Local and Rural Road Safety Briefing Sheets - Behavioral Safety Strategies for Drivers on Rural Roads

Details

• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Local transportation
  • Rural highways
  • Rural transportation
  • Drivers
  • Transportation safety
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-SA-14-082
• Resource Type:
  Brief
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety
• Abstract:
  Consider the following 2012 statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): The fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 2.4 times higher in rural areas than urban areas (1.86 and 0.77 respectively). While 19 percent of the population lived in rural areas in 2012, rural fatalities accounted for 54 percent of fatalities. A number of risky driving behaviors contribute to rural road fatalities, including low use of safety belts, alcohol impaired driving, speeding, and being distracted or drowsy when driving. For example, in 2012, rural areas accounted for 54 percent of fatal alcohol-related crashes compared to 45 percent in urban areas. Furthermore, in 2012 a total of 54 percent of rural passenger vehicle occupants killed were unrestrained compared with 49 percent of urban passengers. Local and rural road owners have a number of policies and programs available to address those driver behaviors that increase crash risk. This document describes the types of risky driving behaviors evident in rural areas and presents a summary of strategies that can be used to address these behaviors.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/49363/dot_49363_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 328.83 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dcc59608a5f19a01d2c2088696e1e9c934ea0879489c40bcff8c02c3faf565fb5e3c642880d646fa2d9dff175b6bdd094a68c38b0867b643c6cdacbb12c3444e