The high societal cost of roadway crashes nationwide makes improving highway safety an important objective of transportation agencies. Recognizing this, Safety Management Systems (SMS) have been required by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to encourage states to pursue and promote safety and accident investigations. In 2006, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) SMS Committee organized an effort to reduce the number of fatal and serious injury crashes on Wyoming roadways. A plan was published in a formal document known as the Wyoming State Highway Safety Plan (WSHSP). When developing the WSHSP, the WYDOT SMS Committee recognized four main emphasis areas: roadway departure crashes, use of safety restraints, impaired driving, and speeding. While each one of the four emphasis areas plays an important role in the overall reduction of fatal and serious injury crashes state-wide, this research focuses primarily on roadway departure crashes. This research study summarizes the effectiveness of the WSHSP on crash severity state-wide. This is done by analysing crash severity on geometric conditions state-wide, as well as the effectiveness of two types of safety devices installed on selected roadway sections: shoulder rumble strips and cable median barriers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract