THE EFFECT OF SHOULDER WIDTH AND TYPE ON RURAL TRAFFIC SAFETY AND OPERATIONS

The paper discusses the functions of shoulders and considers the types of shoulder design which have been used or suggested. The second section is a review of the literature on the relationship between accidents and shoulder design, the usage of shoulders and the effect of shoulder design on traffic operations. The paper concludes that sealed shoulders have safety and operational benefits over gravel shoulders but that the effects of varying shoulder widths are unclear. The safety benefits of shoulders resulted mainly from their function in providing a recovery area, which was best achieved by paved shoulders, particularly as gravel shoulders could increase loss of control. Language: en