THE HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (HSIP) 2021

High-Risk Rural Roads 

The HSIP includes the High-Risk Rural Roads (HRRR) Special Rule (23 U.S.C. 148(g)(1)), which requires States to obligate 

funds for safety improvements on rural collector and local roadways identified as having significant safety risks in the 

State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan.4

States can identify a high-risk rural road using crash rates and functional classifications, crash frequencies, roadway 

characteristics that correlate with severe crash types, and experiences such as field reviews, safety assessments, 

road safety audits, and local knowledge. For more on the HRRR special rule, visit https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/

rulemaking/docs/Section148_SpecialRule_Guidance.pdf.

1 NTSA, “Traffic Safety Facts: Rural/Urban Comparison of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities” (July 2022), https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813336.

2 Christine Peura, Joseph A. Likch, and David E. Clark, “Evaluating Adverse Rural Crash Outcomes Using the NHTSA State Data System,” Accident Analysis & Prevention, Vol. 82 (September 

2015), 257–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2015.06.005.

3 FHWA, “High Risk Rural Roads Overview” (July 2014), https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/hrrr/manual/ch2.cfm

4 FHWA, “High Risk Rural Roads (HRRR)” (February 2022), https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/hrrr

56.9% 

Lane and 

Roadway Departure

$687,000 and $728,800

* includes only projects with 

identified area type

23.2% 

Intersection

$782,900

1.3% 

Pedestrian

$793,600

18.6%

Other

$611,000

RURAL PROJECT COSTS RURAL PROJECT TYPES BY EMPHASIS AREA RURAL VS. URBAN PROJECTS*

2.1% 

Unknown

52.2%

Urban

47.8%

Rural

This information comes from 2021 State HSIP reports. To view individual reports, visit https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/reports/.

31.7% 

Under $100,000

31.3%

$100,00–

$499,000

11.2%

$500,000–

$1 million

25.2% 

$1 million 

or more

HSIP in 2021

HSIP Reaches Rural Roads

In 2021

States 

obligated 

30 percent 

of HSIP funds 

to 1,412 rural 

road projects that 

totaled $979 million.

Percent of Total HSIP Projects

Crash Type

Average HSIP Cost per Project

LEGEND

Supporting a Safe System on Rural Roads

In 2020, 16,665 people died in crashes on rural roads, and although only an 

estimated 19 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, 43 percent of 

fatal crashes occurred in rural areas that year.1 The HSIP funds projects that 

improve safety and prevent fatal and serious injury crashes on rural roads.

People involved in crashes in rural areas have a significantly increased risk of death and 

serious injury.2 Some of this increased risk comes from the challenges of responding to 

emergencies in remote areas. As key players in a Safe System, first responders in rural 

areas must travel greater distances to reach crash sites and transport injured people 

to hospitals. Other factors contributing to rural road fatality and injury rates include 

roadway characteristics, higher operating speeds, and driver error, among others.3 
To find out how HSIP can help 

save lives in your community, 

contact your State DOT:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/

about/webstate.cfm

Have an HSIP success story? Share your projects on Facebook, 

Twitter, and Instagram with #HSIPSavesLives.

Roadway departures on rural roads account for one-third of all traffic fatalities in the United States. FHWA initiatives 

like FoRRRwD (Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departures) promote a systemic integration of the proven safety 

countermeasures—such as rumble strips, high friction surface treatment (HFST), and clear zones—that keep vehicles 

in their lanes and protect passengers in the event of a crash.5 Other countermeasures that can help prevent roadway 

departure crashes before they happen include lighting, local road safety plans, Safety EdgeSM, wider edge line 

markings, median barriers, and road safety audits.6 For more on FoRRRwd, see https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/.

5 FHWA, “Focus on Reducing Rural Roadway Departures” (June 2022), https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/FoRRRwD/.

6 FHWA, “Proven Safety Countermeasures Filter Tool” (February 2022), https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/PSCFilter.

7 MoDOT, e-mail to Kittelson and Associates, 18 October, 2022.

8 MoDOT Construction, Materials, and Research, “Research Summary: HFST Before and After Safety Analysis,” (April 2021), https://spexternal.modot.mo.gov/sites/cm/CORDT/cmr21-

003_sum.pdf, 1–2.

Preventing Rural Roadway Departure Crashes

HSIP in Action

FHWA-SA-22-071 

In 2021, for all roadway departure projects, HSIP funded*

84 RUMBLE STRIP 

PROJECTS 20 HFST 25 PROJECTS

ROAD SAFETY AUDIT 

PROJECTS

23 LIGHTING 

PROJECTS 8 CLEAR ZONE PROJECTS 8 LOCAL ROAD SAFETY PLAN PROJECTS

High-Friction Surface Treatments for Rural Roadway Departures

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (MODOT)

With long stretches of curvy, rural roads made slick by the State’s wet climate, Missouri’s transportation network is 

particularly susceptible to roadway departures. 

FHWA's Proven Safety Countermeasures offer States like Missouri ways to cost-effectively retrofit existing rural 

roadways. In 2021, using HSIP funding, MoDOT explored how HFSTs could increase safety on rural roads with a high 

incidence of roadway departure crashes. 

The very first treatment site, on US 54, saw a nearly tenfold reduction in crashes.7 On wet pavement, the treatment 

reduced crashes by approximately 86 percent. Statistical modeling of before/after crashes from MoDOT’s HFST 

sections suggests that, on average, HSFT can reduce crashes by more than 50 percent!8

RESULT

More than 

50% Crash 

Reduction

High Friction 

Surface 

Treatment

SOLUTION

Road 

Departure 

Crashes

PROBLEM

*The database counts projects reported with these countermeasure codes. These projects may have treated multiple locations or several lengths of 

roadway; other projects may have incorporated these strategies into larger efforts without coding the countermeasure. FHWA estimates the number of 

projects that incoroprate these countermeasures to be much higher. To view individual reports, visit https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/hsip/reports/.