There are more than 3.9 million miles of roadway in the United States, of which about 3.1 million miles, or about 77 percent, are considered rural roads. Rural roads are defined as those roads that are located in or near areas where the population is less than 5,000. As figure 1 shows, rural roadways make up more than half of the road miles in 44 states. For purposes of this report, rural road data refers to roads in the 50 states. The District of Columbia has no rural roads and we do not include Puerto Rico’s 8,000 miles of rural roads in our computations. traffic speeds and often have multiple lanes and a degree of access control. Collector roads are designed for lower speeds and shorter trips and generally link areas to arterial roads and interstates. They are typically two- lane roads that extend into residential neighborhoods. Local roads are any roads below the collector system and may be paved or unpaved roadways that provide access to farms, residences, and other rural property. As shown in figure 2, local roads make up the majority of the nation’s rural roads. Rural roads have more fatalities and a greater rate of fatalities than urban roads, when considering vehicle miles traveled. In 2002, of the 42,815 fatalities on the nation’s roadways, 25,849 (60 percent) were on rural roads. Based on miles traveled, the overall fatality rate from traffic crashes on rural roads was about 2.29 fatalities for every 100 million miles traveled, while urban fatality rates were about .97 fatalities for every 100 million miles traveled. Fatalities occurred at higher rates on rural roads that have lower roadway functional classifications. As shown in figure 3, during 2002, rural local roads had the highest fatality rates at 3.63 per 100 million miles traveled, while rural interstates had fatality rates of 1.18. In an urban setting, the lowest rates are for urban interstates—.60 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled—about one-sixth the level of rural local roads. In the past two decades, the total number of fatalities on the nation’s roadways fell from 43,945 in 1982 to 42,815 in 2002. However, during this period, fatalities on rural roadways rose slightly from 25,005 in 1982 to 25,849 in 2002. As shown in figure 4, during the period from 1982 to 2002, the fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled on rural roads declined about 37 percent. During the same period, the fatality rate on urban roads declined about 54 percent. FHWA and NHTSA are two agencies within the U.S. Department of Transportation responsible for road safety. FHWA’s mission is to provide financial and technical support to state, local, and tribal governments for constructing, improving, and preserving the highway system. As part of this mission, FHWA seeks to reduce highway fatalities and injuries through research and by implementing technology innovations. In addition, its Office of Safety develops and implements strategies and programs to reduce the number and severity of highway crashes involving both motorized and nonmotorized travelers on the nation’s highways, streets, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and at intermodal connections. NHTSA’s mission is to reduce deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. The agency sets and enforces safety performance standards for motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment and provides grants to state and local governments. NHTSA, among other things, also investigates safety defects in motor vehicles, helps states and local communities reduce the threat of drunk drivers, promotes the use of safety belts and child safety seats, and provides consumer information on motor vehicle safety topics. Under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), NHTSA provided the states with about $2.7 billion for efforts to improve driver behaviors and safety data from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal year 2003. Other organizations such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Governors Highway Safety Association also play important roles in highway safety. As an organization representing state transportation departments, AASHTO provides engineers with guidance on how to design safe and efficient roads through a publication referred to as the Green Book. In addition, AASHTO recently published a special guide on alternative designs for very low-volume roads. Furthermore, in 1997 AASHTO also focused attention on improving roadway safety by developing a Strategic Highway Safety Plan that identified 22 key or emerging highway safety emphasis areas. Topics included (1) aggressive and speeding drivers, (2) keeping vehicles on the roadway and minimizing the consequences of leaving the roadway, and (3) supporting better state coordination and planning for behavioral and construction programs. For each of these areas, publications are being developed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program that address the issues and potential countermeasures. Another organization that plays a major role in highway safety is the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents the highway safety programs of states and territories on the human behavioral aspects of highway safety. Areas of focus include occupant protection, impaired driving, and speed enforcement, as well as motorcycle, school bus, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and traffic records. One or more of four factors contribute to rural road fatalities—human behavior, roadway environment, vehicles, and the degree of care for victims after a crash. Human behavioral factors involve actions taken by or the condition of the driver and passenger of the automobile, including the use or nonuse of safety belts, the effects of alcohol or drugs, speeding and other traffic violations, and being distracted or drowsy when driving. Roadway environment factors that contribute to rural road fatalities include the design of the roadway (e.g., medians, lane width, shoulders, curves, access points, lighting, or intersections); roadside hazards (e.g., utility poles, trees, and animals adjacent to the road); and roadway conditions (e.g., rain, ice, snow, or fog). Vehicle factors include vehicle- related failures and vehicle design issues that contribute to a crash and are important in both rural and urban crashes. Lastly, victim care includes the quality of the emergency response and the hospitals that provide medical treatment for those involved in a crash. Several human behaviors contribute to rural road fatalities, including nonuse of safety belts, alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, and being distracted or drowsy when driving. In general, human factors are considered the most prevalent in contributing to crashes. Not using safety belts contributes to fatalities in rural crashes. For example, of the approximately 53,000 unrestrained (unbelted) vehicle occupant fatalities that occurred from 2000 through 2002, about 36,000 or 68 percent occurred in rural areas. NHTSA research on safety belt use in rural areas shows that rural areas are essentially similar to urban areas in safety belt use rates. In 2002, NHTSA data showed about 73 percent belt use in rural areas and 72 percent in urban areas. Alcohol-impaired driving contributed to 27,775 rural road fatalities from 2000 through 2002—about 63 percent of the 44,403 alcohol-related fatalities nationwide. While, according to NHTSA data, there is little difference between blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of rural and urban drivers involved in fatal crashes, state officials told us that risks from drinking and driving in rural areas are increased because of longer driving distances and the lack of public transportation options available to intoxicated drivers. From 2000 through 2002, about 62 percent of the nation’s speeding related fatalities were on rural roads, amounting to about 24,000 of the 39,000 fatalities where speed was a contributing factor, according to NHTSA data. According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety officials, speed influences crashes by increasing the distance traveled from when a driver detects an emergency until the driver reacts; increasing the distance needed to stop; increasing the severity of an accident (i.e., when speed increases from 40 to 60 miles per hour, the energy released in a crash more than doubles); and reducing the ability of the vehicles, restraint systems, and roadside hardware, such as guardrails and barriers, to protect occupants. Drivers who are distracted or drowsy also contribute to rural crashes. For example, a 2002 NHTSA national survey found that drivers involved in a distracted-related crash attribute their distraction to such items as looking for something outside the car (23 percent of drivers in a distracted-related crash), dealing with children or other passengers (19 percent), looking for something inside the car (14 percent), or another driver (11 percent). A Virginia Commonwealth University pilot study of distracted drivers found that for rural drivers in the study, crashes often involved driver fatigue, insects striking the windshield or entering the vehicle, and animals and unrestrained pet distractions. The study found that in urban areas distracted driving crashes often involved drivers looking at other crashes, traffic, or vehicles, or using cell phones. Roadway factors also contribute to rural road fatalities. Rural roads can be narrow; have limited sight distance due to hills and curves; have small or nonexistent shoulders; have no medians; and may have hazards or objects near the roadway such as trees, utility poles, or animals. As a result of these features, fatal crashes on two-lane rural roads are significant. For example, FHWA reports that over 70 percent of single-vehicle run-off-the-road fatalities occur on rural roadways and that about 90 percent of these were on two-lane rural roads. Similarly, crashes involving vehicles crossing the centerline and either sideswiping or striking the front end of oncoming vehicles are a major problem in rural areas, accounting for about 20 percent of all fatal crashes on rural two-lane roads. In addition, crashes with animals—specifically larger animals such as deer and elk-—are also prevalent in rural areas.