The issue of safety for all users is a fundamental goal inextricably related to all other CSS design controls and criteria.
In January 2012, FHWA issued a “Guidance Memorandum on Promoting the Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures.” This guidance takes into consideration the latest safety research to advance a group of countermeasures that have shown great effectiveness in improving safety. Safety practitioners are encouraged to consider this set of countermeasures that are research-proven, but not widely applied on a national basis. The countermeasures include Roundabouts, Corridor Access Management, Medians and Pedestrian Crossing Islands in Urban and Suburban Areas, and Road Diets.
A crash modification factor (CMF) is a multiplicative factor used to compute the expected number of crashes after implementing a given countermeasure at a specific site.
Resource: Crash Modification Factors Clearinghouse (FHWA)
Resource: Aesthetic Barrier Systems (FHWA)
This report provides information and background to transportation agencies and professionals so that they can apply the most appropriate technical knowledge about quantitative safety performance—crashes, their outcomes, and causal factors—to develop projects for a range of highway and street types and contexts. With such input, professionals can compare and contrast safety data with other measurable data about the environment, costs, traffic operations, and other factors, and they can make fully informed decisions.
Source: Integration of Safety in the Project Development Process and Beyond: A Context Sensitive Approach (ITE)
Safety Resources:
