Study Details

Study Title: Estimating the Safety Benefits of Shoulder Rumble Strips on Two Lane Rural Highways in Minnesota: An Empirical Bayes Observational Before-After Study

Authors: Patel et al.

Publication Date: 2007

Abstract: Approximately 40% of all 2004 fatal crashes were single vehicle run-off-road (SVROR) crashes. The problem is even more significant on two-lane rural roads, where shoulder rumble strips are an important treatment in the prevention of these crashes, and have been proven effective on freeways. However, there have been no studies that evaluated the effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips in reducing SVROR crashes on two-lane rural highways. An Empirical Bayes before-after study was performed to evaluate the safety effectiveness of milled-in continuous shoulder rumble strips on two-lane rural highways in Minnesota. The treatment was installed at 23 treatment sites (183 miles). This study reports a 13 percent reduction in all SVROR crashes and an 18 percent reduction in injury producing SVROR crashes.

Study Citation: Patel, R. B., Council, F. M., and Griffith, M. S., "Estimating the Safety Benefits of Shoulder Rumble Strips on Two Lane Rural Highways in Minnesota: An Empirical Bayes Observational Before-After Study." 2007 TRB 86th Annual Meeting: Compendium of Papers CD-ROM, Vol. TRB#07-1924, Washington, D.C. , (2007)


CMFs Associated With This Study

Category: Shoulder treatments

Countermeasure: Install shoulder rumble strips

CMF CRF(%)QualityCrash TypeCrash SeverityRoadway TypeArea Type
0.87134 StarsRun off roadAllNot specifiedRural
0.82184 StarsRun off roadK,A,B,CNot specifiedRural