Improving Highway Safety by Identifying High Risk Rural Road Segments and Safety Countermeasures

Rural roads are critical links in the Nation's transportation system, providing travel and commerce for the approximately 60 million people living in rural America. About 80 percent of the Nation's roadway miles are rural. Many of these segments are experiencing traffic growth as a result of energy-related economic development. However, many rural roads lack important safety features and experience serious traffic crashes at a rate far higher than other highways. Nationally, about 60 percent of traffic fatalities occur on rural highways. Two-lane roads have the highest fatality rates per vehicle-mile of travel. 

To help counties identify high risk rural locations and develop a strategy to obtain funding to reduce crashes on the riskiest segments, the University of Wyoming has developed the Wyoming Rural Road Safety Program (WRRSP)-a collaboration between the Mountain-Plains Consortium (MPC) and the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) in cooperation with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).