Evaluation of Pavement Safety Performance

• July 21st, 2015

FHWA Publication No.: FHWA-HRT-14-065

The intent of this study was to isolate the effects of various low-cost pavement treatments on roadway safety. This
was a retrospective study of pavement safety performance, looking back at crash data before and after treatments were installed. Both flexible and rigid pavement treatments were analyzed, with the majority typically used for
pavement preservation or minor rehabilitation purposes. Although State highway agencies recognize that most of
these treatments generally improve pavement friction, they are not typically installed explicitly for safety
improvement, with one exception, high-friction surfacing, which is typically applied as a spot safety treatment.

The research was conducted as part of Phase VI of the Federal Highway Administration Evaluation of Low-Cost
Safety Improvements Pooled Fund Study (ELCSI–PFS). This pooled fund study (PFS) was established to conduct research on the effectiveness of the safety improvements identified by the National Cooperative Highway
Research Program Report 500 guides as part of the implementation of the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials Strategic Highway Safety Plan. The intent of the work conducted under the various
phases of the ELCSI-PFS is to provide a crash modification factor (CMF) and benefit-cost (BC) economic
analysis for each of the targeted safety strategies identified as priorities by the PFS States. Under the effort
described herein, CMFs and BC ratios were developed for various low-cost pavement treatments.