PROVEN Source: FHWA

COUNTERMEASURES

The Four Pillars 

of FoRRRwD

FHWA-SA-21-083

Roadway departures (aka lane departures) on 

the rural road network account for one-third of 

traffic fatalities. The FoRRRwD (Focus on Reducing 

Rural Roadway Departures) initiative encourages 

a systemic application of countermeasures that 

help keep vehicles in their travel lanes, reduce the 

potential for crashes, and decrease the severity 

of crashes that do occur.

FoRRRwD is supported by four pillars that work 

together to reduce rural roadway departures:

 Proven Countermeasures

 Systemic Approach

 Safety Action Plans

 All Public Roads

There are many flexible, cost-effective 

countermeasures that are proven to reduce 

rural roadway departure crashes. They can be 

installed in various situations and on many types 

of roadways. Countermeasures can be used 

individually or in combination.

There are specific countermeasures that apply 

to each of FoRRRwD’s three objectives:

1st Keep vehicles on the roadway

 Edge Line and Center Line Markings 

 Curve Warning Signs

 High Friction Surface Treatments (HFST) 

 Center Line and Shoulder Rumble Strips 

 Delineators

2nd Reduce the potential for crashes

 Shoulder Widening

 SafetyEdgeSM

 Center Line Buffer Areas

 Remove Fixed Objects

 Flatten Slopes

3rd Minimize crash severity

 Barriers

 Breakaway Features

30 people will die today from rural 

roadway departure crashes. Let’s save 

the people behind the numbers.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/
Noteworthy Practices

The following are examples of how state and local agencies have successfully implemented 

countermeasures in their area. By combining funding opportunities with data analysis, these 

agencies were able to target key locations and methods for improvements. The results have 

led to safer roads with fewer roadway departure fatalities and serious injuries.

Edge Lines and Delineators at 

Horizontal Curves Bonner County, Idaho

Most of Bonner County’s 700 miles of roads 

are rural, narrow, in mountainous terrain, have 

roadside trees, limited guardrail, reduced visibility, 

and under 3,000 average daily traffic (ADT). Crash 

data in Bonner County indicated that roadway 

departure crashes are the most frequent crash 

type. To improve roadway safety, Bonner County, 

like other local Idaho agencies, can apply for 

safety project funding through the Local Highway 

Safety Improvement Program (LHSIP). 

Because horizontal curves are locations with a 

greater risk of a roadway departure, Bonner County 

used LHSIP funds to improve visibility at curves using 

edge lines and delineators on 31 roadways.

Before this effort, county roads often only had center 

lines striped and did not have edge lines due to 

limited budget. Bonner County prioritized installation 

of edge lines and delineators on horizontal curves 

based on risk factors, including degree of curvature, 

traffic volumes, and crash history. The edge lines are 

a durable pavement marking (methyl methacrylate) 

with a 10-year expected life. Delineators are installed 

at a 200-ft spacing (closer on sharp curves), are lowcost, can be installed by maintenance crews, and 

are visible in snow conditions. 

Bonner County is currently waiting for 5 years 

of crash data after installation to conduct an 

evaluation; however, anecdotal evidence from 

the public indicates a positive reception of 

the countermeasures, with requests for more 

installations. 

Center Line Rumble Stripes 

on County Roads Mercer County, New Jersey

Mercer County maintains 180 miles of pavement, 

encompassed by the Delaware Valley Regional 

Planning Commission (DVRPC). In 2012, DVRPC 

allocated federal funding toward center line rumble 

stripes, which were an innovative countermeasure 

for local agencies at that time. Although most 

county roads in Mercer County are urban and carry 

over 5,000 vehicles per day, the county has had 

a history of head-on crashes on its two-lane rural 

roads. Prior to this effort, Mercer County had not 

deployed center line rumble stripes. Recognizing the 

potential to save lives, the county volunteered for the 

opportunity to implement this countermeasure with 

DVRPC support.

To identify and prioritize treatment locations, 

Mercer County used crash data available through 

the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 

conducted a network analysis for head-on and 

run-off-road crashes. Furthermore, the county 

identified roads that were resurfaced within the 

past five years, focusing on roadways with good 

pavement condition. The objective was to avoid 

installations where the rumble stripes would be 

filled in by any scheduled milling and resurfacing 

projects. Following the analysis, Mercer County 

installed nearly 6 miles of center line rumble stripes 

on 18 segments of roadway, varying in length from 

1,000 ft. to 4 miles.

After installation, Mercer County received noise 

complaints from the public; however, after 

communicating the safety benefits the 

complaints decreased. 

Figure 2. Center line rumble stripes in Mercer County 

reduce head-on crashes. Source: George Fallat, Mercer 

County, New Jersey.

Figure 1. Edge lines and delineators improve visibility 

on horizontal curves. Source: Matt Mulder, Bonner 

County, Idaho.
Cable Barrier 

Gunnison County, Colorado and Central Federal Lands

Taylor River Road is located in the Gunnison National 

Forest in central Colorado. As the name suggests, 

the roadway is along the Taylor River with scenic 

views of the Rocky Mountains and the river. However, 

the physical landscape also poses safety risks and 

space constraints on both sides of the road. On one 

side of the road there is a steep drop-off toward the 

river and a rock slope on the opposite side, where 

loose rock can fall onto the road. The road has a 

posted speed limit of 35 mph and is used by both 

local traffic and tourists accessing the river and 

campgrounds. It is not uncommon to see bicyclists 

and RVs using the road. 

Since Taylor River Road is a county-owned road that 

goes through a national forest, Gunnison County 

partnered with Central Federal Lands (CFL) and 

the National Forest to identify a potential solution to 

shield vehicles from the drop-off toward the river. It 

was clear that the roadway needed a barrier based 

on known crashes where vehicles were removed 

from the river. There are several types of barrier that 

CFL uses, such as w-beam, steel-backed timber, 

concrete, and high-tension cable barrier. The 

agencies weighed the benefits and drawbacks of 

each type and decided to use a high-tension cable 

barrier. The cable barrier allows for unobstructed 

views of the landscape, without sacrificing safety. 

The cable barrier also allows snow to be plowed 

over and through it, unlike a w-beam guardrail, and 

fallen rock is more easily brushed off the roadway 

past the cable barrier. Another benefit of the cable 

barrier is the shallow profile, which allows more 

usable roadway width for bicyclists and RVs.

Gunnison County used Federal Land Access 

Program (FLAP) funds to implement this project. 

FLAP is designed to provide flexibility for a wide 

range of projects that improve transportation 

facilities that provide access to, are adjacent to, 

or are located within Federal lands. 

High Friction Surface Treatment 

Thurston County, Washington State

In 2012, Thurston County conducted a data-driven 

safety analysis to identify and prioritize potential 

safety projects that would be eligible for Highway 

Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds. In Thurston 

County, roadway departure crashes coded as 

skidding/out of control accounted for 27 percent of 

fatal and severe crashes from 2006 to 2010. Further 

analysis revealed wet/icy pavement contributed to 

47 percent of crashes. These patterns led the County 

to identify high friction surface treatment (HFST) as 

an effective solution for crash reduction.

To prioritize locations for HFST, the county used risk 

factors for arterial and collector roads including 

posted speed limit of 50 mph or more, traffic volumes, 

presence of horizontal curves, and shoulder type 

and width. Thurston County had no prior experience 

with HFST and worked with the Washington Local 

Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and FHWA 

to coordinate a peer exchange and pilot project. 

The peer exchange featured an HFST installation 

demonstration applied by Thurston County traffic 

and road maintenance crews, and was followed 

by a detailed overview of HFST by national experts. 

This and other installations across the country have 

demonstrated that quality HFST installations can 

be obtained with automated, semi-automated, or 

hand application. Thurston County’s success with 

hand application can be attributed to the use of 

demonstration pilot sites and learning from other’s 

experiences through the peer exchange. Quality 

materials and construction practices are needed 

regardless of application method.

Since the peer exchange, the Washington State 

Department of Transporation (WSDOT) has funded 

HFST projects at 182 sites on local roads in 8 

counties and 3 cities. In 2016, WSDOT awarded 

Thurston County more than $2 million for HFST at 

29 locations. In the time since installation, the HFST 

projects at horizontal 

curves have seen 

substantial reductions 

in average crashes 

per year, including 46 

percent for total lane 

departure crashes, 70 

percent for wet lane 

departure crashes, 

and 100 percent 

for fatal and serious 

injury lane departure 

crashes.

Figure 3. A high-tension cable barrier preserves views 

of the landscape while shielding vehicles from a steep 

drop-off. Source: FHWA.

Figure 4. HFST at a Thurston 

demonstration site. Source: 

FHWA.
Tree Removal Program

Lapeer County, Michigan

The Lapeer County Road Commission (CRC) desired 

to improve roadway safety with a limited budget. 

Lapeer County maintains 1,310 miles of two-lane 

roads (510 paved) that are mostly in a rural, rolling 

terrain. Crashes into fixed objects, primarily trees, 

account for a significant number of the serious and 

fatal crashes on these roads but these crashes are 

spread out over the system, so it is difficult to identify 

improvement locations based on crash history. 

To combat this problem, Lapeer County established 

a proactive tree removal and trimming program. 

The program uses a systemic approach to identify 

locations throughout the roadway network based 

on risk factors like higher posted speed limits, vertical 

and horizontal curves, and poor sight distance. To 

prioritize locations, focus was on removing trees 

closest to the road, in critical locations such as 

the outside of horizontal curves, dead or leaning 

trees, and areas where canopy prohibited sunlight 

from drying the road surface. Lapeer CRC also 

established a roadside mowing program for the 

entire right-of-way that follows up on segments 

recently cleared to prevent growth of new trees.

Lapeer CRC budgets $500,000 annually on County 

Primary Roads for tree removal and trimming and 

matches up to $90,000 annually to local townships 

that spend over $180,000. 

Safety benefits of tree removal include decreases 

in crash frequency and severity, greater sight 

distance, improved visibility of animals crossing 

the road, and a decrease in ice/snow caused 

by shading of trees and brush. The latter reduces 

winter maintenance costs and improves the 

nearby environment through reduced salting. In 

the past, the public voiced complaints about tree 

removal; however, complaints have been reduced 

substantially through the use of press releases on 

social media or local newspapers to communicate 

the safety benefits and provide an opportunity to 

discuss issues with property owners. 

SafetyEdgeSM

Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT)

The SafetyEdgeSM can help save lives by allowing 

drivers who drift off highways to return to the road 

safely due to the edge of the pavement being 

shaped to 30 degrees, instead of a vertical dropoff. DelDOT first implemented SafetyEdgeSM in a 

resurfacing project on a narrow, rural collector 

in 2010. The project was about 5 miles long and 

included repair of extensive cracking and distortion, 

widening the pavement from approximately 20 feet 

to 22 feet, and providing a 2-inch warm-mix asphalt 

overlay with SafetyEdgeSM.

Since SafetyEdgeSM was a new, innovative 

countermeasure at the time, DelDOT conducted a 

project showcase that was attended by almost 60 

people from DelDOT, contractors, local agencies, 

3 other mid-Atlantic State highway agencies, and 

the FHWA Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division. 

The showcase included a basic presentation, Q&A 

session, and a visit to the project site to watch the 

paving operation. The opportunities to see the 

treatment first-hand, discuss with peers, and ask 

questions of the contractor spurred several other 

agencies to consider this innovation. DelDOT used 

the results of the demonstration project to adopt 

a design guidance memorandum in late 2010. 

DelDOT continued to implement SafetyEdgeSM and, 

in 2018, DelDOT included it in their standard detail to 

be implemented systematically into paving projects 

on all State roads. DelDOT noted the importance of 

education and training to both internal and external 

personnel (i.e., contractors), and using professional 

organizations like the American Society of Highway 

Engineers (ASHE) and the Institute of Transportation 

Engineers (ITE) as a conduit.

When estimating asphalt for this project, DelDOT 

assumed a small amount of extra material, but it 

was found to be negligible in the field.The contractor 

purchased a commercially available device for 

about $3,000, which was used for future projects.

Figure 5. Roadside tree removal is followed up with 

mowing to reduce the chances of fixed-object crashes. 

Source: Destain Gingell, Lapeer CRC.

Figure 6. Paving a Delaware roadway with SafetyEdgeSM. 

After paving, a graded shoulder will become flush with top of 

the pavement, covering the sloped edge. Source: FHWA.

Resources

Roadway Departure Safety https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/

Proven Countermeasures https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/countermeasures.cfm

Crash Modification Factors Clearinghouse http://www.cmfclearinghouse.org/

Countermeasure Pocket Guide https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/RwDPocketGuide.pdf