Executive Summary

Transportation agencies across the United States use many treatments to improve safety on high risk rural roads (HRRR). This manual provides information and criteria associated with those improvements including the following:

• Safety benefits;
• Cost-effectiveness comparison of safety treatments;
• Applicability of treatment deployment with respect to identified need;
• Initial and reoccurring maintenance costs associated with treatment installation; and
• Decision-making process for treatment selection.

With the large number of safety treatments available, it can be challenging for practitioners to select the most effective treatment to implement with limited funds. This manual is intended to assist an agency in understanding the effectiveness of safety improvements on HRRR to aid in the treatment selection process. Practitioners may use this manual to understand the potential use and applicable deployment locations for each treatment presented. The HRRR Treatment Matrix sorts through treatment selection and deployment criteria to identify potential improvements for a site. The manual includes overviews of safety program management, potential funding sources and funding processes, and provides decision-making tools for selecting appropriate safety treatments for given crash types and roadway characteristics.

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