Highway safety corridors : national experiences and a possible framework for Virginia.

52187637Technical assistance report.PDFTech ReportVTRC 03-TAR12VirginiaVirginia Transportation Research CouncilFontaine, Michael DVirginia Transportation Research CouncilUS Transportation CollectionOn March 22, 2003, Governor Mark Warner approved Senate Bill 1093 (SB 1093). SB1093 establishes a highway safety corridor (HSC) program for the Commonwealth. The program will attempt to address safety concerns through a combination of law enforcement, education, and safety enhancements. Fines for violations in the highway safety corridors will be doubled up to a maximum of $500. SB 1093 requires that the Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, in conjunction with the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Superintendent of State Police, develop criteria for designating and evaluating highway safety corridors. This process is to include a review of crash data, accident reports, type and volume of vehicular traffic, and engineering and traffic studies. This report provides background information as to how an HSC program might operate in Virginia as well as a general indication of its potential impact on highway safety. Examples of similar programs in other states are reviewed, and a general framework for establishing an HSC program in Virginia is presented. Experiences from around the nation suggest that an HSC program could create beneficial safety impacts, but further work is needed to refine it