Rural roads are becoming more congested due to bedroom communities in exurban areas, heavy recreational travel, seasonal residencies, and special events. Increased congestion and travel demands lead to increased accident rates on two- and three lane rural and exurban highways. Research and experience have shown that the provision of passing lanes, turning lanes, localized alignment improvements, signs and pavement marking, median treatments, public information and education, increased enforcement, and other relatively low-cost measures can be highly cost-effective in improving both traffic operations and safety on existing two-and three-lane rural roads. The data collection and analysis plan for this project is intended a) to identify accident types that are prevalent in congested conditions, b) to determine the role of congestion in causing accidents, and c) to estimate the actual or anticipated safety, operational, and other impacts of countermeasures. Over 470 potential study sites for use in the proposed analyses were identified from a survey of states, metropolitan planning organizations, and national parks. (A)
Abstract