1 | P a g e

Utility Pole

Crashes

Roadway departures accounted for 57,475 highway deaths between 2016 and 2018. 

Utility poles were the most harmful event in 2,562 of these fatalities.

Hitting a utility pole1is the most harmful event in over 2 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities each year and 4 percent of

roadway departure2(RwD) fatalities. There were 854 average annual RwD fatalities between 2016 and 2018 where a 

utility pole was identified as the most harmful event. Figure 1 

shows the key characteristics where utility poles are 

overrepresented in fatal crashes.

To reduce severe RwD crashes, FHWA recommends that State 

and local agencies consider three broad strategies:

1. Keep vehicles on the roadway.

2. Reduce the potential for crashes when vehicles leave the

roadway.

3. Minimize the severity of crashes that do occur.

This brochure describes solutions that can be used to reduce 

fatal and serious injuries resulting from RwD utility pole crashes 

in each of these three broad strategy areas (Ref. Roadway 

Departure Safety).

• Delineation Treatments — Installing chevron signs at 

horizontal curves on rural two-lane undivided roads can 

produce a 16 percent reduction in non-intersection fatal and injury crashes and a 25 percent reduction in 

nighttime, non-intersection crashes of all severity types (Ref. FHWA-SA-17-058, CMF Clearinghouse IDs 2438 and 

2439). Installing new fluorescent curve signs or upgrading existing curve signs to fluorescent sheeting on rural 

two-lane undivided roads can result in approximately a 25 percent reduction in non-intersection fatal and injury 

crashes and a 34 percent reduction in nighttime, non-intersection 

crashes of all severity types (Ref. CMF Clearinghouse IDs 2433 and 

2435). Widening edge lines, along rural two-lane highways, from 4 

inches to 6 inches can reduce non-intersection, non-winter fatal and 

injury crashes by approximately 37 percent (Ref. FHWA-HRT-12-048, 

CMF Clearinghouse ID 4737). 

• Shoulder and Edge Line Rumble Strips — Two multistate studies 

and more than a dozen state studies report reductions in singlevehicle run-off-road crashes of 13 to 80 percent when milled rumble strips are installed on two-lane rural roads, 

with a widely accepted reduction of 17 percent for fatal and injury run-off-road crashes at rural freeway 

locations. A reduction of 36 percent can be expected for single-vehicle run-off-road injury crashes at rural twolane roadways (Ref. Rumble Strips and Rumble Stripes, CMF Clearinghouse IDs 3447 and 3454).

1 Crashes where the most harmful event is a motor vehicle impacting a utility pole or light support (FARS code 30).

2 Crashes in which the vehicle crosses an edge line, a center line, or otherwise leaves the traveled way.

Figure 1. Characteristics of RwD fatalities associated with utility Keep Vehicles on the Roadway

pole crashes as the most harmful event — FARS data 2016–2018.
2 | P a g e

• Friction Treatments — For locations with a history of RwD crashes and where the

pavement surface is in good condition, high-friction surface treatment (HFST) is an

effective solution to help reduce crashes. Research conducted by the National

Transportation Safety Board and FHWA indicates that about 70 percent of wet pavement

crashes can be prevented or minimized by improved pavement friction. At least 41 states

have applied HFST to at least one project site. A research report published by FHWA

shows HFST is estimated to reduce wet crashes by 83 percent and total crashes by 57

percent (Ref. FHWA-HRT-20-061).

• SafetyEdgeSM — Run-off-road crashes are twice as likely to result in a fatality when a near-vertical pavement

edge is exposed (Ref. SafetyEdge). Installing the SafetyEdgeSM during all paving or resurfacing projects allows

drivers who drift off roadways to return to the pavement with much less potential to lose control. A five-state

study showed the SafetyEdgeSM will reduce fatal and injury crashes by 11 percent (Ref. FHWA-SA-17-044,

CMF Clearinghouse ID 9660).

• Widen Clear Zones by Relocating Utility Poles — A clear zone is “the unobstructed, traversable3area provided

beyond the edge of the through traveled way for the recovery of errant vehicles.” Removing or relocating utility

poles within the clear zone and/or widening the clear zone are proven strategies to reduce RwD crashes (Ref.

Clear Zones). Placing lighting on existing utility poles can reduce the number of obstacles. AASHTO’s Roadside

Design Guide includes suggestions for clear zone width based on average daily traffic, horizontal curve radius,

design speed, and sideslopes. One Ohio study determined that the removal or relocation of roadside fixed

objects for all road types reduced injury crashes by 38 percent (Ref. CMF Clearinghouse IDs 1024 and 1044).

Similarly, a Texas study determined that widening the rural two-lane roadway clear zone from 10 to 40 feet

resulted in a reduction in single vehicle run-off-road injury crashes of 32 percent at tangent sections and

51 percent at horizontal curve locations (Ref. CMF Clearinghouse IDs 4127 and 4128). A British Columbia study

determined that an increased offset from the roadway is a more effective safety treatment than reducing the

density of the poles (Ref. El Esawey and Sayed, 2012).

• Shielding Utility Poles — Shielding utility poles by constructing a longitudinal barrier, such as guardrail or a crash

cushion can reduce the severity of RwD crashes when it is not practical to remove or relocate utility poles.

Because shielding does not fully eliminate the presence of potential roadside obstacles, this treatment should be

considered on a case-by-case basis. Research documented in 2004 found that a crash attenuator can reduce

69 percent of fatal and injury fixed object crashes (Ref. CMF Clearinghouse IDs 55 and 56).

• Breakaway Utility Poles and Luminaire Supports — In locations where poles are likely to be struck frequently,

there is a breakaway design that can be used for a single utility pole or a

series of poles. Poles that cannot be relocated outside the clear zone

should receive high-priority consideration for shielding or using a

breakaway design or shielding for the pole and guy wires. Light supports

within the clear zone are typically designed to breakaway on impact.

• Energy Absorbing Utility Poles — New Jersey is using special fiberglass

poles that are designed to collapse on impact instead of breaking away

into active traffic (Ref. Utility Pole Management in New Jersey).

For additional information, contact Joseph Cheung, FHWA Office of Safety, at joseph.cheung@dot.gov; or Dick Albin, 

FHWA Resource Center, at dick.albin@dot.gov.

Publication Number FHWA-SA-21-024

3

Foreslopes between 1V:3H and 1V:4H may be considered traversable but non-recoverable if smooth and free of fixed objects.

Reducing the Crash Potential When Vehicles Leave the Roadway

Minimizing the Severity of Crashes

For Additional Information

Roadway Departure 

Safety – FHWA 

Office of Safety