Selection of Horizontal Curve Locations for Implementing Countermeasures to Improve CMV Safety

Project Overview:

The mission of the Selection of Horizontal Curve Locations for Implementing Countermeasures to Improve CMV Safety is to prevent crashes and reduce crash severity for collisions involving large truck commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) at horizontal curves. In previous studies, a high percentage of large truck crashes at curves involved a rollover. Half of these resulted in fatal crashes, a quarter which involved trucks catching fire. Rural, two-lane highways are particularly risky. Numerous treatments are available to reduce these crashes, yet some are very expensive and can only be installed at a limited number of sites. Therefore, the ability to prioritize curves for these treatments based on their likelihood of contributing to a crash is critical.

Key Takeaways:

• Rural two-lane highways are particularly risky places for crashes on curves.
• Our interactive Texas map classifies the risk of curves on rural two-lane highways based on their roadway features.

Our Approach:

For this project, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) included specific activities to identify countermeasures to reduce crash severity; an in-depth analysis of crash data, followed by identification of prioritized locations on rural two-lane highways in Texas and the recommended list of treatments for dissemination to the Texas Department of Transportation. In addition, TTI also lead the production and dissemination of outreach and educational materials (e.g., fact sheets and animated videos) that target law enforcement officers and employers, and truck drivers.

Findings:

The reduction of curves on rural roadways can be reduced with engineering solutions (application of countermeasures), improved driving behaviors of all motorists, and strategic enforcement efforts.

Products:

The products created for this project are organized below by intended audience. The interactive map is the same for all but the description has been adjusted based on the utility for the audience.

• Engineers
  • Interactive map that classifies the risk of curves on rural two-lane highways based on their roadway features and ranks the treatment (countermeasures) for those curves.
  • Reference list of viable countermeasures and their relative costs with links to the technical guidance for their use.
• Fleet Operators
  The following products describe the characteristics of curve-related crashes, their general locations, and driving strategies for how to reduce their crash risk:
  • Animated video
  • Infographic factsheet
• Law Enforcement Officers
  • Interactive map that classifies the risk of curves on rural two-lane highways, with driving behavior data such as average daily travel and shoulder width.
  • Factsheet about crashes at curves and the utility of the interactive map

For more information on this project, please contact:

Srinivas Geedipally
TTI Research Engineer
(817) 462-0519
[email protected]

Project Title: Selection of Horizontal Curve Locations for Implementing Countermeasures to Improve CMV Safety
Project Start and End Dates: October 1, 2021 – September 30, 2023
Author List: Srinivas Geedipally, Lingtao Wu, Myunghoon Ko, Eva Shipp, Robert Wunderlich, Dominique Lord, Emily Martin, Ashesh Pant 
Sponsor/Funding Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) FM-MHP-0591