Faculty - Research - Fatigue Related Accidents and
Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips (CSRS)by Associate
Professor
Per Gårder and Professor John Alexander
Fatigue-related accidents, especially when the driver has
actually dozed off is a serious safety problem. Among 205 drivers
surveyed in Maine, 31% had dozed off at least once while driving
during the preceding twelve months. Fifteen of these drivers had
had a collision as a result of dozing off. The survey also shows
that younger drivers are especially prone to doze off, and that
men are twice as likely as women to doze off. The average incident
rate for our random drivers is around once every 45,000 km (28,000
miles). Almost 50% of the most serious incidents took place on
2-lane roads.
A literature search and a survey of the 50 states' DOTs
revealed that experiments with continuous shoulder rumble strips (CSRS)
have been ongoing since 1955. Currently, 34 states use CSRS along
at least parts of their freeway systems, with a few states using
them along other roads. Studies indicate that CSRS can reduce
run-off-road accidents by 20% to 50%. Installing CSRS on the
entire rural Interstate system would result in a conservatively
estimated benefit/cost ratio of 5 to 20 probably a higher ratio
than for any other investment not yet universally implemented.
System-wide use should not be delayed.
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