Roadway Departure Safety

A roadway departure (RwD) crash is defined as a crash which occurs after a vehicle crosses an edge line or a center line, or otherwise leaves the traveled way. From 2015 to 2017 an average of 19,233 fatalities resulted from roadway departures, which is 52 percent of all the traffic fatalities in the United States.

To effectively prevent RwD crashes and fatalities, FHWA's efforts to reduce RwDs are guided by the Strategic Approach & Plan linked below that involves countermeasures that: 1) Keep Vehicles on Roadway, 2) Provide for Safe Recovery, and 3) Reduce Crash Severity.