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What Makes a Roadway Safe?

Press key to advance this display. What Makes a Roadway Safe?. ISLAND COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. First off, some facts:. More than one million people are killed each year on the world’s roadways.

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What Makes a Roadway Safe?

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  1. Press key to advance this display What Makes a Roadway Safe? ISLAND COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT

  2. First off, some facts: • More than one million people are killed each year on the world’s roadways. • More people die in the U.S. each month from traffic accidents than died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. • U.S. Traffic Accidents cost more than $150 billion annually. • Rural two-lane roads represent 80% of all U.S. Highways and most lanes are less than 11 feet wide. • Rural two-lane roads experience higher rates of accidents than freeways. • Wider lanes and shoulders are among the most effective means of improving rural roadway safety.

  3. Shoulders Provide: • Space to escape serious accidents • Space to pull over because of vehicle malfunction • Space to pull over to let emergency vehicles respond • Improved sight distance • Space for bicycle and pedestrian use • Space for bus stops • Space for plowed snow and maintenance operations • Reduction of storm water degradation of pavement

  4. Some RoadwayConsiderations: • Sight Distance - ability to see and anticipate ahead • Topography - hills vs. flat ground • Horizontal Curves • Posted speed vs. driver speeds • ADT - Average Daily Traffic • Types of traffic - cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, pedestrian • Type of service - residential, collector, arterial • Uniform dimensions to conform with roads elsewhere

  5. Roadways Aren’t Just Pavement;They also provide: • Stormwater treatment with grass strips and swales • Stormwater runoff absorbed with infiltration trenches • Embankments, cut slopes and retaining walls • Signage and utilities set back from edge of roadway • Driveway accesses with safe sight distances • Vegetation to control erosion and enhance the view

  6. What are My Chances? • Q: I drive all the time. When am I more likely to be involved in a car accident? A: Double-check your seatbelt on Saturday, by far the most likely day for an accident. The worst time is between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am. • Q: How much safer is my big fat SUV? A: Some say not at all. Although very large vehicles offer more protection in an accident, they are far more likely to be involved in an accident in the first place. • Q: Which groups are least likely to wear a seatbelt? A: Those with the least common sense: minors, drunks and males. • Q: What is my most dangerous toy? A: Your bicycle accounts for almost 400,000 emergency room visits per year. (Well, ok, not your bicycle). Reprinted with permission from Whidbey Printers, “Facts of Life”, May 2003

  7. Sidewalks • Vertical and/or lateral separation from roadway • Minimal grades and drop-offs • Minimal cross-slopes • Minimum Width to allow two-way pedestrian traffic • Easily maintained • Meets ADA standards (mobility) • Clearances of 8 feet above sidewalk • People prefer straight lines; Point A to Point B • Determine pedestrian destinations and align to serve the greatest amount of pedestrian traffic

  8. I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education Thomas Jefferson September 28, 1820

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