Journal Article
Charles V. Zegeer, Herman F. Huang, J. Richard Stewart, and Carolyn Williams
Sep-98
Charles V. Zegeer, Herman F. Huang, J. Richard Stewart, and Carolyn Williams. Investigation of National Highway System Roadways in the Highway Safety Information System States, Transportation Research Record 1635, TRB, National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1998
Motor vehicle crash rates and roadway characteristics for National Highway System (NHS) and non-NHS roads in seven states-California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington-are presented. Accident and roadway data were extracted from the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Safety Information System. Overall, crash rates on NHS roads were approximately 10 percent lower than those on non-NHS roads, perhaps the result of higher design standards. Crash rates on urban roadways were considerably higher than on the corresponding rural roadways in each state. For rural roadways, fixed object crash rates were higher on NHS roads than on non-NHS roads. The distribution of crashes by severity was quite similar on NHS and non-NHS roads. For urban freeways, NHS Interstates usually had lower crash rates than NHS non-Interstates. The majority of NHS roads had lane widths of 3.4 m (11 ft) or more, and many had shoulder widths of 1.5 m (5 ft) or more. Compared to NHS non-Interstate roads, NHS Interstate roads are more likely to have lane widths of 3.7 m (12 ft) or over, shoulder widths of 2.4 m (8 ft) or over, paved shoulders, and improved median design. Highway designers and safety officials can use this type of information about accident rates and roadway characteristics to enhance safety by upgrading existing highways and improving the design of NHS highways to some specified roadway design standards and guidelines.
Transportation Research Record 1635
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National Highway System
NHS
Crash Rate
HSIS
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