TRUCK ACCIDENT COUNTERMEASURES ON URBAN FREEWAYS. FINAL REPORT

In addition to fatalities and injuries resulting from truck involved accidents, excessive costs and delays caused by these accidents and incidents have prompted several operating agencies to consider various strategies to reduce the truck accident/incident problem. This study was undertaken to identify truck accident countermeasures implemented in different areas of the U.S. Issues considered when selecting countermeasures for review in this study included urban freeway volumes of 95,000 vehicles per day or higher, a significant number of trucks in the traffic stream (typically 5% or more), and countermeasures involving road design. The study omitted countermeasures directly related to the vehicle and the driver. This project included the following steps: literature search, telephone survey, and field visits to selected sites. The information collected by this project is intended to assist agencies in identifying, selecting, and implementing truck accident countermeasures. Experiences with the following truck accident countermeasures are included in the report: lane restrictions, separate truck facilities, ramp treatments, truck diversions and bans, reduction of shoulder parking, urban truck inspection stations, incident response management, differential speed limit, increased enforcement, tall barriers, and mainlane treatments. Additional information on this study is contained in Report No. FHWA-RD-92-040.