Roadway Safety: A Swing from Designing to Maintaining Safer Roadways

The 20th anniversary of the Highway Safety Act of 1966 marks a turning point for highway safety. As the interstate system nears completion, the safety emphasis is shifted toward rebuilding the nation's roadway network. This rebuilding offers an opportunity to update safety features to ensure effective performance.

Safety features can be introduced during the design, redesign, or routine maintenance of a roadway. Educating maintenance personnel about how safety features should perform, and their documentation of actual performance, are therefore vitally important.

Real-world roadway situations are addressed and solutions provided for improving highway safety through better maintenance.