Fall 2011: Volume 5 Issue 2 Safety Compass Newsletter • 1 

A Message from FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Safety, Tony Furst 

In recent years, highway fatalities and serious 

injuries have declined considerably – from 

41,259 in 2007 to 32,885 in 2010. All of us in 

the safety community have worked long and 

hard to help reach this point and a key contributing factor is the data-driven analysis that 

supports and enables the targeting of safety 

improvements and effective countermeasures 

were they are most needed. 

In 2008, FHWA issued a document that 

highlighted nine safety countermeasures that 

could work in concert with a data-driven approach to reduce 

fatalities and serious injuries. Those countermeasures were 

chosen based on their proven effectiveness in reducing 

fatalities and serious injuries. We tracked the implementation 

of those countermeasures and, due in large part to our 

collective efforts, many of them are now in widespread use. 

We also routinely monitor the development of new 

countermeasures and given the successful and widespread 

implementation of many of the nine countermeasures, felt it 

was time to revise the countermeasures list. 

On January 12, 2012, FHWA issued a revised list of proven 

safety countermeasures based on the most recent research 

addressing intersection, roadway departure, and 

pedestrian issues. A new Web site serves as a reliable and 

up-to-date resource for information on these countermeasures: 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/. 

This issue of the Safety Compass is devoted to these nine 

proven safety countermeasures. As you did so successfully 

with the 2008 guidance, we encourage you to advance these 

safety countermeasure options with your State DOT and local 

A Publication of the Federal Highway Administration Safety Program Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 

In This Issue: 

FHWA Announces Updated 

Guidance on Implementing 

Proven Safety Countermeasures, Launches New Web 

Site ........................................... 2

Roundabouts ............................ 2

Medians and Pedestrian 

Crossing Islands in Urban and 

Suburban Areas........................ 3

Longitudinal Rumble Strips and 

Stripes on Two-Lane Roads ..... 3

“Road Diet” (Roadway 

Reconfiguration) ....................... 4

Corridor Access Management .. 4

Safety EdgeSM ............................ 5

Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon ........ 5

Backplates with Retroreflective 

Borders ..................................... 6

Enhanced Delineation and 

Friction for Horizontal Curves ... 6

Future Steps ............................. 7

Anthony T. Furst 

Associate 

Administrator, 

Office of Safety 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 2 

counterparts. Highway safety programs that use a 

data-driven approach to safety improvements with 

countermeasure selection based on analytical 

techniques are proving to be quite effective. Our 

partners should continue to strengthen their 

evidence-based decision-making processes, as 

highlighted in the Highway Safety Manual, and 

systemic planning approaches to make improved 

safety investment decisions. 

We will continue to research, identify, and advance 

proven safety countermeasures and provide those 

countermeasures to you and our partners so they 

can be integrated into the decision-making processes that have contributed so effectively to 

achieving our mutual goal of saving lives and 

preventing serious injuries. 

FHWA Announces Updated Guidance 

on Implementing Proven Safety 

Countermeasures, Launches New 

Web Site 

Improving road safety is a top priority for the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, and FHWA 

remains committed to reducing highway fatalities 

and serious injuries on our Nation's highways. 

We have absolute confidence that certain 

processes, infrastructure design techniques, and 

highway features are effective, and we 

encourage and support their use. 

To this end, Associate Administrator for Safety 

Tony Furst issued an updated guidance memorandum on January 12, 2012, announcing the 

latest FHWA-recommended set of researchproven safety countermeasures and FHWA 

advice on countermeasure considerations. In 

conjunction with this memo, the FHWA Office of 

Safety launched a new Proven Safety 

Countermeasures Web site. This Web site 

serves as a one-stop shop for information on 

each of the proven countermeasures. Many of 

these countermeasures are low-cost solutions, 

and FHWA encourages its partners to consider 

implementing these countermeasures broadly, as 

appropriate, to reap the full benefits of using 

solutions that are known to save lives. 

The revised set of proven countermeasures, 

described briefly below but in greater detail at the 

Web site, was developed based on recent safety 

research to address intersection, roadway departure, and pedestrian issues wherever they may 

occur. 

Roundabouts 

About one-third of all intersection fatalities occur 

at signalized intersections, resulting in roughly 

2,300 people killed each year. Furthermore, 

about 700 people are killed annually in red-light 

running collisions. Although traffic signals can 

work well for many intersections, roundabouts 

have demonstrated 

substantial safety and 

operational benefits 

compared to most 

other intersection 

forms and controls, 

with especially significant reductions in 

fatal and injury 

crashes. For example, data show that by 

converting from a 

two-way stop control 

mechanism to a 

roundabout, a location can experience 

an 82 percent reduction in severe (injury/ 

fatal) crashes and a 

44 percent reduction 

in overall crashes. Further, by converting from a 

signalized intersection to a roundabout, a 

location can experience a 78 percent reduction in 

severe (injury/fatal) crashes and a 48 percent 

reduction in overall crashes. 

Roundabouts are characterized by a geometry 

that results in a low-speed environment, creating 

substantial safety advantages. Because entering 

traffic yields to vehicles in the circulatory roadway, the design provides excellent operational 

performance. Channelization at the entrance and 

deflection around a center island have proven 

highly effective in reducing conflict. 

Roundabouts should be considered as an 

alternative for intersections on federally funded 

Data show that roundabouts can reduce injury

and fatality crashes by up

to 82 percent. 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 3 

highway projects that involve new construction or 

reconstruction, when rehabilitating existing intersections that have been identified as needing 

major safety or operational improvements, and 

for installation at freeway interchange ramp 

terminals and at rural high-speed intersections. 

Medians and Pedestrian Crossing Islands in 

Urban and Suburban Areas 

More than 80 percent of pedestrians die when hit 

by vehicles traveling at 40 mph or faster while 

less than 10 percent die when hit at 20 mph or 

less. In areas where pedestrians access a transit 

stop or other clear origins/ destinations across 

from each other, medians provide a particularly 

important pedestrian safety countermeasure. 

Areas with raised medians or pedestrian refuge 

areas at marked crosswalks have demonstrated 

a 46 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. At 

unmarked crosswalk locations, medians have demonstrated a 39 percent reduction in pedestrian 

crashes. 

Areas with raised medians or pedestrian refuge 

areas at marked crosswalks have demonstrated a 46 

percent reduction in pedestrian crashes. 

There are several types of medians and 

pedestrian crossing islands that, if designed and 

applied appropriately, provide a number of safety 

benefits, including decreased motorist delay (by 

greater than 30 percent), a safe place for 

pedestrians to stop at the mid-point of the 

roadway before crossing the remaining distance, 

enhanced visibility of pedestrian crossings, 

reduced speeds for vehicles approaching 

pedestrian crossings, enhanced access 

management, and space for supplemental 

signage on multi-lane roadways. 

Raised medians (or refuge areas) should be 

considered in curbed sections of multi-lane 

roadways in urban and suburban areas, 

particularly in areas where there are mixtures of 

significant pedestrian and vehicle traffic (more 

than 12,000 Average Daily Traffic (ADT)) and 

intermediate or high travel speeds. 

Longitudinal Rumble Strips and Stripes on 

Two-Lane Roads 

In 2009, 8,780 single vehicle roadway departure 

fatalities occurred on two-lane roads. The use of 

rumble strips can have a positive impact on the 

number of driver error crashes caused by 

distracted, drowsy, or 

otherwise inattentive 

drivers who unintentionally drift from their 

lane. Since an inattentive driver is just 

as likely to leave the 

road in one location 

as another miles 

away, rumble strips 

are most effective 

when deployed in a 

systemic application. 

NCHRP 641: Guidance for Design and 

Application of Shoulder and Centerline 

Rumble Strips, documented that, based 

on rigorous, statistically based crash 

modification factors, 

center line rumble strips on rural two-lane roads 

can produce a 44 percent reduction of head-on 

crashes producing injuries and fatalities, while 

center line rumble strips on urban two-lane roads 

can result in a 64 percent reduction of head-on

crashes that produce injuries and fatalities. 

Shoulder or edge line rumble strips on rural twoBased on rigorous, statistically based crash modification factors, center line

rumble strips on rural twolane roads can produce a 44

percent reduction of headon crashes producing injuries and fatalities. 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 4 

lane roads can bring about a 36 percent 

reduction of run-off-road fatal and injury crashes. 

Continuous milled center line rumble strips are 

appropriate for application system-wide on undivided rural roads with posted speeds of 50 mph 

or greater. For new or reconstruction projects, 4 

feet of pavement should extend beyond the 

rumble strip. This countermeasure is also 

suitable for use along rural and urban two-lane 

road corridors where significant numbers of 

opposing direction crashes involving any form of 

motorist inattention have been identified. 

Continuous milled edge line or shoulder rumble 

strips are appropriate for application system-wide 

on rural highways with posted or statutory 

speeds of 50 mph or greater. They also provide a 

positive impact along rural or urban corridors 

where significant numbers of run-off-road 

crashes that involve any form of motorist 

inattention have been identified and along any 

highway with a history of run-off-road crashes. 

“Road Diet” (Roadway Reconfiguration) 

The classic roadway reconfiguration commonly 

referred to as a “road diet,” involves converting 

an undivided four lane roadway into three lanes 

made up of two through lanes and a center twoway left-turn lane. By reducing the number of 

travel lanes, the additional roadway space can be 

reallocated, allowing the installation of bike lanes, 

pedestrian crossing islands, and/or on-street 

parking. 

Road diets offer multiple safety and operational 

benefits for both vehicles and pedestrians, including fewer travel lanes for pedestrians to cross, 

room for a pedestrian crossing island, installation 

of bike lanes to increase bicycle safety, on-street 

parking (which also serves as a buffer between 

pedestrians and vehicles), reduced rear-end and 

side-swipe crashes, improved speed limit compliance, and decreased crash severity. When 

modified from four travel lanes to two travel lanes 

with a two-way left-turn lane, roadways have 

experienced a 29 percent reduction in all 

roadway crashes. The benefits to pedestrians 

include reduced crossing distance and fewer 

midblock crossing 

locations, which account for more than 

70 percent of pedestrian fatalities. 

Road diets can be 

low cost if planned 

in conjunction with 

reconstruction or 

simple overlay projects, since a road 

diet mostly consists 

of restriping. Roadways with Average 

Daily Traffic (ADT) 

of 20,000 or less 

may be good candidates for a road 

diet and should be 

evaluated for feasibility. It has been 

shown that roads 

with 15,000 ADT or 

less had very good 

results in the areas of safety, operations, and 

livability. 

Corridor Access Management 

Access management is the practice of controlling 

access to highways, major arterials, roadways, 

and points of entry and exit along a roadway. 

This includes both intersections with other roads 

and driveways that serve adjacent properties. 

These entry and exit points can be managed 

through careful planning that includes 

consideration of the location of driveways in the 

context of current and future access and 

intersection operation needs and mobility for 

pedestrians and bicyclists. 

The benefits of access management include 

improved movement of traffic, reduced crashes, 

and fewer vehicle conflicts. Access management 

principles may be applied to all types of 

roadways, ranging from fully access-controlled 

facilities, such as freeways, to those with little or 

no access control, such as local streets. By 

changing access density, access management 

Before

After

When modified from four

travel lanes to two travel

lanes with a two-way left-turn 

lane, roadways have experienced a 29 percent reduction

in all roadway crashes.
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 5 

techniques have proven to enhance safety, 

preserve capacity, and provide for pedestrian 

and bicycle needs. 

Common access management treatments range 

from driveway closure, consolidation, or 

relocation to restricted-movement designs for 

driveways (such as right-in/right-out only) and 

alternative designs for intersections (such as Jturns, median U-turns and quadrant roadways). 

Other methods include raised medians that 

prevent cross-roadway movements and focus 

turns and/or U-turns to key intersections, adding 

auxiliary turn lanes (including exclusive left or 

right and two-way left), constructing parallel, 

lower speed one-way or two-way frontage roads 

for access, and using roundabouts or mini-roundabouts to provided needed or desired access. 

Safety EdgeSM

Vertical pavement edges are recognized as a 

contributing factor to severe crashes that often 

involve rollovers or head-on collisions. Studies in 

some States find that crashes involving edge 

drop-offs are two to four times more likely to 

include a fatality than other crashes on similar 

roads. Providing a flush, unpaved surface 

adjacent to the pavement resolves the issue 

temporarily, but the material is often displaced 

over time, recreating the dangerous drop-offs 

either continuously or intermittently along the 

pavement edge. 

The benefit-cost ratio of using Safety EdgeSM on twolane roads is very high, ranging from 4 to 63. 

The Safety EdgeSM is one of the innovative 

technologies being deployed as part of FHWA’s 

Every Day Counts initiative. The Safety EdgeSM 

is a proven paving technique that creates a 

durable 30 degree angle at the edge of a paved 

way, creating a gentle slope that facilitates 

vehicle re-entry. The Safety EdgeSM, which has 

been successfully constructed on both asphalt 

and concrete pavements, functions by eliminating 

tire scrubbing, a phenomenon that contributes to 

losing control of a vehicle. 

An evaluation conducted by FHWA indicates that 

application of the Safety EdgeSM has led to an 

estimated reduction of 6 percent in total crashes 

on two-lane highways. Because of the low cost 

of the Safety EdgeSM, the benefit-cost ratio on 

two-lane roads is very high, ranging from 4 to 63. 

The FHWA encourages State and local agencies 

to develop standards for implementing the Safety 

EdgeSM for all asphalt paving projects without 

curbs as well as for concrete pavement projects. 

Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon 

More than 70 percent of pedestrian fatalities 

occur at midblock locations, where vehicle travel 

speeds are usually higher, contributing to higher 

injury and fatality rates at these locations. The 

pedestrian hybrid beacon (also known as the 

High intensity Activated crossWalK (or HAWK)) 

is a pedestrian-activated warning device located 

on the roadside or on mast arms over midblock 

pedestrian crossings designed to reduce 

pedestrian injuries and fatalities by providing a 

visual cue to warn approaching vehicles that 

pedestrians are present. 

As shown in the photo, the beacon head consists 

of two red lenses above a single yellow lens. 

The beacon head is “dark” until the pedestrian 

desires to cross the street. At this point, the 

pedestrian will push an easy to reach button that 

activates the beacon. After displaying brief 

flashing and steady yellow intervals, the device 

displays a steady red indication to drivers and a 

“WALK” indication to pedestrians, allowing them 

to cross a major roadway while traffic is stopped. 

After the pedestrian phase ends, the “WALK” 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 6 

Locations where pedestrian hybrid beacons have 

been installed have experienced up to a 69 percent 

reduction in pedestrian crashes and up to a 29 

percent reduction in total roadway crashes. 

indication changes to a flashing orange hand to 

notify pedestrians that their clearance time is 

ending. The hybrid beacon displays alternating 

flashing red lights to drivers while pedestrians 

finish their crossings before once again going 

dark at the conclusion of the cycle. 

Pedestrian hybrid beacons should only be used 

in conjunction with a marked crosswalk. In 

general, they should be used if gaps in traffic are 

not adequate to permit pedestrians to cross, if 

vehicle speeds on the major street are too high to 

permit pedestrians to cross, or if pedestrian delay 

is excessive. Transit and school locations may 

be good places to consider using the pedestrian 

hybrid beacon. 

Because this countermeasure is fairly new, public 

education may be needed for areas where these 

beacons are used. For more information and 

guidance on the proper installation of pedestrian 

hybrid beacons, refer to the Manual on Uniform 

Traffic Control Devices, Chapter 4F. 

Backplates with Retroreflective Borders 

Backplates provide a controlled-contrast background to a traffic signal head that serves to 

improve the visibility of the illuminated face of the 

signal. The improved visibility of a signal head 

with a backplate is then made more conspicuous 

by framing the backplate with a retroreflective 

border. 

Since their initial introduction in Canada in the 

late 1990s, several State highway departments 

and local road agencies in the United States 

have adopted practices and policies promoting 

the use of backplates with retroreflective borders. 

In addition to adding conspicuity in both daytime 

and nighttime conditions, thereby reducing 

unintentional red-light running crashes, this 

treatment also serves as a human factors 

enhancement that increases traffic signal visibility 

and conspicuity for older and colorblind drivers. 

The addition of retroreflective borders around the 

signal head also provides increased visibility 

during periods of power outage, when the signals 

would otherwise be dark. Per the study included 

in the Crash Modification Factor Clearinghouse, 

the addition of retroreflective borders to signal 

heads with backplates may result in a 15 percent 

reduction in all crashes at urban, signalized 

intersections. 

The FHWA encourages agencies to consider the 

use of backplates with retroreflective borders —

which is a very low-cost safety treatment, as the 

materials are simple strips of retroreflective 

sheeting — as part of their systemic safety 

improvement efforts at signalized intersections. 

The most effective means of implementing this 

proven safety countermeasure is to adopt it as a 

standard treatment for signalized intersections 

across a jurisdiction so that it is consistently 

included with all new construction and modernization projects, as well as being a worthy retrofit 

project for existing signals at intersections with 

red-light running crash histories. 

Enhanced Delineation and Friction for 

Horizontal Curves 

Recent data analysis shows that 28 percent of all 

fatal crashes occur on horizontal curves. 

Furthermore, about three times as many crashes 

occur on curves as occur on tangential sections 

of roadways. Recent research on signing and 

marking practices has shown great potential for 

improving safety with low-cost options such as 

enhanced delineation. 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 7 

Installing chevron signs on horizontal curves can 

produce a 16 percent reduction in non-intersection 

fatal and injury crashes. 

There are also a variety of high-friction surface 

treatments available to improve tire traction. 

While these treatments typically have a higher 

unit cost than traditional friction courses, they can 

often be applied at a specific curve location for a 

relatively low cost. High-friction treatments can 

be applied either at a single location or as part 

of a project to improve friction at a number of 

curves in a corridor or district that are prone to 

friction-related crashes. 

Other low-cost treatments with proven safety 

benefits include installing chevron signs, curve 

warning signs, and/or sequential flashing 

beacons, which can result in a 38–43 percent 

reduction in all fatal and injury crashes; installing 

chevron signs on horizontal curves, which can 

produce a 16 percent reduction in nonintersection fatal and injury crashes; installing

new fluorescent curve signs or upgrading existing 

curve signs to fluorescent sheeting, which can 

result in 25 percent reduction in non-intersection 

fatal and injury crashes; and providing static 

combination horizontal alignment / advisory 

speed signs, which can generate a 13 percent 

reduction in all injury crashes. 

The FHWA encourages State and local agencies 

to review signing practices and policies to ensure 

they comply with the new 2009 MUTCD 

guidance. Agencies should also work to develop 

a process for identifying and treating problem 

curves that takes into account the full range of 

available treatments described here and uses the 

appropriate application for the identified 

problem(s). 

Future Steps 

Over the next year the Office of Safety will focus 

on technical assistance and guidance to help 

increase the widespread implementation of the 

proven countermeasures. In February 2012, the 

Office of Safety began tracking the implementation of these countermeasures and will work to 

replace the current countermeasure index that 

every Division currently updates quarterly. The 

new performance measure is based on 

implementation and takes into consideration an 

analysis of safety data and a State's specific 

safety needs. More information on this process 

will be forthcoming before we fully transition to 

the new measure. 
Spring 2012 (special edition): Volume 6 Issue 1 Safety Compass Newsletter • 8 

 

For more information on these safety countermeasures as well as the 2012 Guidance Memorandum on 

Promoting the Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures, please visit us at 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/provencountermeasures/. 

Roundabouts

Medians and 

Pedestrian Crossing 

Islands in Urban and 

Suburban Areas

Longitudinal Rumble 

Strips and Stripes On 

Two-Lane Roads

“Road Diet” (Roadway 

Reconfiguration)

Corridor Access 

Management Safety EdgeSM

Pedestrian Hybrid 

Beacon

Backplates with 

Retroreflective Borders

Enhanced Delineation 

and Friction for 

Horizontal Curves

Safety Compass Newsletter 

A publication of the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 

Federal Highway Administration 

The Safety Compass newsletter is 

published for Internet distribution 

three times a year by the: 

FHWA Office of Safety 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Room E71-105 

Washington, DC 20590 

The Safety Compass can also be viewed at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov. 

Editor-in-Chief 

Karen Timpone 

karen.timpone@dot.gov

Your comments and highway safety related articles are welcomed. This 

newsletter is intended to increase highway safety awareness and information and 

to provide resources to help save lives. 

You are encouraged to submit highway safety articles that might be of value to the 

highway safety community. Send your comments, questions and articles for 

review electronically to Karen Timpone, karen.timpone@dot.gov.