Local and Rural Road Safety Briefing Sheets  

The Safety and		

Roadway Maintenance		

Link

Introduction

Incorporating safety into daily road maintenance activities has the potential to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on the

local and rural roadways. It is often second nature to roadway practitioners and maintenance professionals to visually scan

their road network whether driving during or outside work hours. Each time a staff member “reads the road” to identify

roadway deficiencies, there is an opportunity to improve safety. This briefing sheet lists a set of no or low‐cost activities

that can be incorporated into roadway maintenance or identified during maintenance activities to improve safety on rural

and local roads.  

Low‐Cost, Daily Maintenance Observations that Affect Safety

Well‐maintained roads are more likely to be safer roads.  Low‐cost, routine maintenance practices can have positive effects

on roadway safety. Safety practices can be incorporated into daily maintenance work. The following can serve as a checklist

for issues requiring attention that are easily identifiable on the roadways and have the potential to result in fatalities or

serious injuries.  

 Signing and Pavement Marking

 Damaged signs from crashes or incidents  

 Vandalized signing or other roadway

infrastructure

 Downed or leaning signs

 Poor sign retroreflectivity and conspicuity

 Lack of advance warning signs

 Poor pavement marking retroreflectivity

 Road Surface

 Skid marks on the pavement or tire tracks

beyond the pavement edge

 “Washboard” or rutted locations on gravel

roads

 Instances where water has crossed the

road and washed the road surface

 Pavement in poor condition

 Road Surface (contd)

 Roads with loose surface material after

chip seals and patching

 Slick pavement locations, particularly on

curves and at intersections

 Roadside

 Areas with pavement edge‐drop

 Deteriorated roadside slopes from

moisture, high water, or lack of vegetation

 Intersection and horizontal curve sight

distance obscured

 Overhanging trees restricting snowy/icy

roads from sunlight

 Drainage blocked by debris, leaves, limbs,

sediment, and trash  

Prioritizing Safety Maintenance Practices

Some of the activities listed above may be more relevant than others depending on the context. For example, drivers along

roads with rolling topography and horizontal curves may especially benefit from the removal or delineation of fixed objects

(e.g., trees, utility poles, rock outcroppings, etc.) and the delineation and advance signing of hidden intersections due to the

increased chance of crashes. While these issues may be identified in the field during routine scanning, it is not always
FHWA‐SA‐14‐091

practical or possible to address immediately.  A particularly helpful means to prioritize efforts related to roadway departure

crashes is to place importance on activities in the following order:

1. Keep vehicles on the roadway, in their appropriate directional lane,  

2. Reduce the potential for crashes when vehicles do leave the roadway or cross into opposing traffic lanes, and  

3. Minimize the severity of crashes that do occur.

One example of prioritizing safety‐related maintenance activities according to the list above is 1) improve pavement

markings, 2) improve or remedy pavement edge‐drops, and 3) remove fixed objects beyond the pavement edge. Some

strategies to address intersection safety issues include improving sight distance for all approaches of the intersection,

making the intersection visible (lighting, delineation) and providing advance warning signs for upcoming intersections.  

How You Can Improve Roadway Safety

Local and rural road owners can also improve safety through collaboration.  Local law enforcement or emergency medical

service responders are typically able to help locate roads or segments with frequent crashes, which can assist with

identification of safety issues.  Additionally, coordinating maintenance activities among local departments or agencies, or

neighboring transportation agencies, can help identify road segments, intersections, or corridors with safety issues that can

be address cooperatively.  

Resources

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Road Safety 365 ‐ A Workshop for Local Governments – This one day

course is offered by State Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and Regional Tribal Transportation Assistance Program

(TTAP) Centers. Contact your local LTAP or TTAP for a schedule of workshops.

The following resources provide more details related to maintenance activitiesthat improve safety:

Federal Highway Administration, Local and Rural Road Safety Program: Training, Tools, Guidance and

Countermeasures for Locals.  Available at: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/

Federal Highway Administration, Maintenance of Signs and Sign Supports: A Guide for Local Highway and

Street Maintenance Personnel. FHWA‐SA‐09‐025 (Washington, DC: 2009). Available at:

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa09025/

Federal Highway Administration, Maintenance of Drainage Features for Safety: A Guide for Local Highway and

Street Maintenance Personnel, FHWA‐SA‐09‐024 (Washington, DC: 2009). Available at:  

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwasa09024/

Federal Highway Administration, Maintenance of Signs and Sign Supports for Local Roads and Streets: A Guide

for Street and Highway Maintenance Personnel. Available at:  

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/local_rural/training/fhwart0000/