Driving Down Lane - Departure Crashes

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), by resolution of their Board of Directors in October 2007, embarked on a plan to cut fatalities by half within two decades, with an ultimate goal of zero deaths on our nation’s highways. To accomplish this goal, we need to reduce the number of traffic fatalities by approximately 1,000 per year. Achieving this bold goal requires solutions related to all aspects of the transportation system, including planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. In addition, legislating and enforcing transportation safety laws, educating drivers of laws and safe driving techniques, improving and coordinating emergency medical services, and improving vehicle technology will also contribute to a reduction in fatalities. However, state DOTs can have an immediate impact on fatal and injury crash reduction through low-cost, quick implementation, highway infrastructure improvements—and further still, by focusing a concerted effort on lane-departure crashes, which are such a substantial portion of all fatal crashes. Our highway system must be engineered, operated, and maintained to help prevent crashes and to minimize the consequences and severity of those that do occur.