Evaluations of Low Cost Safety Improvements
Pooled Fund Study (ELCSI-PFS)

Progress Report: April 2009

The goal of this research is to develop reliable estimates of the safety effectiveness of safety improvements identified as strategies in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 500 Guides through scientifically rigorous before-after evaluations of sites within the U.S. where these strategies have been implemented. A target of 20 strategies in four phases will be used in the study totaling $4.38 million for a period of 6 years. The progress for each phase is stated below.

Phase I - Retrospective Evaluation
Evaluations include following strategies:

1. STOP Signs with Increased Retroreflectivity
2. Flashing Beacons
3. STOP AHEAD Pavement Markings
4. Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes

Status:

The Phase I evaluations are complete. All four studies of Phase I were published by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in April 2008. Please see the Publications (Web group: please link to the new Publications page) page for the reports.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) presented and will published the following studies:

1. Flashing Beacons
2. STOP AHEAD Pavement Markings
3. Two-Way Left-Turn Lanes in 2008 TRB annual meeting

Phase II - Retrospective Evaluation
Evaluations include following strategies:

1. Offset Left-Turn Lanes,
2. Advance Street Name Signing
3. Curve Treatments (which replaced Dual Application of Rumble Strips)
4. Lane-Width/Shoulder-Width Combinations

Status:
The Phase II evaluations are complete. These studies are going thrugh the process of publication at present. These publications will be available on line after June 2009.

1. Lane Width/Shoulder Width Combinations
2. Offset Left-Turn Lanes
3. Advance Street Name Signings
4. Evaluation of Curve Treatments

Phase III - Prospective Evaluations
In the annual Technical Advisory Committee Meeting in 2007, "Run-of-Road" (ROR) strategies were among the highest rated (balloting process) for evaluation in the Phase III of the Low-Cost Safety pooled fund study (PFS). The ROR countermeasures are the most comprehensive strategy in all phases (I-IV) of the Low-Cost Safety PFS. These sets of strategies will be based on the NCHRP Report 500, Volume 6: A Guide for Addressing Run-Off-Road (ROR) Collisions. (Web group: link to http://safety.transportation.org/guides.aspx?cid=27) Volume 6 states that to reduce the number of ROR fatality crashes, important objectives are to:

• Keep vehicles from encroaching on the roadside.
• Minimize the likelihood of crashing into an object or overturning if the vehicle travel beyond the shoulder of the road.
• Reduce the severity of crashes.

Status:

• For this "build-to-evaluate" phase, FHWA selected multistrategy ROR countermeasures and proposed possible sets of strategies for installation by volunteer States for the purpose of evaluations.
• Iowa, Kansas, Florida, Virginia, and Kentucky volunteered to build these ROR countermeasures for evaluation of sets of safety countermeasures
• Phase III- Crash data analyses for KS, VA, KY and IA completed. Managed and identified deficiencies and redundancies in their crash data. Developed new processes and procedures for effective and efficient statistical analysis (general or state specific). Provided detailed reports for comprehensive statistical crash data analysis results for low to high cost safety improvements. Provided technical feedback for analysis review and field applications
• States of FL, IA, KS, KY, and VA have agreed to install strategies for proactive evaluations. By pooling their efforts, these five States are advancing research at the same time as improving curve and ramp safety. Strategies agreed upon by these states include: 1) Surface friction treatment on curves (2- or 4-lane roads), 2) Surface friction treatment on ramps, 3) In-lane pavement markings for curve warning , 4) Optical speed bars at curves, 5) Larger chevrons (may include florescent yellow chevrons), 6) Edgeline rumble stripEs on curves. Some strategies will be installed in combination with others; some will be installed as stand-alone strategies. Each strategy will be installed at approximately 20 to 30 sites in 2009 and 2010.
• New- Missouri DOT has volunteered to build set/sets of multi-strategy countermeasures for ELCSI-PFS, Phase III.

Phase IV - Simulation
The simulation phase evaluations are conducted in the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center's Human Centered Systems Laboratories, and it has two parts as described below.

Part1- The low cost safety improvements for curves
The following safety countermeasures are all designed to enhance the visibility of curves at night.

• Edge lines and center lines
• Chevrons
• Post-mounted delineators
• Light-emitting-diode- (LED) mounted delineators

Part 2- The low cost safety improvements for small towns
The following safety countermeasures are all designed to slow traffic down while driving through small towns.

• Bulb-outs
• Chicanes
• Medians

Status:

• The driving simulation studies are completed, and will be published in July of 2009.

Phase V - Build-to-Evaluate

A new phase was added to pooled fund study by approval of TAC members on March 19, 2009. They have selected anther set of Build-to-Evaluate evaluations for this phase. Types of safety improvements are to be determined.

Opportunities:

• At the TAC meeting, FHWA, HRDS proposed a research opportunity to develop reliable estimates for national crash type populations' parameters (safety performance measures or baselines for comparison) for objectively and systematically identifying nationwide and statewide significant crash as a possibility for Phase V. Seven states voted yes for the above proposal as their first choices; 13 State DOTs selected the Build-to-Evaluate option for Phase V.
• IA has safety funding issues and may not build the sets of strategies required for Phase III; IA may contribute by retrospective safety evaluation.