U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Horizontal curves account for 27 percent of all fatal crashes and 80 percent of all fatal crashes at curves are roadway departure crashes.1 Roadside design improvements at curves is a strategy encompassing several treatments that target the high-risk roadside environment along the outside of horizontal curves. These treatments can reduce roadway departure fatalities and serious injuries by giving vehicles the opportunity to recover safely and by reducing crash severity.
Roadside design improvements can be implemented alone or in combination, and are particularly recommended at horizontal curves—where data indicates a higher risk for roadway departure fatalities and serious injuries.
In cases where a vehicle leaves the roadway, having strategic roadside design elements, including an added or widened shoulder, flattened sideslopes, or a widened clear zone can provide drivers with an opportunity to regain control and re-enter the roadway in their lane or come to a safe stop before rolling over or encountering a fixed object.
Since not all roadside hazards can be removed, relocated, or redesigned at curves, installing roadside barriers to shield unmovable objects or steep embankments may be an appropriate treatment. Three common types of roadside barriers are:
Sources
1. Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
2. NCHRP Report 617: Accident Modification Factors for Traffic Engineering and ITS Improvements, (2008).
3. Elvik, R., and Vaa, T. Handbook of Road Safety Measures, (2004).
Filter countermeasures by focus area, crash type, problem identified, and area type.