The objectives of this study were to: a) summarize past design exceptions to document their frequency and reason for their use and b) determine if any adverse safety implications can be related to adopting design policies and practices related to design exceptions. The design exception file maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was obtained with data obtained relating to the types of project, exceptions requested, and the reasons for the various exceptions. A site visit was made to a large number of the locations where the project was built with the requested design exception. Available crash data were obtained at these locations. There was an average of 39 design exceptions per year from 1993 through 1998. The majority of the p...