Potential crash reduction benefits of shoulder rumble strips in two-lane rural highways.

This paper reports the findings from a study aimed at examining the effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips in reducing run-off-the-road (ROR) crashes on two-lane rural highways using the empirical Bayes (EB) before-and-after analysis method. Specifically, the study analyzed the effects of traffic volume, roadway geometry and paved right shoulder width on the effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips. The results of this study demonstrate the safety benefits of shoulder rumble strips in reducing the ROR crashes on two-lane rural highways using the state of Idaho 2001-2009 crash data.