Intersections

Designing for Older Driver Safety

On average, older drivers do not cope as well as younger ones with complex traffic situations. Multiple-vehicle crashes at intersections increase markedly with age. About half of fatal crashes involving drivers 80 years and older occur at intersections and involve more than one vehicle. This compares with 23 percent among drivers up to age 50. The FHWA has developed guidance for designing highways to be safer for older drivers.

Geometric Design

The FHWA Office of Safety offers engineering guidance for improving the geometric configuration of roadways and roadway safety elements to increase intersection safety.

Guide for Addressing Unsignalized Intersection Collisions

This is volume 5 of Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan (NCHRP Report 500), a series of volumes related to prevention of specific types of highway crashes. Each guide contains a brief introduction, a general description of the problem, the strategies and countermeasures to address the problem, and a model implementation process.

Guide for Reducing Collisions at Signalized Intersections

This is Volume 12 of Guidance for Implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan (NCHRP Report 500), a series of volumes related to prevention of specific types of highway crashes. Each guide contains a brief introduction, a general description of the problem, the strategies and countermeasures to address the problem, and a model implementation process.

Highway-Railroad Grade Crossings

Highway-railroad grade crossing incidents have the potential to cause mass casualties, injuries, and property damage. Many new advanced traffic control technologies for highway-rail crossings can make travel safer and help reduce highway traffic back-ups.

Red Light Enforcement Camera Resources

Red light cameras can be a very effective countermeasure to prevent red light running. Click here to find information on red light running issues, camera technology, implementation guidance, success stories, reference materials, and additional information.

Road Safety Audits

A Road Safety Audit (RSA) is the formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an independent audit team. The FHWA works with State and local transportation jurisdictions to conduct RSA programs to assess the crash potential and safety performance of existing roadways and intersections, and to conduct planning and design-stage RSAs to identify potential safety issues before they are built into the project.

Roundabouts

Roundabouts reduce traffic conflicts, such as left turns, that cause crashes at traditional intersections. Because roundabout traffic enters or exits only through right turns, collisions that do occur typically are less severe than those at conventional intersections.