by the conclusions of numerous before-and-after evaluations of shoulder improvement projects conducted in various states during the last few years. The relationships were developed by R. W. Sanderson in 1977. These relationships can be converted directly into a format that illustrates for given traffic volumes how many accidents can be expected to be prevented as shoulder widths increase. Plotted in this fashion, sample data show that the first 1 m (3 ft) of width over 0.6 m (2 ft) prevents the greatest number of accidents; additional width prevents diminishing numbers of accidents. (Author)

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1979/737/737-008.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=SHOULDER+IMPROVEMENTS+ON+TWO-LANE+ROADS+(ABRIDGEMENT)&author=D.+Davis&publication_year=1979
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics. 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
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

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  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Davis, David I
• Publication Date: 1979

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 59-60
• Monograph Title: TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, GEOMETRICS, VISIBILITY, AND ROUTE GUIDANCE
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 737
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Design; Design standards; Geometric design; Optimization; Prevention; Road shoulders; Safety; Width
• Old TRIS Terms: Optimum design
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00315068
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309029929
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-029 511
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 8 1980 12:00AM