Study Details
Study Title: Safety Effect of Preventative Maintenance: Microsurfacing A Case Study
Authors: Erwin and Tighe
Publication Date:JAN, 2008
Abstract: Various North American transportation agencies have implemented several preventative maintenance techniques to improve pavement performance and safety. The Region of York has been resurfacing and remedying pavements with microsurfacing treatments to improve the pavement surface conditions without a good understanding of how the treatment impacted road safety. Using the data made accessible by The Region the goal of the before-after study was to gain an understanding of how microsurfacing and resurfacing treatments impact road safety. The study concludes that microsurfacing and resurfacing can have a positive safety affect producing crash reduction factors as high as 54 percent; however, they are sensitive to the influence of treatment year data (which may be an anomaly period) and average annual daily traffic (AADT) per lane. In general the findings illustrate that microsurfacing has a positive safety effect on locations that are susceptible to any one or combination of the following conditions: A regular occurrence of wet or slick (not dry) road surface conditions; A trend in severe crashes; Frequent intersection related crashes; A high occurrence of rear end crashes. The findings of this study have opened the door to additional research; integration of safety under the pavement umbrella seems so logical and yet has barely been explored. For now, the crash reduction factors derived from the study can be applied by The Region of York and potentially other jurisdictions to make more sound decisions at the network level when selecting pavement maintenance treatments.
Study Citation: Erwin, T. and S.L. Tighe. "Safety Effect of Preventative Maintenance: Microsurfacing A Case Study." TRB 87th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM. Washington, D.C., 2008.
CMFs Associated With This Study
Category: Roadway
Countermeasure: Refinish pavement with microsurfacing treatment
| CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
|---|
| 0.86 | 14 |  | All | All | Not Specified | |
| 0.46 | 54 | | Wet road | All | Not Specified | |
| 0.54 | 46 | | Wet road | All | Not Specified | |
| 0.5 | 50 | | Rear end | All | Not Specified | |
| 0.59 | 41 | | Rear end | All | Not Specified | |
Countermeasure: Refinish pavement with resurfacing treatment
| CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
|---|
| 0.86 | 14 | | All | All | Not Specified | |
