Study Details
Study Title: Examining the Safety Effect of Centerline Rumble Strips on Curves on Rural Two-Lane Roads
Authors: Babiceanu and Fontaine
Publication Date:JAN, 2018
Abstract: The Virginia Department of Transportation has installed centerline rumble strips on a number of rural two-lane roads to reduce head-on and opposite direction sideswipe crashes. This paper calculated crash modification factors (CMF) for installing centerline rumble strips by applying the empirical Bayes methodology, with a focus on evaluating the effectiveness by roadway curvature. Centerline rumble strips on curves with a design speed of less than or equal to 55 mph reduced total crashes by 25% (CMF 0.75) with a standard error (SE) of 0.14, significant at 90% confidence level and head-on, opposite direction sideswipe, and fixed object, off-road crashes by 42% (CMF 0.58, SE 0.16). Other analyses that examined the safety effect of centerline rumble strips as a function of curve design speed showed promising trends, but were inconclusive, likely due to small sample sizes. For tangents, a 37% decrease in total crashes (SE 0.10) and a 46% decrease in fatal and injury crashes (SE 0.11) were observed. When examining all roads irrespective of curvature, the study found a CMF of 0.93 for total crashes (SE 0.03), and a CMF of 0.65 for head-on and opposite direction sideswipe crashes (SE 0.09) for both total and fatal and injury severities. With the exception noted, all reductions were significant at 95% confidence level. CMFs for several other situations were produced that support the assertion that centerline rumble strips are a beneficial treatment for rural two-lane roads.
Study Citation: Babiceanu, S., and M. D. Fontaine. "Examining the Safety Effect of Centerline Rumble Strips on Curves on Rural Two-Lane Roads". Presented at the 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Paper No. 18-05020, Washington, D.C., (2018).
CMFs Associated With This Study
Category: Roadway
Countermeasure: Install centerline rumble strips
CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
---|
0.925 | 7.5 | | All | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.646 | 35.4 | | Head on,Multiple vehicle,Sideswipe | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.652 | 34.8 | | Head on,Multiple vehicle,Sideswipe | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
0.756 | 24.4 | | Fixed object,Run off road | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.924 | 7.6 | | Fixed object,Run off road | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
Countermeasure: Install centerline rumble strips (horizontal curves)
CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
---|
0.966 | 3.4 | | All | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.832 | 16.8 | | Head on,Multiple vehicle,Sideswipe | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.905 | 9.5 | | Fixed object,Run off road | All | Not specified | Rural |
1.095 | -9.5 | | Fixed object,Run off road | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
1.01 | -1 | | All | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.999 | 0.1 | | Fixed object,Run off road | All | Not specified | Rural |
1.202 | -20.2 | | Fixed object,Run off road | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
0.92 | 8 | | All | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
0.58 | 42 | | Fixed object,Run off road | All | Not specified | Rural |
Countermeasure: Install centerline rumble strips (tangents)
CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
---|
0.948 | 5.2 | | All | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.629 | 37.1 | | Head on,Multiple vehicle,Sideswipe | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.541 | 45.9 | | Head on,Multiple vehicle,Sideswipe | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |
0.743 | 25.7 | | Fixed object,Run off road | All | Not specified | Rural |
0.836 | 16.4 | | Fixed object,Run off road | K,A,B,C | Not specified | Rural |