Study Details
Study Title: Safety Effect of Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips on Rural Interstates in Maine.
Authors: Garder and Davies
Publication Date: 2006
Abstract: In Maine, the first rumble strips were installed in 1994 and the Maine Department of Transportation (Maine DOT) and the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) have now installed Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips (CSRS) on the majority of the rural sections of the Interstate and Turnpike system. There were approximately 620 freeway miles with CSRS at the end of 2004. The purpose of this study is to report on the effectiveness of these installations in preventing run-offroad crashes. An evaluation of their effectiveness shows that CSRS reduced sleep-related run-off-road crashes by approximately 58%. A statistical analysis shows that we are 99.9% certain that the typical reduction in sleep-related run-off-road crashes was at least 41%. Fatal crashes were reduced to a higher degree than other crashes. Dry-road run-off-road crashes were reduced by about 43% giving a benefit/cost ratio of installing CSRS on a typical Maine section to be at least 195. CSRS are less effective in eliminating crashes during inclement weather conditions. The overall effectiveness of CSRS installations is estimated to be a 27% reduction with respect to 'all' run-off-road crashes.
Study Citation: Garder, P. and Davies, M., "Safety Effect of Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips on Rural Interstates in Maine." 2006 TRB 85th Annual Meeting: Compendium of Papers CD-ROM, Vol. TRB#06-2219, Washington, D.C., (2006)
CMFs Associated With This Study
Category: Shoulder treatments
Countermeasure: Install shoulder rumble strips
| CMF | CRF(%) | Quality | Crash Type | Crash Severity | Roadway Type | Area Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.73 | 27 |  | Run off road | All | Principal Arterial Interstate | Rural |
