Topic: General Rural Transportation Safety

Rural Safety News
Rural Safety News is an electronic newsletter of the Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the University of Minnesota. Rural Safety News brings you the latest research and resources concerning rural safety.

Countermeasures that work : a highway safety countermeasure guide for state highway safety offices (PDF), Fourth edition
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2009

A Guide for Reducing Speeding-Related Crashes
Transportation Research Board, March 2009
NCHRP Report 500, Vol. 23
Provides suggested guidance on strategies that can be employed to reduce crashes involving speeding.

FHWA's Office of Safety's Guidance Memorandum on Consideration and Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures
July 10, 2008

Cost effective safety improvements for two-lane rural roads (PDF)
Transportation Northwest, 2008

The U.S. Department of Transportation Rural Safety Initiative
U.S. Department of Transportation, 2008
The focus of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Rural Safety Initiative is to highlight available options to help reduce highway fatalities and injuries on the nation's rural roads. This targeted national campaign will take advantage of opportunities to raise awareness of the risks drivers face on America's rural roads and provide communities with tools and assistance to address these risks where the Department's resources can be leveraged quickly and effectively. [USDOT Awards $14.7 Million for Rural Roads Safety, August 27, 2008]

RuralTransportation.org
The National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) created this "resource tool for rural transportation stakeholders, including local elected officials and regional development professionals."

Improving Safety for Slow Moving Vehicles on Iowa's High Speed Rural Roadways (PDF)
Center for Transportation Research and Education, Iowa State University, 2009
IHRB Project TR-572
This project was designed to improve transportation safety for slow moving vehicles (SMVs) on Iowa’s public roadway system. This report includes a literature review that shows various SMV statistics and laws across the United States, a crash study based on three years of Iowa SMV crash data, and recommendations from the SMV community.

Animal-Vehicle Crash Mitigation Using Advanced Technology--Phase II: System Effectiveness and System Acceptance (PDF)
Oregon Department of Transportation, 2009
Explores the impact of animal-detection warning signs on reducing vehicle speeds or collisions with large animals.

Investigation of deer-vehicle crash data and countermeasure implementation in Texas (PDF)
Southwest Region University Transportation Center, 2008

Wildlife-Vehicle Collision Reduction Study: Best Practices Manual
Federal Highway Administration, 2009

Five-County Minnesota Case Study: Rural Roadway Fatal Crash Characteristics and Select Safety Improvement Programs (PDF)
Center for Excellence in Rural Safety, 2008
This project developed a safety profile of east/central Minnesota Counties: Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, and Pine. Lying north of the Twin Cities, the region is facing typical urban fringe growth pressures, holds prime recreation land, and yet continues to be home to many rural communities, farmers, and American Indian reservations.

Toward Zero Deaths: A Vision for Safer Roads in America (PDF)
American Traffic Safety Services Association, 2008
This document discusses the concept of zero deaths. A section of the document is specifically dedicated to the problem of high-risk rural roads.

Strategic Highway Safety Plans
American Traffic Safety Services Association
Contains Strategic Highway Safety Plans of individual states.

Transportation Safety: State Programs and Initiatives
Institute of Transportation Engineers
A list of state programs and initiatives focused on transportation safety.

Rural Assistance Center’s Transportation Information Guide
Rural Assistance Center
An initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this guide lists resources for transportation in rural areas.

Making the Case for Transportation Safety - Ideas for Decision Makers (PDF)
Federal Highway Administration, 2008
FHWA-HEP-08-017
This document presents 20 case studies of noteworthy transportation safety practices throughout the U.S. involving stakeholders at all levels of transportation safety. It features examples from State departments of transportation, Tribes, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, highway safety offices, and enforcement agencies. The document also describes the importance of integrating safety into the transportation planning process and lists transportation safety resources.

Synthesis Study: Effectiveness of Safety Corridor Programs, Report on Tasks 1-3 (PDF)
Midwest Transportation Consortium, 2008
MTC Project 2007-08
This report synthesizes the safety corridor programs of 13 states that currently have some type of program: Alaska, California, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. This synthesis can help Midwestern states implement their own safety corridor programs and select pilot corridors or enhance existing corridors.

2007 Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Conference proceedings
Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Program, 2007
Proceedings, presentations, and other materials from the 2007 Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Conference, held September 17-18, 2007, in Duluth, are available for download. The annual conference shares information on best practices in engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical/health services, and helps identify new approaches to reducing the number of traffic fatalities and life-changing injuries on Minnesota roads.

Identification of Causal Factors and Potential Countermeasures for Fatal Rural Crashes
Minnesota Local Road Research Board, 2005
MN/RC-2005-42
This report describes the use of crash reconstruction and expert assessment to study possible causal factors and potential countermeasures for fatal traffic crashes.

Growing Traffic in Rural America: Safety, Mobility, and Economic Challenges in America’s Heartland (PDF)
The Road Information Program (TRIP), 2005
Discusses steps and strategies for improving rural traffic safety. Gives recommendations for reducing fatalities on rural roads.

Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS): Rural Roads
Australasian College of Road Safety, 2004
Like the United States, Australia experiences a high rate (nearly 50 percent) of rural traffic fatalities. This discussion piece from 2004 outlines the issues and possible solutions. Engineering and enforcement resources need to be expanded, and education and enforcement of driving behavior needs to be increased.

Highway Safety: Federal and State Efforts to Address Rural Road Safety Challenges, GAO Report, May 2004 (PDF)
U.S. General Accounting Office, 2004
GAO-04-663
The U.S. General Accounting Office published a report that examines the factors contributing to rural road fatalities, reviews federal and state efforts to improve safety on the nation’s rural roads, and identifies the challenges that may hinder making improvements in rural road safety. It found that one or more of four factors contribute to rural road fatalities: human behavior, roadway environment, vehicles, and the medical care victims receive after a crash.