Crash Modification Factors for Contrast Pavement Markings on Light-Colored Pavement

US Transportation Collectionhttps://doi.org/10.36501/0197-9191/22-0102022PDFTech ReportWilliamson, MichaelSingh, SumitIndiana State UniversityIllinois Center for TransportationUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringIllinois. Dept. of Transportation. Bureau of ResearchUnited States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway AdministrationIllinois Center for TransportationIllinoisCaliforniaIowaTexasUnited StatesBenefit cost analysisContrastCrash dataCrash modification factorsHighway safetyLiterature reviewsRoad markingsStatistical analysisSurveysContrast Pavement MarkingsCrash ReductionFHWA-ICT-22-010R27-223Final Report 8/16/20\u20138/15/22Roadway departure crashes are a leading cause of fatal and severe injury crashes on high-speed roadways. The objective of this project was to evaluate the safety benefits of contrast pavement markings and to develop a benefit-cost analysis tool for use in project selection. A nationwide survey was developed and deployed to departments of transportation and highway agencies that identified the use of contrast pavement markings at the national level. The survey further determined that no safety benefits have been quantified by any other agency. A before-and-after study using an empirical Bayes approach was conducted on 70 miles of urban/suburban roadways and included data from six states. Crash modification factors were developed for three roadway types at three crash severity levels, all showing a decrease in crashes with the use of contrast pavement markings. The results of this research can be used to predict the type of crash reductions that can be expected when installing contrast pavement markings on high-speed roadways. A benefit-cost analysis tool was also developed and can be used to evaluate the expected reduction in roadway departure crashes on a given roadway section at each crash severity level. The benefit-cost tool provides justification for the extra cost of contrast pavement markings.140