Road Safety Fundamentals
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Road Safety Fundamentals Road Safety Fundamentals by James Mearkle, P.E. Safety Technical Assistance Engineer Instructor Updated to meet the requirements of the National MUTCD and the New York State Supplement to the National MUTCD September, 2009 Cornell Local Roads Program 416 Riley-Robb Hall Ithaca, New York 14853-5701 phone: (607) 255-8033 fax: (607) 255-4080 email: [email protected] web: www.clrp.cornell.edu CLRP No. 09-05 Preface The principal author of this manual is James Mearkle, P.E., at the time the Safety Technical Assistance Engineer with the Cornell Local Roads Program and the instructor for the accompanying workshop. From 1992 to 2000, Jim worked in the New York State Department of Transportation’s Traffic Engineering and Safety office in Poughkeepsie where he assisted highway designers and construction engineers with a wide variety of capacity, traffic flow, and safety issues. This workbook, Road Safety Fundamentals, has been prepared and written for the use of local government officials in the State of New York who have responsibility for the operation and management of highway departments. The New York State rules for traffic control are different than the National Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), due to the New York State Supplement to the National MUTCD. Therefore, anyone outside New York State reading this book should be aware of those differences. Information presented here is intended to guide highway officials. Design issues may require the services of a professional engineer, and legal issues should always be addressed to your municipal attorney or risk manager. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The Cornell Local Roads Program would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of those who suggested course topics, attended and evaluated the preview session, and reviewed this workbook for content and flow. The advisory committee includes: James Mearkle, P.E., Safety Technical Assistance Engineer, Cornell Local Roads Program Dan Cole, Traffic Systems Engineer, City of Ithaca DPW John Roden, Superintendent of Highways, Town of Brutus Jeffrey Griswold, Superintendent of Highways, Town of Preble Paul Cooney, Consultant, Community Assistance Engineering James McGlynn, Superintendent of Highways, Town of Bath John Ozolins, Director of Public Works, Cayuga County James Growney, Safety Program Engineer, FHWA NY Division Dave Purdy, Superintendent of Highways, Town of Moravia David Ferris, Superintendent of Highways, Town of Owego Samuel Hadley, Associate Engineer, Steuben County DPW Jonathan Bray, NYSDOT Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety Barbara O’Rourke, NYSDOT Traffic Engineering and Highway Safety Chris Lawrick, Director of Public Works, Village of Horseheads Chris McBride, Traffic Engineering and Safety, Automobile Club of New York, Inc. (AAA) Lynne Irwin, P.E., Director, Cornell Local Roads Program Cornell Local Roads Program September 2009 Table of Contents Preface ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Acknowledgment ...................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Liability .................................................................................................................................... 1 1 - Road Safety Basics .................................................................................................................... 5 Drivers and Other Road Users .................................................................................................. 6 Vehicles ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Roads and Their Environment .................................................................................................11 Combination of Factors ........................................................................................................... 13 Opportunity Cost ..................................................................................................................... 14 2 - Solving Traffic Safety Problems .............................................................................................. 15 Identifying and Solving Problems .......................................................................................... 15 Information Gathering ............................................................................................................ 16 Identifying Causes and Contributing Factors ......................................................................... 19 Selecting a Countermeasure .................................................................................................... 20 Evaluating Success .................................................................................................................. 20 Prioritizing Work ..................................................................................................................... 21 3 - Traffic Control Devices ........................................................................................................... 25 Shall, Should, and May ........................................................................................................... 26 Principles of Traffic Control Devices ..................................................................................... 26 Primacy ................................................................................................................................... 26 Signs ........................................................................................................................................ 27 Signposts ................................................................................................................................. 32 Pavement Markings ................................................................................................................ 33 Delineators .............................................................................................................................. 33 Traffic Control Device Maintenance ....................................................................................... 34 4 - Roadways ................................................................................................................................. 35 Appropriate Standards ............................................................................................................ 35 Consistency ............................................................................................................................. 35 Cross sections.......................................................................................................................... 36 Sidewalks ................................................................................................................................ 38 Road surface ............................................................................................................................ 39 Curves ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Vertical Curves ........................................................................................................................ 42 Pavement Edge Drop-Offs ...................................................................................................... 42 Cornell Local Roads Program i Road Safety Fundamentals 5 - Improving Roadside Safety ..................................................................................................... 45 Do You Need Guiderail? ......................................................................................................... 45 Clear Areas and Clear Zones ................................................................................................... 46 Treatment of Roadside Hazards .............................................................................................. 48 Guiderail ................................................................................................................................ 50 Transitions ............................................................................................................................... 54 Prioritizing Roadside Improvements ...................................................................................... 54 Maintenance ............................................................................................................................ 55 Ditches .................................................................................................................................... 57 6 - Intersections, Railroad Grade Crossings and Driveways ........................................................ 61 Intersections ............................................................................................................................ 61 Intersection Control Type ....................................................................................................... 65 Street Name Signs ................................................................................................................... 68 Pedestrian Crosswalks ...........................................................................................................